TWEENDOM’S BRANGELINA

For the millions of you (yes millions) who read the Prerogative’s last post, I need to say this: after watching The Dark Knight, I am indeed eating my words. It moved me, it thrilled me, it excited me. It set the bar for all other superhero movies, heck all other movies period. I will never watch another film without first comparing it to the amazingness that was this installment of Batman. It was like the Lebron James of movies, the Mohammed Ali of hero flicks, not only living up to its hype but also surpassing it. I don’t even need to mention how indescribably brilliant the late Heath Ledger was as “The Joker”, you can google the many reviews and read much smarter people say much more eloquent things about the performance. Just see it. If you haven’t yet, go now. Stop reading and run to the theatre. NOW.

Glad I got that out of the way. Moving on to today’s more serious and important topic: “High School Musical”. Yes, the Disney Channel Original Movie turned phenomenon amongst children and tweens everywhere. And twenty-somethings. Okay so maybe just this twenty-something. I confess that both “High School Musical” movies have been my guilty pleasures, my outlets for experiencing the joy of childhood past, my nostalgic vessels of happiness and cheese. The first two films made TV history, hooking viewers with smile-inducing song and dance and creating a franchise fit for a generation hungry for some good clean fun. And how much cleaner can you get than a movie that didn’t even see its romantic leads kiss until the very end of the second movie? Not much. With the third installment upgrading to the big screen in October, the massive promotional blitz has already begun. A reality show hosted by Nick Lachey (score!) called High School Musical: Get into the Picture airs tonight on ABC. The highly anticipated HSM 3: Senior Year trailer was just released (and I’ve only watched it once .. or twice.. ahem).

So why has the world caught “High School Musical” fever? That’s simple. Zac Efron. Besides being like, super dreamy, Zac Efron is the quintessential teenage heartthrob. He sings and dances, he’s a little girly looking (refer back to my dissertation on the Jonas Brother and boy bands) but also manly enough to grace the cover of Rolling Stone and send quivers down the spines of grown women everywhere. Without Zac there would be no franchise. But wait, there’s something missing. We have a heartthrob. We have a hit movie. We have endorsements and legions of fans. Enter: Vanessa Hudgens, otherwise known as Zac’s on and off screen girlfriend. They are this generation’s Justin and Britney. They are the Brangelina of tweendom. They are the second key to “High School Musical’s” success. How much better was watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith after knowing Brad and Angelina were knocking boots behind Jen Aniston’s back? When reality becomes intertwined and intimately involved with fantasy the results are magical. In this case, Zanessa’s on-screen chemistry is only heightened and magnified by the reality of their relationship.

Why does this matter in the grand scheme of things? It doesn’t. Sorry to disappoint. BUT Zanessa may hold the answer to future movie-marketing. Some have already questioned whether the hand-holding, the paparazzi shots of Caribbean vacations and the subtle-but-not-so-subtle declarations of affection by both parties are just a publicity stunt, just a rouse to disguise Efron’s closeted sexuality or a way to de-skankify Hugdens (remember the infamous nude photo scandal). I’m not entirely buying it. Entirely. I, like most celeb-gossip readers, like to believe in the legitimacy of celebrity romance. I like to believe that not every couple relishes the PR-induced photo-op (minus Spencer and Heidi of the Hills). And this is why, if more movies saw their romantic leads in a real-life love affair (think Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the Notebook) then the fans would get what they want. In our reality-TV obsessed culture, the more chance to blur the lines of authenticity and make-believe the better. Sure it may not have worked out for the original Bennifter, but their PR people probably just didn’t know how to swing it.

Let’s just cross our fingers and toes, hope and pray that Zac and Vanessa don’t break up before High School Musical 3. Oh, the tragedy.


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