#GabriellaCanGetAwayWithMurder

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Questions for HSM III (Part VII)

We are literally now diving into the abyss. If I had posted a picture of the Titanic wreck instead of this one, we wouldn’t have sunk far enough. 

On Troy and his Dad

1- I’m a fan of Troy’s scenes with his dad. Despite the significant challenges in their relationship, and despite the burden of pressure that Jack Bolton places on his son’s shoulders, the father-son bond is real, relatable and touching. I like Jack Bolton on the whole, because he’s that traditional kind of father sadly lacking in today’s society. One of those men who worked up from the bottom and is keen to pass these values onto his son. Troy has a strong work ethic (when referring to being the Coach’s son: “makes me practice a little harder”) is a thoroughly fair and decent guy and doesn’t believe in taking shortcuts to success. I believe this comes from his father. 

Given that Jack Bolton asks about Gabriella, having come to accept that she isn’t just his “detention buddy” (that scene in HSM I makes me crack up every time), I would like to have known his reaction to her unannounced disappearance and the resultant effect on Troy. Surely Mr. Bolton saw his son moping around at school? Would he particularly well-disposed towards Gabriella or am I just wishing he’d advise his son to date someone else? Mr. Bolton asks Troy whether Gabriella will still be attending prom, to which Troy answers yes with a smile. Read and weep, people. Read and weep. Again, I wonder what the Bolton patriarch’s reaction would be when she suddenly decided she wasn’t coming. After all, in HSM I, he unreasonbly got angry with Gabriella for allegedly causing Troy to get a detention (she did no such thing). How would he have reacted? Or is he caught up in Troy/Gabriella hype, too? I’d love to know. 

2- Notice the pride in Troy’s voice when he says “She’s knee-deep in geniuses out there.” I would love to have heard that phone-call, particularly to hear whether Gabriella apologized for jumping ship after lying to him that she just meant “goodnight”. Of course, Troy doesn’t mention it. But if that phonecall was anything like the one we’re going to hear soon, then I have no hopes. I really hope Gabriella doesn’t get a job in Customer Sales, because she has a terrible telephone manner. Even when dressed as a pretend maid, she managed to sound like an irritable, huffy miseryguts. 

Then Troy says that Gabriella made a comment about the food at Stanford and East High. See, this is where hearing the conversation would have been helpful. Is that really the most remarkable thing that Gabriella said to him over the phone-- that the food was worse at Stanford? (If any Stanford graduate can back that up, I’d be grateful.Gabriella whines about everything, so I don’t take anything she says at face value). Oh hi, Troy: everyone here is really clever and the food sucks, and yes, I’m still coming to prom. Seriously, this sounds like the extent of their conversation, otherwise Troy would have mentioned it. Are we to assume that she did or did not ask after him, his feelings, his studies, let alone apologize for her grand departure? I’m digging and I’m theorizing, yes, but this seems to be in line with the stilted nature of their conversations. Am I missing something?

3- So, are we to believe that the reason Mr Bolton shoots hoops in the backyard is because he doesn’t know how to deal with Troy potentially attending another college/school? Because if so, that might explain Troy’s upcoming mental breakdown in the gym. When is Mr. Bolton going to learn to communicate with his son in a more constructive manner?

4- Does Mrs. Bolton have a say in this? No indication is given on what she thought about Troy’s further education. Yet her view would matter too, right?

5- “Chad will be awfully disappointed if you decide to change your mind!” Behold, the reason why people choose a college: because best friends. Seriously, Mr. Bolton? Didn’t this same man say in HSM II that Troy wasn’t going to be with the Wildcats forever? That the team was great now, but in future, he would need to seize his own opportunities? Or was that good advice only relevant because Troy was trying to secure finance for his father’s alma mater? But then again, precisely what were Mr. Bolton’s thoughts when, during HSM II, Troy DITCHED a scholarship opportunity for no good reason other than to appease his friends and girlfriend? Because judging by their interaction here, it doesn’t even come up in conversation. How did Mr. Bolton react then, when Troy let a golden opportunity slip through his fingers? Remember, Mr. Bolton made the effort to watch Troy playing with the Redhawks in order to give a good report to Mr. Evans. In order to give Troy the best shot possible. So if Mr. Bolton got over the fact that Troy flushed this all down the toilet for his ungrateful girlfriend and ungrateful friends, then why’s he guilt-tripping Troy into accepting U of A? Then again, if he WASN’T cool with Troy’s “decision” in HSM II, why aren’t they talking about that now? (Like to answer that, Script?) Thoroughly unconstructive, hypocritical behaviour from Mr. Bolton here. On the first watch, I thought Troy’s annoyance was overdone; now it’s completely understandable. 

An answer, please. Someone. 

6- “You raised me to make my own choices, and I need to make ‘em. Not you, or Chad, or anyone else. ME.”

Wise words coming from a guy who is now about to do the complete opposite for the rest of this film. 

On Troy’s Nervous Breakdown and Ms Darbus

1- I honestly skip this section. It’s extremely boring and depressing, but totally understandable. On the first watch, I was fighting to stay awake by this point. Troy is in the abyss. (So is this movie). His dad doesn’t understand him, his friends don’t take his aspirations and indecision seriously, his girlfriend is an ungrateful freeloader, the musical is going down the toilet (which is why he told his dad not to ask earlier) and he feels like jumping out one of his beloved trees. “Scream” encompasses all of the above conflict and is a reasonable climactic point for the movie. (Actually, on second listen, this song is quite catchy, if a little try-hard in the pop department). It should have been followed by an improvement in Troy’s circumstances, and more importantly, his decision-making. Alas...

