High School Musical 3: Senior Year wants to be the end of something, and mostly it succeeds. The third film in the series closes out the original trilogy with a musical about graduating seniors facing the end of their high school lives, and the filmmaking behind it is confident and plain. It is not a great movie, but it knows what it is and mostly delivers on that promise.
Trailer, via VanessaAneeHudgens.
The Final Game
The film opens with East High’s Wildcats basketball team playing their long-time rival, the West High Knights, in the final game of the season. At halftime, East High is losing badly. Troy rallies his teammates, and they win (“Now or Never”). The scenes are energetic, and the music carries the weight of the moment.
Gabriella’s Goodbye
After the game, Troy and Gabriella discuss their unknown future and the short time they have left at East High (“Right Here, Right Now”). The song lands because it is built on their real chemistry. They have spent two films building to this point, and the film gives that relationship one final stretch before it ends.
Sharpay’s Scheme
Ms. Darbus announces that the musical will be called “Senior Year,” focusing on the future of the graduating seniors. Sharpay, desperate to win the Juilliard scholarship, gets Ryan to persuade Kelsi to give Troy and Gabriella a song by predicting her and Ryan’s future (“I Want It All”). Sharpay’s desperation is the film’s most committed performance, and it gives the middle section some friction.
Prom Night
Troy asks Gabriella to prom, and she teaches him how to dance (“Can I Have This Dance?”). Taylor refuses Chad’s pathetic attempt to ask her, then later relents when Chad asks again in front of the other students during lunch. The group rehearses for the musical with a scene about their prom night (“A Night to Remember”). These scenes are busy, and they work because the cast knows the material by now.
Behind the Scenes
Director Kenny Ortega’s dog, Manly “Little Pickles” Ortega, returns as Sharpay’s pet Yorkie Boi. It is a small detail, but it shows the care the filmmakers put into the continuity between films. Leslie Wing Pomeroy and Socorro Herrera return in their roles as Troy and Gabriella’s mothers, and Joey Miyashima returns as Principal Dave Matsui.
The Numbers
| Film | Runtime | Year |
|---|---|---|
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year | 112 minutes | 2008 |
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Troy Bolton | Zac Efron |
| Gabriella Montez | Vanessa Hudgens |
| Sharpay Evans | Ashley French |
| Ryan Evans | Lucas Grabeel |
| Chad Danforth | Corbin Bleu |
| Taylor McKessie | Monique Coleman |
Where It Falls Short
The film’s weaknesses are structural. The plot is thin, and the musical numbers are mostly filler. The scholarship at Juilliard is a good hook, but the film does not do much with it beyond setting up the stakes.
The Verdict
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is a competent, occasionally touching finale to the original trilogy. The music is often strong, and the performers deliver across the board. It is not a great film, but it gives the series a fitting close.
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