21st Century Grease

There was a lot of commotion about this musical when it first came out, and unlike so many others, I was reluctant to even see this movie. My eighth grade students would go around singing the songs or making references to it in class and I was more annoyed than anything. Then on the way back from our eighth grade trip the girls begged me to put in High School Musical. Willing to do almost anything to keep teenagers quiet on a long bus trip I allowed it. Then I fell in love with it. It is very sweet and the songs are catchy. Picture Grease with a new edge. He's a basketball star of the high school team, and she is the new girl brainiac. They accidentally try out for a musical together and the call back is on the same day as his championship game and her academic olympics. One of the aspects about this film I like best is the supportiveness of the friends. Too many films don't model what it means to be a good friend. The songs are a fresh pop that will have you humming them long after the movie is over, and the choreography, especially the "Get Your Head In the Game" number, is original, challenging, and fun. I quickly bought this movie for my own children to watch and they seem to like it even more than the teenagers.