Screaming seems to be Troy’s default method of releasing his anxiety, which follows on from his yelling in the Lava Springs kitchen during HSM II. This would imply, would it not, that Troy is actually quite a reserved guy except when on stage?

2- I like the scene between Troy and Ms Darbus, who, unlike Taylor, has dropped her lack of understanding towards sports stars. It is Ms Darbus who gives Troy the most meaningful encouragement and good advice that he has ever received in this entire movie. Not his girlfriend. Not his best friend. Not his father. But his teacher. Of course, any good teacher wishes the best for their students, but it says something when Troy had to run into an abandoned school and scream blue murder in order to process his emotions, instead of running to people who should be supportive and understanding. Ms Darbus believes in him, and thus submitted an application on his behalf to Juilliard, which is an act of confidence in his abilities and in his future. This is good. The stage is set for Troy’s grand decision later on. 

I really wish we had learned precisely which schools Troy might have attended and when he received his offers. But this would involve learning more about Troy’s life in isolation, and not as a subsidiary of Gabriella’s life. Why didn’t we get the necessary context leading to his “decision” RE Berkeley?

By the way, I have a solution for Ms Darbus struggle to rebalance the musical: scrub out Miss Montez’s part altogether. 

On Musical Disharmony and Hoops Man

So, Gabriella is learning her way around Stanford, good for her. A totally pointless scene that neither helps conclude Troy’s anxiety beforehand, nor leads into the musical that she abandoned with such casual hypocrisy. 

1- Poor Troy. He’s really trying. Kudos to Ryan for helping him out there, which I believe he did out of friendship and understanding, and not just because he is the choreographer. Another smiley face sticker for Ryan. Once again notice a complete lack of sympathy of understanding as demonstrated by any of the other Wildcats, which I suppose is unsurprising, given that they only agreed to do the show after Troy did. In other words, they expect him to do all the legwork and hold the show on his shoulders. As I mentioned before, you can see Chad muttering angrily to Taylor in the background, jabbing his arm in Troy’s direction. Folks, this is the guy who spent five minutes of your time claiming he didn’t dance. NOW he cares so much about the musical? Remember when I said that no one came to check on Troy after Gabriella left? Surely, Chad must have his own off days? Surely he must understand why Troy is so upset? Surely he knows that Troy has no chemistry with Sharpay whatsoever? This sudden annoyance grates on the nerves. 

2- “Hoops Man! Over here! You look like you’re having the time of your life!” Unlike Chad, who just blames Troy, or the other Wildcats who act like he doesn’t even exist even though they know he’s upset, Kelsi always does her best to keep Troy’s spirits up. Injecting some humour into the situation was a great way to break up the tension, disappointment and lack of energy in these rehearsals. Again, we are forced to believe that Gabriella’s absence is ruining the show; as I said before, I dispute such an assumption. The only ones willing to put in any effort are Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay and Troy. As a composer, you would think that Kelsi would be the most irritated by Troy’s consistent mistakes and lack of focus; instead she shows him nothing but sympathy and understanding, so sadly lacking from almost everyone else. 

If only Kelsi had stopped here!

3- “It’s all of us, and all of us pretty much know why. If it wasn’t for Gabriella, this musical would have just been another “Sharpay Show”!”

Kelsi, please-- PLEASE-- be quiet! Don’t do this to yourself. Every time I watch this scene, I’m ready to quit the world. This is what ruins that which could have been another memorable Trelsi moment; Kelsi’s persistently illogical hero-worship of Gabriella on the basis of pure fantasy and catchy love songs rather than actual reality. Not only is this comment cringeworthy, it is completely false. It was Troy who agreed to the musical when everyone else was arguing against it. (Does she not remember jumping for joy when he finally capitulated, rather than when Gabriella stood up for her?!) So it’s Troy who saved the musical from being another “Sharpay Show”; Troy, who is standing right in front of her, doing his best to continue with said musical whilst Gabriella is chilling in Cali. (Alright, she’s not chilling, but roll with it). 

Why is Kelsi convinced that the show cannot run without Gabriella? This is a girl who applied to Juilliard (kudos to her), and so obviously must know that they perform musicals all the time... Without Gabriella! Would it make her happy if she brought Gabriella along with her to Juilliard, since it’s so clear that nothing can work otherwise? Have theatre performers had it wrong this entire time? Did West Side Story or Grease need Gabriella? When Kelsi was submitting her songs for the high school musicals and kept getting rejected, there were musicals that succeeded without Gabriella, were there not? There are only two Playmakers in this movie series: Troy and Kelsi. There are only four people chosen for a prestigious Performing Arts scholarship in this movie series, two of whom are Troy and Kelsi. What more evidence does Kelsi need that the world doesn’t revolve around Gabriella? And again, why does Kelsi say NOTHING when one of the show’s leads just ups and leaves without telling her-- AGAIN? Remember in High School Musical I, when Gabriella unilaterally decided that she and Troy wouldn’t do the musical based on that webcam stunt? Out of Troy and Gabriella, who do you think would have bothered to tell Kelsi? The script never showed us this, but I think I can guess. So should we really have any hopes that Gabriella would have told Kelsi about this new development in HSM III? But meanwhile, Kelsi still wants to have another jab at Sharpay. How many times has she written music for Sharpay now? Even when Sharpay was bossing her around in the first movie, she offered to write more solos! (”Uh... I should write you more solos?”) Stop kidding yourself, Kelsi. 

Ever astonishing and exasperating bias from Kelsi. 

People, I love Kelsi. She’s my second favourite character after Troy. But seriously, these questions must be asked. 

Still, she redeems herself for comforting Troy as always. 

TO BE CONTINUED