Today was the premiere of High School Musical 2 on TV, so of course, it was available online for illegal download at least 12 hours before it aired on network television. If you read my blog at all you’ll know that a) my kids and myself ADORE the original, b) we have seen the original at least 30 times and can quote it by heart, AND do all the dance moves, and c) we have listened to the soundtrack about a million times, and know all the words to every song. Also, d), I am conversationally anal retentive and need to constantly organise my thoughts into lists.

So Sir Monkeypants, because he loves us, got a copy of HSM 2 to watch this afternoon and we eagerly sat down to inhale it. I never thought I would say this, ever, but the world has finally made a musical that I thought was kind of stupid. I’m sure the songs will grow on me after the kids have made me listen to them 100 times, but at first listen, they are all kind of similar and unremarkable. The story is forced and silly and full of melodrama. I mean, I can find it in my heart to be moved when Maria teaches the seven Von Trapp children to sing, but it’s too much to ask of me to care when Troy is upset because his girlfriend just doesn’t understand why he had to blow off their lunch date.

Near the end of the movie, Sir Monkeypants started making fun of it, to preserve his sanity. Troy has a big overblown solo number about how he has been a jerk and needs to apologize for the lunch date thing. In the TurtleHead household, you’d have heard this:

Gal Smiley: What is Troy doing?
Me: He’s mad. And now he’s going to sing about it.
Sir Monkeypants: He’s singing mad!
Me: And now he’s dancing mad!
Sir Monkeypants: He’s singing, dancing mad!
Gal Smiley: And he’s twisting mad!
Sir Monkeypants: That’s right! He’s singing, dancing, and twisting mad! And now he’s singing, dancing, twisting, and golfing mad! And now, singing, dancing, twisting, golfing, and walking mad! He’s walking AND running mad!

Around then, milk came out my nose.