DCOM Flashback Fridays: Ray J's Review - "High School Musical"🎬🔙🎶

Happy New Year's Eve everyone🥳 It's almost time for the start of something new, and while it's always a good thing to start fresh once and awhile, it's also very important to hold on to cherished memories. For those of us who grew up in the late 90's, 2000's (and heck even now), the premiere of a brand new Disney Channel Original Movie, or DCOM, on Friday night was an incredibly exciting event! That is why I am declaring my first movie review series of 2022, one that holds a very special place in my heart, "DCOM Flashback Fridays"🎬💚✨ To kick off the series, I am reviewing what is truthfully the Disney Channel's most iconic, popular, and successful original movie, also one that is perfect for the beginning of a new year, "High School Musical"🎶😄🎬

On a wintry New Years eve, high school basketball star Troy Bolton (played by Zac Efron) is vacationing with his parents at a ski resort, getting some practice hoops in before getting ready to attend the resort's YA NYE party. Meanwhile, bookworm, and science wiz Gabriella Montez (played by Vanessa Hudgens) is keeping low key, when her mother suggests heading down to the party for some fun. Although neither are super excited, they both get fancied up, (or at least as fancied up as teenagers would dress in 2006), and head to the party where there is some Karaoke fun happening. Gabriella with her head in a book, and Troy just gazing around the room get randomly selected via spotlight to duet for karaoke....🎶This could be the start of something new🎶 and the rest is history! In complete shock of each other's talent, and chemistry for one another, they head outside to watch the fireworks, also exchanging phone numbers, wondering to themselves if they'd ever even see each other again...

...One week later Troy returns to school at (the real life school every kid dreams of going to now) East High, and welcomed back like a superstar...not knowing that fate has brought Gabriella to him (since she had to transfer schools due to her mom's work). While Troy is in homeroom, he notices Gabriella. It is announced by Ms. Darbus (played fantastically by Allison Reed), the over the top homeroom teacher/drama club teacher, that auditions for the school musical will take place the next day. Even though they are both shocked, and ecstatic to bee reunited with each other, neither Troy or Gabriella are super comfortable with trying out for the musical...although deep down they really want to! Troy's reason being what his basketball buddies, including his best friend Chad Danforth (played by Corbin Bleu) will think of him, and Gabriella's reason being that she just wants to get used to the school before thinking about joining any clubs, or extracurricular activities. Plus if they did try out, they would have to deal with the wrath of Sharpay (played by Ashley Tisdale), and Ryan Evans (played by Lucas Grabeel), East High's most dramatic drama club members. After much consideration, Troy and Gabriella decide to sneak over to auditions, although just to watch at first. We meet the composer of the musical Kelsey Nielson (played by Olesya Rulin), whom plays the piano while we get to see a variety of hilarious failed auditions. However, Sharpay and Ryan seem to pretty much have the lead roles secured after their bubbly audition. After volunteering at the literal last second to audition, Troy and Gabriella are denied by Ms. Darbus. After noticing Kelsey drop her composition music, Troy and Gabriella hop on the stage to assist her, where they perform an impromptu duet to the audition song (the correct way)! Well that sneaky Ms. Darbus heard their beautiful duet, and grants them with a callback audition! Now I am going to use a non Disney Channel word and say here's where all *hell* breaks loose*😂 The next day, word gets out there will be callback auditions, (here's another frowned upon Disney Channel word) and Sharpay is *pisssssssed*!!! Chad and the rest of the basketball team find out too, which leads to one of the most iconic musical numbers in the film, "Stick To The Status Quo", where the entire student body begins to question if they can venture outside of their cliques, based on their talents, or if they should just stick to the stuff they know. Sharpay, Chad, and Taylor (played by Monique Coleman, a friend that Gabriella has made, and is also a part of the scholastic decathlon team) all have their own selfish intentions of trying to prevent Troy & Gabriella from being apart of the musical...but is that really the right thing to do?

"High School Musical" is of course super cheesy, but really well done, and features an incredibly catchy soundtrack!! I mean when a plus size student obsessed with homework declared they love to "pop and lock and jam and break", then gets up on the cafeteria lunch table to do so...that is when you know you've made something special! Go Martha Cox!! High School Musical is the highest rated, and highest grossing Disney Channel movie ever, and even spawned two just as amazing sequels...the 2nd aired on Disney Channel, and the the 3rd (my favorite) was released exclusively in movie theater! (Fun fact: when the 3rd movie was released, I worked at a movie theater, which means free movies, and I watched "HSM3: Senior Year" 10 times or more while we had it)🎶🎬 All 3 films were directed by the creative and talented Kenny Ortega, who also directed the iconic "Hocus Pocus", The Disney Channel "Descendants" films, "The Cheetah Girls 2", the Michael Jackson "This Is It" documentary, and more!!

My personal favorite songs from this first HSM film are "Start Of Something New", "Getcha Head In The Game", "Stick To The Status Quo", and "Breaking Free". I also like "We're All In This Together", but it really is the cheesiest of cheese😂

Before I give my consensus, I must recommend "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on the Disney + streaming service if you are a fan of these movies!! The show has nothing to do with the plot of the films, and isn't a continuation, but rather a very meta & humorous show that revolves around a group of characters at the real life "East High School" (home of the leopards, not the Wildcats), that are prepping to put on their high school musical, of "High School Musical". The show is really fun, a lot more realistic than the movies, and the soundtrack features incredible original songs as well as covers from the movie. In season two, they put on a production of "Beauty and The Beast", but there are also plenty of "High School Musical" references, and even a few covers from "High School Musical 2"! Season three is coming later this year!!

Consensus: "High School Musical" is the DCOM of ALL DCOMS😄🎬🎶 For its time, this TV movie was a breath of fresh air, and was the beginning of a new era of many more Disney Channel musicals to come! Getcha' Head In The Game at the start of this new year, and give "HSM" a re-watch or if you've never seen it before, give it a shot! See what I did there😂🏀🎶🎬

The Ray J's Reviews Ratings is:

5 out of 5 Bursts of DCOM ID Wand Magic

✨💚✨💚✨