In suburban Pennsylvania, the Freddys are the high school equivalent of the Tony Awards, a phenomenon detailed in the documentary "Most Valuable Players," wherein a high school soccer star wins the title role in a production of "Bye Bye Birdie" and ends up beating out students from several other high schools to win a "Freddy" for best performance in a lead role.
Televised in Pennsylvania each year (with production numbers nearly as slick its Broadway counterpart, complemented by killer teenage voices), the annual awards ceremony is perhaps just another example of the "Glee"-ification of pop culture, following the path paved by Disney's "High School Musical.
Filmed over the course of the 2008 school year, the doc — which screens Saturday as part of Facets' 27th Annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival — follows three Pennsylvania high schools as they make their way to the Freddys
One school produces the aforementioned "Bye Bye Birdie"; the other two (rivals, naturally) both go with "Les Miserables," which leads to some snarky commentary from faculty members who are careful to couch their words in thinly veiled politesse. In the world of high school musicals (where budgets can run as high as $20,000) the stakes are very, very high.
The fest (which runs this weekend through Oct. 31) recommends "Most Valuable Players" for moviegoers ages 12-15, but it is precisely the kind of movie that will appeal to parents.