The New York Times did their review along with several other serious film critics who for the most part panned High School Musical 2 (HSM2). They said the lip syncing was horrid, the actors were over tanned, the dancing was mediocre and there was basically no plot.

Ok, so much for the experts. Here is the only review that really mattered to me and that is the one from the 5 ten year olds who watched it in our living room last friday night. They absolutely loved the movie.

With all the “reality” tv shows out there and the entertainment news shows that glorify young women behaving badly I am glad that my kids are spending their tv time still watching the disney channel.

The impact of the show really was made clear this afternoon while we were out shopping for a new pair of jeans and a new shirt for the first day of school. We looked through all kinds of clothes in the girls section (not even the junior section that is meant for teens and older girls but in the girls section that is generally meant for girls ages 4 to 12). There were lots of trashy clothes available in this dept. But my daughter chose a more modest top that was still stylish but quite appropriate for a 10 year old.

I really appreciate that this musical depicted all kinds of kids, who all had a style of their own but who all dressed like kids. It was almost disappointing in one scene of HSM2 where we could see Troys boxers over the top of his low rider jeans but I can let that one go.

One reviewer compared Vanessa Huchtens (sp) to Annette Funicello. That’s ok with me too. I loved that there was only one small kiss at the very end of the movie and that Troy and Gabriella’s relationship was based on something more than just the kissing.

So, for all of the grown up reviewers who had a difficult time trying to figure out how they could say anything good about the movie without feeling like they were losing part of their street cred as a serious reviewer all I can say is “What-ever” - I’m just glad my tweens are looking at HSM as their role model instead of MTVs my sweet 16 or Brittany Spears pantiless escapades through downtown L.A. or some equally vile depiction of americas youth.

Thank you HSM2 for helping to bring back cool to being yourself and doing it fully and modestly dressed.

(on a side note: I did watch the show from another room last friday and there were parts that were difficult as an adult to watch - some scenes were very schmaltzy and in Troys solo ballad “Bet on It” his solo run through the golf course took a serious second to Kevin Bacon’s run through the barn in Footloose. But other than that it was a fun movie - especially the song “I want Fabulous” - which for some reason sounded better on the soundtrack than on the movie - and I am looking forward to the DVD where, hopefully, they will include the Hawaiian song that was cut from the movie but made it onto the CD. )