By: Angela McLean
[(L-R) Janelle Ortiz, Aimee Teegarden, Yin Chang Ph: Richard Foreman Jr., SMPSP ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.]
PROM, Disney’s newest release, tells the story of Brookside’s senior class as they prepare for prom. It’s a movie for the tweenagers looking forward to their high school experiences; a movie for teenagers about to attend their prom; and for those who have already experienced their prom, the movie is a trip down memory lane.
It’s a night full of dancing, dress-up, and fun. It’s an event every high school student looks forward to – prom. For the kids at Brookside High, their prom, themed as “A Starry Night”, is like the ‘olympics of high school’. As the big night approaches, a disaster happens and prom committee leader Nova (Aimee Teegarden) finds herself in a mad rush to get things back on track. Seeing as her fellow committee members are unavailable and she needs all the help she can get, Principal Dunnan pairs up bad boy Jesse (Thomas McDonell) with Nova to get things done. Nova can’t see how Jesse will be of any help, but of course, he surprises her and, no big spoiler here, they fall for each other. (Note that Jesse is Johnny Depp’s doppelganger – how do you spell CUTE!)
[Thomas McDonell Ph: Richard Foreman Jr. SMPSP ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.]
Prom is about coming together and about young love but for many of the characters, Prom night is proving to be about much more – we got DRAMA! There’s the jock with the big ego Tyler and his long-time girlfriend Jordan – but Tyler’s got his eye on someone else. There’s teenage sweethearts Mei and Justin – Mei is unsure if she wants to go to her dream school Parsons or to University of Michigan with Justin. There’s Rolo, whose ‘Greek Canadian girlfriend’ Athena seems suspiciously fake. And then there’s poor Lloyd (Nicholas Braun), who is having trouble getting a girl to even notice him, let alone accept his prom invitation. What will happen come prom night?
The music in the film is fabulous and makes you want to get up out of your seat and party! The songs, which are all featured on the film’s soundtrack CD, include Allstar Weekend’s “Not Your Birthday” and Moon’s “Time Stand”! Fun fact: Thomas McDonell, who plays Jesse, is the lead singer of Moon.
Okay, so maybe the plot is cliché and predictable and maybe the characters lack depth, but PROM still delivers a few surprises and ends up being cute and fun.
Grab a girl, grab a guy, its prom night!
Rating: 3.5/5