Sharpays Fabulous Adventure

Plot

Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) performs a dance number at the Lava Springs Country Club ("Gonna Shine"). There she meets a famous producer and casting director Jerry Taylor (Pat Mastroianni) who offers her a chance to star in his newest show on Broadway. Sharpay convinces her father Vance (Robert Curtis Brown) to let her move to New York City on her own. He hesitantly accepts, but he has a condition; if the plan backfires and she isn't in a show by the end of the month, Sharpay is forced to move back with her parents and work at Lava Springs. In New York, Sharpay is kicked out of her penthouse because they don't allow dogs. While in despair, she meets Peyton Leverett (Austin Butler), an aspiring film director and son of Sharpay's mother's friend from college, who offers her a studio apartment if she will be the subject of his film project, to capture one unique New York story. Sharpay accepts but is disgusted to find out what it is. To make her feel better, Peyton takes her to the stage of a Broadway theatre, which inspires her to make the best of the situation. Together they explore New York City and go shopping to give her apartment the diva-pink style Sharpay is famous for.

The next day, Sharpay heads to her audition, only to discover that Jerry wanted to audition Boi for the part of the 'best friend' in his new musical, A Girl's Best Friend, about a girl and her dog. When she finds out they only want Boi, she becomes discouraged. However, with the help of Peyton, she auditions him ("My Boi And Me"), only to be caught in a tie with the very competitive child star Roger Elliston (Bradley Steven Perry) and his pedigree Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Countess ("My Girl And Me"). While the owners bicker, Boi and Countess immediately fall in love. Minutes later, Sharpay meets Broadway star Amber Lee Adams (Cameron Goodman), star of the show, who Sharpay admires. Leaving the theater, Sharpay is threatened by Roger that if she doesn't drop out, there will be serious consequences. Later, at her apartment, Sharpay and Peyton discuss their respective dreams and the various obstacles in their way. Sharpay notices that Boi starts behaving mysteriously when he is thinking about Countess, and decides that Boi hates Countess as much as she does.

Rehearsals begin the next morning, with the directors Gill Samms (Alec Mapa) and Neal Roberts (Jack Plotnick) using both dogs interchangeably. Roger and Sharpay attempt to sabotage each other's dog's scene time by distracting them with food, cats, and dog whistles. After rehearsals, Amber Lee catches the dogs alone and tells them that she's trying to get the writers to cut out the part of the best friend completely, allowing for more stardom for herself. Later on, Amber Lee fires her assistant over something petty and hires Sharpay, just to boss her around. Unknowingly, Sharpay is a maid to her and answers to her every need. Amber makes it appear that she is Sharpay's friend and that her being a servant would place Boi in the lead for getting the role.

While Roger and Sharpay fight over which dog gets the role at next rehearsal, Boi and Countess run away together, madly in love, and enjoy a jaunt around the city, even experiencing a carriage ride through central park ("Baby"). Sharpay and Roger panic, finally uniting to find the dogs. Peyton finds them and returns them to the two new friends. At the end of the day, Peyton begins to question Sharpay's motives for getting Boi in the production, and she drops out of his movie.

Sharpay later finds out that Amber Lee is really an egotistical diva who is rude to everyone on the production and plans to remove the dogs from the show to make the musical all about her. Heartbroken, Sharpay seeks the support of Peyton, and the two make up. The next day (the first day of previews), Sharpay and Roger concoct a plan to remove Amber from the show. Roger smears raw chicken all over her golden shoes and when Amber Lee wears them the dogs start to lick her shoes. Her plan seemingly works when Amber Lee throws a tantrum and shows her true colors to the audience, including her fan club. However, Amber Lee quits the production and Sharpay is fired. Just as it seems that the show is about to be canceled due to the loss of its star, Peyton shows his footage of Sharpay singing the show's emotional ballad ("New York's Best Kept Secret"). Impressed, the directors hire Sharpay as the lead in A Girl's Best Friend, however, Sharpay only accepts the role on the condition that Boi and Countess split the role of the best friend equally. The directors agree and the production is back on. Sharpay realizes what she's done and confides in Peyton her fears about being a star. Assuring her that she will be great, Peyton kisses her.

On opening night, paparazzi are everywhere, fans and stars alike flood the theatre to see the opening night of A Girl's Best Friend. Peyton, Sharpay's parents, and the world watch as Sharpay finally takes the stage in her Broadway debut ("The Rest Of My Life").

In a scene exclusive to television and Netflix showings, Sharpay's twin brother Ryan (Lucas Grabeel), on a break from his musical tour around the country, pays her a visit after she became a star on Broadway to congratulate her. While Boi escapes from Sharpay's apartment and she chases after him, Ryan relaxes on his sister's bed until it folds back into the closet, taking him with it.

Cast

Production

Tisdale is the executive producer of the film, along with Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush, who previously produced the first three High School Musical films. In making the announcement, Gary Marsh, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide, said: "In 'Sharpay,' Ashley Tisdale brought to life one of the most memorable comedic characters we've seen in years. This movie captures the absolutely perfect next chapter in Sharpay's life, as she tries to cultivate the humanity buried, deep, deep within her – a challenging and hilarious endeavor."

The film had Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure as a working title, before being renamed to High Stakes. According to DisneyChannelMediaNet.com, the film's title has been reverted to Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.

Casting

Former High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens expressed interest in making a cameo appearance in the film. On May 21, 2010, however, Tisdale told MTV that Hudgens would not appear in the film because she's "too busy promoting films and stuff" but announced there will be a special guest appearance. On June 8, Butler's involvement was announced, as well as Perry's. The name of the character played by Goodman, was never officially announced by Disney Channel, although several outlets listed the name as Lisa Lamore. During an interview on February 16, 2011, Goodman stated the name of the character she plays is Amber Lee Adams.

Filming

Principal photography began on May 25, 2010, in Toronto, Canada, and wrapped on July 6, 2010.

Release

The trailer was released in November 2010, and has since been shown on Disney Channel.

Reception

The film has met with mixed reviews from critics. Brian Orndorf stated "Though frivolous, Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure is an enjoyable romp with everyone's favorite pampered princess, delivering limited antics with a great deal of charisma." David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews called it "...bland and surprisingly low-rent..." James Plath said "Though Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure doesn't have the same verve or originality of the 'HSM' movies, it's still solid-pink entertainment that should delight the target audience of mostly pre-teen and early teenage girls (and boys who like Tisdale but would never, in a million years, admit it)."

The movie received 4.9 million viewers on its premiere on Disney Channel on May 22, 2011.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 19, 2011 in three different format packages: a stand-alone DVD, a 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray combo pack, and a limited edition set which includes the film in DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download, as well as a pink clutch purse. The Blu-ray Disc includes bloopers and two featurettes: "Evolution of Sharpay" and "Austin Cam: Austin Butler Student Film". It sold 234,000 copies on its first week, debuting at number nine on the DVD sales chart. After six weeks of release, it had sold over 400,000 copies and made over $7 million in sales.

Soundtrack

On May 22, 2010, Tisdale confirmed she was recording music for the film. Deadline also reported four original songs are going to be featured in the film. Songwriter Amy Powers stated on her official website that Tisdale had recorded the songs "My Boi and Me" and "The Rest of My Life" (both were co-written with Matthew Tishler) for the film. In a press release by Disney Channel, "I'm Gonna Shine" (written by Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn) and "New York's Best Kept Secret" (written by David Lawrence and Faye Greenberg) were confirmed as the other two original songs to be featured in the film.