Freakonomics and High School Musical have a lot in common. Both were surprise hits that had no reason to be commercial successes, but managed to do well by not taking themselves too seriously.
My kids and my wife love the original High School Musical. I kind of like it myself. It is played an average of three times a day in my house. So we have been eagerly awaiting the sequel, High School Musical 2, which premiered on Friday. The verdict: my six- and seven-year-olds liked it okay, but I could not believe how bad it was. It was shockingly awful.
I’ve been trying to figure out what made the movie so incredibly terrible. I think the only possible answer is that they started taking themselves seriously. Do others who saw it agree?
Anyway, to answer the question posed in the title of this blog post … Let’s hope the answer is “nothing.”
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Awful? C’mon, the movie isn’t for us grownups – its for kids! And looking at it through the eyes of a 6 year old and a almost teen (both boys, so there is no “Zac’s blue eyes” factor here), it was great! The songs were as formulaic as ever, but extremely singable and danceable, and Disney even managed to slip some good “life lessons” into the storyline. Did they take themselves too seriously? I hope so, given that their audience is millions of kids. Look, I know that Disney has dollar signs in their eyes with this one, but there aren’t many media experiences anymore where adults and kids can share in a catchy song, a good story and not have to worry about covering sensitive eyes and ears every five minutes. So is it high art? No way. But the CD will be playing in my car for the next six months, and I’ll be singing along with my kids.
Awful? C’mon, the movie isn’t for us grownups – its for kids! And looking at it through the eyes of a 6 year old and a almost teen (both boys, so there is no “Zac’s blue eyes” factor here), it was great! The songs were as formulaic as ever, but extremely singable and danceable, and Disney even managed to slip some good “life lessons” into the storyline. Did they take themselves too seriously? I hope so, given that their audience is millions of kids. Look, I know that Disney has dollar signs in their eyes with this one, but there aren’t many media experiences anymore where adults and kids can share in a catchy song, a good story and not have to worry about covering sensitive eyes and ears every five minutes. So is it high art? No way. But the CD will be playing in my car for the next six months, and I’ll be singing along with my kids.
I’m not in the target market, but the Trib says it’s better than the original.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-mxa0817tempocoverhsm2aug17,0,6243521.story
“”HSM2″ is better than the original, and not only because its production budget is reportedly triple the first cable movie. The songs are bolder: The three signature tunes, “You Are the Music In Me,” “I Don’t Dance” and the ballad “Gotta Go My Own Way” deserve a life beyond Radio Disney. The acting by the returning well-scrubbed cast is better”
Might be worth a post comparing movie reviews to the academic peer review system? (by the way, there’s an old article in Chance showing there’s very low reliability across major movie critics)
I’m not in the target market, but the Trib says it’s better than the original.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-mxa0817tempocoverhsm2aug17,0,6243521.story
“”HSM2″ is better than the original, and not only because its production budget is reportedly triple the first cable movie. The songs are bolder: The three signature tunes, “You Are the Music In Me,” “I Don’t Dance” and the ballad “Gotta Go My Own Way” deserve a life beyond Radio Disney. The acting by the returning well-scrubbed cast is better”
Might be worth a post comparing movie reviews to the academic peer review system? (by the way, there’s an old article in Chance showing there’s very low reliability across major movie critics)
I haven’t seen either of these movies, but i did notice that the soundtrack to the original was also a huge success. Anybody hear about the soundtrack to HSM 2? I am sure it will sell millions.
http://www.ilsvont.com
I haven’t seen either of these movies, but i did notice that the soundtrack to the original was also a huge success. Anybody hear about the soundtrack to HSM 2? I am sure it will sell millions.
http://www.ilsvont.com
Steven,
Freakonomics is a such a phenomenon that I know other books coping your line of thought.
I like the humor you always put into the postings. Even though, I am from the technology area I manage to read your postings.
Now that you are in NYT I see more comments than before. This is something to be admired.
Keep it up!
Mario Ruiz
http://www.oursheet.com
Steven,
Freakonomics is a such a phenomenon that I know other books coping your line of thought.
I like the humor you always put into the postings. Even though, I am from the technology area I manage to read your postings.
Now that you are in NYT I see more comments than before. This is something to be admired.
Keep it up!
Mario Ruiz
http://www.oursheet.com