By Oh my gosh, when I heard Disney was making a prom movie, I was like, sooo excited. That girl Aimee something from Friday Night Lights was in it, and she is soo cute 🙂 The movie is about this girl Nova who is getting ready for prom, but then the shed where they keep the decorations burns down in a fire, and everything is ruined. Also, this guy that Nova expects to ask her to prom totally can’t take a hint and doesn’t really ask her until later. Super sad. Then, when everyone bails on her when she needs them to help her rebuild the decorations, the principal pairs her up with this really cute guy who is totally a bad boy. We know ’cause his hair is long, he is super cute, and he rides a motorcycle. My older brother Sam says he is kind of a stereotype, but whatever, I like his long hair. These girls in the rows behind me made these noises when he shows up, and I’m like “I know, right?” Anyway, back to the movie.
I thought that all of the characters in the film were really cool. There were these two underclassmen that totally love music and one of them develops a crush on this cute girl, but it turns out she is kinda into the lacrosse captain. Spoilers, whoops! The captain is totally awful though, because he already has a girlfriend, he just wants another one. My bro says those characters were way too smart for their age and their knowledge of music is nearly encyclopedic, but I told him they were funny and he agreed. He also kept saying that the director keeps breaking the 180 rule, whatever that is. He’s kinda nerdy that way.
There was this super romantic scene where this guy brings his girlfriend to the empty auditorium, and he reveals these big letters on stage that spell prom and each one meant something, and she was super happy. Later she has to tell him that she might not be going to the same college as him, but he is okay with that b/c he is supportive, and that was totally sweet of him. My brother says this relationship was more interesting and carried the emotional core, and I thought the same, I think.
I thought all of the acting was really good, it was much better than the Disney shows, and all of the characters were fun. There was this one guy who wanted to ask out all these different girls, but he either made a mistake, or they didn’t notice, or they already had dates. If he went to the high school I’m going to next year, I would totally let him take me, ’cause he was super nice, and its really cool if freshman get invited to prom.
There weren’t really any bad guys in the film, but I guess I was happy ’cause everything kinda turned out fine. My brother says low-stakes plot conflicts make for unsatisfying second acts, but I have no idea what that means. He also said that everything was super predictable, and I guess I knew that everything was going to work out, but I still enjoyed watching the movie. The prom dresses were really pretty and everyone had a great time, so I give it two high-fives. Actually, I hear no one does that any more. Maybe two emoticons, the good ones. I expected a movie about a cool prom, and even after the old prom decorations were destroyed and everyone bailed on Nova, she managed to throw an awesome prom. And the bad boy ended up really caring for her, because she worked so hard and he wanted to graduate and feel good about leaving high school.
If this were out of ten, I would give it like a seven point half, it was pretty good, and all the acting was fun. I probably wouldn’t have changed much, I liked the characters and the ending was sweet.
-Samantha Membrino
What can one reasonably expect from a PG-rated Disney movie? A picture-perfect ending? Check. A distinct lack of antagonists? Check. Reasonably well-established supporting characters and a no-risk story arc? Check and check. As a movie, this fare will be eaten up by the middle and early high schoolers that aren’t quite ready for prom itself. Discerning viewers, however, will notice the distinct polish of the school’s setting, as if in this tiny town that still has a diner that serves milkshakes (really? who does that?) real problems don’t exist. The violence is bloodless, the romance is sexless, and the upperclassmen parties still revolve around the grill and not the keg. Superbad this is not. It’s tough to rip a film that sets the stakes so low, because it’s all but a guarantee that everything will turn out well. Unlike the Pixar films us grownups have come to cherish, there isn’t really anything here for the parents. The adults can, however, take solace in knowing their sons and daughters of almost any age won’t be inundated with any negative messages. Except that the one black guy in the film is kind of a philandering sleazebag liar. But let’s just say its ’cause he nailed the audition.
-Samuel Membrino