Sure, Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens are the stars of High School Musical 2, as the romantic leads Troy and Gabriella, but any fan of musicals knows that it's the scene-stealing supporting players who are the true stories. As Megan Mullally sarcastically sang when she hosted Saturday Night Live, “Forget Will & Grace / Call it Jack & Karen.”

For High School Musical, that means Sharpay and Ryan Evans, the diva siblings who rule the high school's theater department. Their non-stop charm and the hilariously over-the-top performances by Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel are what make the TV movie truly sublime. They are instantly memorable characters and make it rise above the level of your standard tween flick.

Ashley Tisdale owns the school, and in the mold of great domineering women, is perfectly cast as the first film's lead villain. Like any good villain, she has a toadie in her brother Ryan, someone stuck in Sharpay's shadow, eccentric as he may be.

The best part is their chemistry, the way the two effortlessly play off of each other, using each other's energy to go even broader with the comedy. Grabeel in particular is wonderful, letting his facial or physical expressions steal attention away from whatever else may be going on. His Ryan is a character that you just have to root for.

The fact that they are brother and sister make things both funnier and weirder. Sharpay proudly boasted about how they've always had the leads in the school play. Little is mentioned of the fact that most high school's perform plays with romantic leads, which is really icky when you think too hard about it. But it's also a positive message, because so often tween films have the dysfunctional siblings who are constantly at odds with each other. See: Louis and Ren in Even Stevens or Phil and Pim in Phil of the Future. A sibling duo that shares interests and gets along is a novel idea for Disney.

Let's not forget the most important part: she is named after a breed of dog. This automatically makes it funnier. When High School Musical 2 airs tonight, many will be tuning in for Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, hoping to see their rumored off-screen romance heat up the screen on TV. However, the real reason to watch is for the uproarious and audacious boldness of the Evans siblings. The talents of Tisdale and Grabeel are the main reason this TV movie has bopped to the top of popularity.


High School Musical 2 premieres this Friday, August 17 at 8pm on the Disney Channel. Check back each day this week for the rest of our Top 5 list.

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-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of Disney Channel)