The Movie
Picking up not long after the celebratory conclusion of High School Musical 3, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure finds the lovely and talented young ingénue on the verge of her big show biz break, invited to audition for an upcoming Broadway extravaganza. And so she packs her many designer bags and leaves Albuquerque behind for New York City, with a month to either make it big or return home and get a real job.
As played once again by Ashley Tisdale, Sharpay Evans has evolved from the single-minded backstabber of yore to an amusingly clueless, almost sympathetic underdog. The trick is to put her in the shadow of an even bigger bitch, namely the star of the show, and when things don't go nearly as planned, she grows up fast.
This is the first time Sharpay has been the lead character (don't go looking for cameos from any of her High School alums), but we pretty much know what to expect, and that might be the problem. I'm grateful that, unlike the three previous movies, Fabulous doesn't stop every thirty seconds for a gratuitous musical number, instead putting the story, character and humor, such as they are, front and center. But the results are still cornier than Iowa.
Darn, that Ashley Tisdale must have some agent: Her 2008 movie Picture This also just hit Blu-ray, reviewed by our own Rachel Cericola.
The Picture
The bright candy colors of Sharpay's perfect world--especially the pinks, naturally--really pop in this Blu-ray presentation. The 16:9 image is a little soft despite a high bitrate often hovering around 35 megabits per second. I noted a loss of detail in moving objects, and jitter on an early aerial shot of Manhattan, likely stock since the movie was shot in Canada. Blacks too could be more nuanced and lifelike.
The Sound
The accompanying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack features a generous multichannel mix to the music, with strong low end as well, both in the production numbers and the background score. Both the speaking and singing voices are well-recorded and given the necessary volume to command our attention. I'm not saying that the songs are great, but everyone's trying. The various sounds of The Big Apple are also amply placed around the soundfield when appropriate for a credible "you are there" feel.
The Extras
"The Evolution of Sharpay" (nine minutes) is built largely around an interview with Ms. Tisdale, combined with clips from all three Musicals and her latest Adventure. We're also given about a minute of bloopers and seven minutes of "Austin Cam" behind-the-scenes footage recorded and hosted by co-star Austin Butler, a very friendly-seeming fellow.
This particular "Limited Edition" that our friends at Disney were kind enough to send over comes packaged inside a full-sized, usable pink clutch purse, which also contains a DVD of the movie (with the bloopers and Austin Cam) as well as a Digital Copy for our choice of iTunes or Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
In her interview, Ashley explains that people were forever asking her when Sharpay would return, and so the potential viewers of her Fabulous Adventure are out there. The Limited Edition is in actuality quite a good value (there's also a less-expensive two-disc set sans purse and Digital Copy), but casual admirers might want to settle for a rental.
I know, I know: That's no way to treat a star....
Product Details
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