High School Musical 3: Senior Year

We had a wonderful time.

I bought the tickets for the adult balcony the day before. The seats are pricey but they are spectacular! The seats are grouped in pairs and the shared arm rest can be moved to allow close seating if a couple is so inclined. There is a little table between and just in front of the two seats. On the arm rests on the left seat and the right seat there is a little red button you push to summon your waiter. There is a little LED flashlight on a string attached by Velcro to the table. There is also another smaller table area with a cup holder on those chair arms. The chairs are very comfortable and there is an enormous amount of room in front of them -- sufficient for someone to walk in front with no problem.

I ordered a glass of Berringer white zinfandel, a small popcorn, and a bottle of water. Judy had an ice tea. The people next to us ordered a meal that was served when the movie started. About 10 or 15 minutes before the end of movie the waiter unobtrusively places the bill on your table and returns a few minutes later to collect. Very classy!

No children in the balcony - adult only. I have to do this more often.

I really enjoyed by Berringer. It was chilled to exactly the temperature I enjoy. I hadn't had any in a while and that made it all the nicer.

The screen in this theater - called the Grand Auditorium - is huge. The sound is spectacular. The seats are great. The parking is amazingly convenient and the theater is easy to get to. The service was excellent. The whole thing is carpeted. Everything is spotless including the parking lot. The bathrooms are plush. There is an honest-to-goodness curtain that opens and closes. The decor is reminiscient of old style theaters. The only thing I can think of that I would change about the facilty is the ceiling. They were typical commercial drop ceiling panels. I thought to myself that ornate plaster celings would be perfect for this venue.

The movie is about the senior year of the kids from the other two movies. The cast is much the same except the charaters have definitely aged. If you like the other movies then you'll like this one. On the other hand if you didn't care for the first two then you will not like this one either.

Actually this movie reminds me a lot of Star Trek. If you recall Star Trek was notable among other things for having a diverse, integrated crew. High School Musical is a lot like that to me except that the diversity is of groups of high school kids like jocks and braniacs and so on.

Now this does not occur in real high schools as anyone who has ever attended one well knows. But it is a cool idea. In real high school not everyone can dance and sing and stuff either.

This one is more adult though as it should be. There is more sadness. The kids are growing up and they are going to leave and go off into the bigger world and begin to find their own lives and dream their own dreams.

I remember that time in my life. One the one hand there was the anticipation and excitement and adventure and fear of the future. On the other was the sadness at leaving the familiar and the known and friends.

Maybe that's why the audience was divided into two main groups. One was people my age. The other was pre high school kids accompanied by a few parents - mostly mothers - but a few fathers.

Probably kids in high school are too much involved in the reality of the moment to be impressed with the idealism of the movie.

But I was thinking about how we all have senior year moments a lot during our lives. New jobs or new spouses or new friends or new places or new anything - all are like senior year.

We had a wonderful time. I'm already scheming about going back, too.

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary, too.