There were no surprises at the box office this weekend. With the release of Disney’s High School Musical 3, families flocked to the movie theater and made the film #1, bringing in $42 million. Saw V, the polar opposite of a campy, happy Disney musical, came in 2nd place with $30 million. High School Musical 3 pulled in an addition $40 million in 19 additional countries where it opened. This weekend, I headed to the movie theaters and posted my review of High School Musical 3. Today, let’s take a look at the top 5 performances in the movie and find out who stood out from the rest of the class at East High.

5. Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans

I won’t award any points to Ashley Tisdale for her overall look in High School Musical 3. For some reason, her face looked like she had more plastic surgery than just a nose job and her Sharpay costumes left me with a face that said, “What the HECK is she wearing?” However, Tisdale plays her part perfectly as the self-centered diva who will stop at nothing to hog that spotlight.  Sharpay provides some much needed comic relief while Troy and Gabriella try to figure out their educational future as well as the status of their relationship.


4. Kaycee Stroh as Martha Cox

Well, check out Martha Cox, who has come a long way from her nerdy days in High School Musical. Slimmed down and complete with a cheerleading outfit, Martha has become quite popular around the halls of East High. In just about every dance number, certainly the ones in the play that the seniors at East High put on, Kaycee Stroh is front and center, dancing her butt off! She’s clearly one of the strongest dancers and performers in the entire movie which leaves me hoping Martha Cox shows up again should a High School Musical 4 come around.


3. Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez

Though Gabriella can annoy me sometimes, with the way that she flip flops on Troy, she has many other great qualities that make her easy to love in the High School Musical movies.  It's like Troy said towards the end of the film - Gabriella not only changed his life but the life of everyone at East High.  Their lives at that school would not have been the same had it not been for her.  She really taught everyone to be who they want instead of caring about everyone's opinions.  As Gabriella, Hudgens carries much of the movie and is given many songs to perform.  Her chemistry with Efron is obvious and even the most cynical can't help but root for Troy and Gabriella to make it.


2. Zac Efron as Troy Bolton

When High School Musical first debuted, I didn’t expect that Zac Efron would be able to show any kind of versatility or do anything beyond a television movie but boy was I wrong! His performance in Hairspray as Link Larkin, even though semi-similar to Troy Bolton, was a standout last year. He’s picked up several major movies, to be released within the next year and he’ll certainly find success far beyond the High School Musical movies. In his third and final film in the series, Efron is totally likeable, sincere, and turns out some serious singing and dancing performances in the musical numbers. It looks like Zac Efron is a household name we’ll be talking about for years to come.


1. Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans

I may catch a little flack for this but I think Lucas Grabeel is far and away the most talented High School Musical cast member. He’s just a phenomenal singer, actor, dancer, and performer. I always catch myself watching him more than others when he’s on screen and I did love his performance in “I Want It All”. I also love the transformation that Ryan has gone through over the course of the 3 movies. He went from diva villain to diva ally. He showed that people can change for the better, do the right thing, and stand up for people who are being picked on. Lucas definitely wins the High School Musical MVP Award!


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: The Associated Press
(Image courtesy of Disney)