High School Musical and Other Mush

So, I’m just sitting watching the credits roll to High School Musical. I’m really, really not sure what’s so special about it. Seriously, so many people rave about it, but I’m not at all convinced.

It reminded me about a scene I watched in an episode of Party of Five the other day… Bailey, the 2nd oldest of the unnaturally good-looking Salinger clan is waxing lyrical about his feelings for a girl he’s trying to steal off some other poor bloke. He’s meant to be 16 and he’s talking about his feelings and his deepest desires and generally turning all female knees to jelly. But, seriously – he’s meant to be 16!!!

Then High School Musical’s male lead is Mr Popular basketball player who not only sings like an angel, but is so sensitive and romantic that even the dragon-lady Drama teacher seems to fall for him.

Is it any wonder girls’ heads are screwed up?!

There is, perhaps, much to be said for Mr Darcy’s painfully blunt confession that despite his better judgement he admires Elizabeth Bennet and wishes to marry her. But hang on… even his stern ‘I ardently love and esteem you’ melts us like butter.

Is there any hope for women everywhere who’ve grown up on squishy Hollywood movies? Or respectable BBC productions for that matter? Even the Planet Earth docu-series includes scenes of a male bird diligently cleaning up his display patch before doing his special wooing-dance for the apple of his eye…!