Review of Prom (2011) by Jesse C — 28 Apr 2011

VISO Rating: 60%.

VISO Snapshot: Oh Disney... If you like your high-school sex comedies without the sex and the comedy, well then you'll like PROM. We know, we know, this isn't supposed to be a teen-sex-comedy but instead a sweet look at innocen... sorry, we just threw up in our mouths a little.

Come on Disney, can't we try to be a little more realistic in our depiction of high-school life... these kids wouldn't be building up to their big kiss moment, they'd be doing their best American Pie race to lose their virginity (if they haven't already lost it during their high-school years).

That all being said, there's nothing horribly wrong about PROM, is just that there's nothing horribly right or new or worthwhile about it either. Does that mean it's worthless? For our demographic, yes, for the intended demo of females 10-16 probably not. So this is the part of the review where we try to step outside our own preferences and try to judge the film objectively.

The film plays out like every high-school romantic comedy of the last twenty years or so (even the soundtrack is remixed/covers of high-school movie classics... ie. Cranberries Dreams by Passion Pit) with a few distinct touches. The first hour is flat as can be... it's just dull. Then the couples' dramas starts to build...

The good girl and the bad boy are at odds over the worth of PROM (of course their head-butting turns to longing-glances and smoldering stares), the two long term relationships are cracking at the seams and then we have the other staples... the oddball, the best friends and the dudes too young for PROM, one of which longs to be with the only sophomore who got an invite. If any of that sounds good to you this may be one to watch... but we'll sit this dance out.

It's well shot and even pretty well acted (the two leads, Aimee Teegarden and Thomas McDonell, deliver the only characters and storyline really worth caring about and by the end we did... a little) BUT it still has the stink of unoriginality that begs the question, why bother? This is a PROM we'd choose not to attend (not that anyone asked us anyways).

Direction 11/20.

Writing 12/20.

Delivery 12/20.

Cast 13/20.

Visuals 12/20.

Official Synopsis: "At Prom, every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. Several intersecting stories unfold at one high school as the big dance approaches; Prom portrays the precarious passage from high school to independence as some relationships unravel and others ignite.

For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it's a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDonell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei (Yin Chang) and Tyler (De'Vaughn Nixon) harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school's most seminal events. There are hundreds of nights in high school, but there's only one Prom.".