Prom

A fun film for the tweens in your family and one that is surprisingly well delivered for the rest of us. 

The new tween comedy Prom has a lot going for it. In fact it is quite surprising, all things considered, how truly well rounded a film it is. With a basically newbie director, first time screenplay writer and a cast that is easily damp behind the ears; what comes out is a timeless film that has a way of taking you back to school regardless of how long you have been away. 

The premise is simple enough. A group of students get ready for their high school prom. All are in various degrees of nervousness. The guys are trying to decide who to ask while the girls are hoping to be asked. Even those couples who are an item still have issues to contend with. But no one is under the gun like Nova (Aimee Teegarden). Not only is she the most popular girl without a date but she has the daunting task of designing and creating the Prom experience for the entire class. When the principle punishes bad boy Jesse (Thomas McDonell) by making him assist Nova it sure doesn’t help her cause.  

What makes this movie so timeless and evokes the Hughes films of the 80’s is the fact that nothing has really changed. In all of our advancements in technology, media and social networking we still have not made it any easier for the male species to approach the female and ask her to a dance. The palms are still as clammy, the mouths desert dry, and the stomachs full of acrobatic butterflies. It is this relate-ability that causes Prom to hit home on some level for us all. It is almost therapeutic to watch others struggle as we once did. And what it offers to those still in the halls is the understanding that you are not in it alone. We have all been there and the generations to come will suffer the same ills. Prom is certainly a rite of passage.  

The lesser known cast do quite well in their roles. The characters are stereotypical but capture nicely the dynamic of High School. Cute is a word that would come to mind when describing the overall feel of the story. The three main couples focused upon balance each other. Each has a different problem to work through and the humor of one counters the drama of another; creating an enjoyable end result. Granted this film is made for and best suited for the 10-18 crowd but the parents who have to tag along will like it for the most part just as much.  

Rated PG for mild language and a brief fight it is content wise what you would find on your local Disney and ABC family channel. There is certainly nothing provocative or negatively influential. Sure it might cause your middle-schoolers a moment of panic as they envision the plight that awaits them in four years; but chalk it up to preventive wisdom. Some might even want to take notes of what to not do. I give it 3.75 out of 5 flower thingies. A fun film for the tweens in your family and one that is surprisingly well delivered for the rest of us.  

Matt Mungle 

Review copyright 2011 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission