High School Musical (December 10/06)

That High School Musical has been crafted to appeal solely to young girls is obvious almost immediately, and while it seems fairly clear that they'll thrill to the antics of the film's broad characters, there's really not a whole lot here to hold the interest of most other viewers.

True to its title, the movie is a flat-out musical set within the halls of a typical American high school - albeit one where students often spontaneously break out into song. The story revolves around jock Troy (Zac Efron) and brain Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), both of whom have an obvious penchant for singing but are afraid to audition for the school musical for fear of alienating their friends (ie Troy's basketball teammates).

Director Kenny Ortega apes the look and feel of an old-fashioned musical, infusing the film with a distinctly larger-than-life vibe - something that's particularly true of the manner in which the characters relate to each other (think Grease, except with far less interesting actors).

And although the movie is mindlessly engaging for a while, the whole thing ultimately becomes so overwhelmingly silly and juvenile, it's difficult to imagine even the most die-hard fan of musicals finding anything here worth embracing.