Teenage Disney movie draws college crowd

Penn students and eight year-old girls don't usually have much in common - except when it comes to Zac Efron.

Efron, one of the leads in Disney's hugely successful High School Musical series, has been pulling college students and 'tweens alike to theaters, making the movie this weekend's top box office seller.

"Everyone was there to see him," a College junior who attended the event confirmed. "Whenever he came on stage everyone started cheering and whistling."

High School Musical 3: Senior Year chronicles the characters' final year of high school - a story line viewers have followed since HSM's first installment.

The College junior, who attended an evening showing on Friday, and College junior Dennie Zastrow, who attended the midnight showing at the Bridge on Thursday, said the theater was filled with college students rather than the assumed target audience: preteens.

And they definitely had a different experience than the target audience.

"We just thought it would be really fun to hang out, have a few drinks, sort of warm up," the College junior said. "We just got happy drunk, singing along."

"I think it's hilarious that a Disney movie that is [made] for little girls is a scene for college kids to get trashed at," Zastrow said.

So what - aside from Efron - drives college students to obsess over all things HSM?

One theory, according to Wharton senior Amarylis Marrero is that, "we bond over how corny we are."

Zastrow continued, "I think it has a lot to do with the fact that work right now is getting really serious, so its nice to kick back and watch something that's meant to be really goofy."

The first two movies were shown exclusively on the Disney Channel, but HSM3's jump to the big screen has paid off for Disney thus far. The movie made $42 million during its opening weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Not everyone has jumped on the HSM bandwagon, however.

"I have zero interest in seeing it" said College sophomore Mike Hiatt, adding "I've never seen any of them and based on what I've heard I don't understand what business anyone has watching it."

Engineering sophomore Karen Liao has seen the first installment, but agreed with Hiatt.

"Awful acting, didn't meet my expectations and the writing was really lame."

Liao did admit, however, she found Efron "cute."

High School mania also hasn't managed to translate well across the pond, either.

Currently studying at the University of St. Andrews, College junior Sarah Feldman caught an early screening of the movie on Wednesday night.

"None of the British or Scottish kids in my dorm has any interest in seeing the movie," Feldman wrote in an e-mail. "I do think HSM is definitely an American phenomenon."

"We've all been in high school, and even now . it's nice to remember how those things were, said Engineering senior Karen Ryal.

In other words, we're all in this together.

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