High School Musical 101
The heartthrobs of East High School return to sing, dance and fill out their college apps when "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" opens in theaters just after midnight Thursday.
Missed the first two movies in the Disney Channel phenomenon? Don't tell the teacher, but we'll share our notes with you.
"High School Musical"
Prerequisite: An appreciation for lip-syncing and peppy choreography.
Setting: The shiny hallways of East High School in Albuquerque.
Protagonists: Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), the star of the school basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens), the brainy yet beautiful new girl.
Antagonists: The endlessly fabulous brother-and-sister duo, Sharpay and Ryan Evans (Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel), perennial stars of the school's musicals.
Supporting characters: Chad Danforth (Corbin Bleu), Troy's right-hand man and teammate; Taylor McKessy (Monique Coleman), Gabriella's best friend who recruits her for the Scholastic Decathlon.
Conflict: Troy and Gabriella both want to try out for the school musical, but their friends Chad and Taylor don't think the school's star athlete and mathlete should be wasting their time on show tunes. And Sharpay and Ryan will do anything to sabotage them and secure their own places in the spotlight.
Extra credit: G-rated flirtations on-screen led to a real-life relationship between stars Efron and Hudgens.
Final grade: A-
"High School Musical 2"
Prerequisite: "HSM" or previous experience with formulaic plots
Setting: Albuquerque's posh country club, which seems to have more employees than members
Protagonists: Troy and Gabriella are an item now, and so are Chad and Taylor. The foursome and seemingly all their classmates at East High have summer jobs at the country club.
Antagonists: Sharpay and Ryan are too fabulous to have summer jobs at the country club. They're members.
Conflict: As Queen Bee of the school, Sharpay feels that she rightfully deserves the affection of the school's basketball star and does everything in her power to lure Troy into her perfectly manicured hands. Meanwhile, lovebirds Troy and Gabriella are intent upon winning the country club's talent show, but - you guessed it - Ryan and Sharpay also have their eyes on that prize.
Extra credit: Troy unleashes his inner demons by breaking into the heavily harmonized "Bet On It" while dancing alone on the golf course. Unlike the first movie, Efron does his own singing in this one.
Final grade: B-