Prom
The new flick, “Prom,” proves that Disney only knows saccharine sweet. The film’s main function is to provide nostalgia for proms past and excitement for those looking ahead to proms to come. The cast is full of young, yet unrecognizable, actors who still scrounge up enough emotion to make the audience hope for a happy high school ending for each and all.
The movie stars Aimee Teegarden as Nova Prescott, the head of the prom committee with a long list of school achievements under her belt. She and her team work hard to produce the perfect prom theme-‘Starry Night’-when a fire destroys their hard work three weeks before the big dance and she has to start over from scratch. Unfortunately, her fellow prom decorators can’t commit to the extra time and she is forced to work with bad boy, Jesse (Thomas McDonnell), who only has a long list of trips to the principal’s office.
The movie’s male performances outshine the females in their stereotypically cast roles that almost every teenage movie has: rebel McDonnell along with Nolan Sotillo as sweet underclassman, Lucas and Nicholas Braun as adorable outcast, Lloyd all give the movie some of the heart it deserves. It chronicles high school life (with a shockingly low number of cell phone appearances) that only brushes the surface of the angst and agony, heartbreak and love that is often involved.
However, what the movie does do is reflect the typical varied reactions of teenagers who are obsessed with/couldn’t care less about prom and makes it relatable to the audience. The ideas the boys come up with to ask the girls to the big night are creative and fun. The relationships between the characters makes you wish they would (and almost expect them to) all group-hug at the end. One key thing missing is a sign of the times soundtrack, but the movie keeps at a good pace, not dragging out too long.
Despite its generic basis, “Prom” does still stir a feeling of anticipation and inspiration that’s felt anytime one part of story comes to an end and another one is set to begin, even if that climactic moment is only a dance.