PROM (2011)
Stars: Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell
Director: Joe Nussbaum
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Genre: Drama, Family
Rating: PG

Grade: C+

Prom is the new teen drama from Disney that pretty much bears its plot in the movie’s title.  I’m sure most of you can recall when you went to your senior prom.  I actually had trouble remembering some of mine, but that’s a different story.  Prom keeps it wholesome and innocent for the most part, which keeps with the Disney stamp of approval for families.  The film features Aimee Teegarden (“Friday Night Lights” TV Series, NBC) as Nova, an overachiever who is the President of pretty much all of her school’s clubs, including the prom committee.  Along with a few of her closest friends, Nova gets all of the prom decorations and props for their “starry night” theme ready to go.  However, when tragedy strikes and the decorations are ruined, she is forced to work with Jesse (played by Thomas McDonell), who is the school’s long-haired, motorcycle-ridin’ “bad boy.”  Nova and Jesse’s relationship, which begins as hatred and later graduates to a full-blown high-school romance, is the center storyline in Prom. 

However, the film also follows many other couples and their lives which revolve around going to (or not going to) their senior prom.  Prom is full of clichés and predictability.  There is nothing surprising that comes out of this movie.  The little charm that the movie does have comes mainly from its star Aimee Teegarden, as well as the nostalgia that a movie like this carries with it.  Other big-screen Disney projects such as the High School Musical films are good for what they are, but at the same time they have very little nostalgic appeal as I assume most people did not attend a high school with choreographed dancing students in the hallways.  Prom on the other hand does force you to recollect your high school years, and in particular your prom(s).  Now, of course a lot of people that will be drawn to this movie have not even experienced their own prom yet, so I am probably speaking from a completely alien perspective.  Aimee Teegarden is a true delight much like she was for five seasons on “Friday Night Lights.”  She has a natural beauty and fits the role of the high-school popular kid perfectly in Prom.  There were some scenes that were super-cheesy in the movie when it came to romance.  I was in disbelief at times at how over-the-top and outrageous they made certain romantic moments in the film.  From a parent’s perspective, there is nothing to worry about with Prom.  I would say that any kid over the age of ten would probably enjoy this movie, and aside from a little kissing here and there, there was nothing that would make us adults cringe at the thought of our own daughters going to their actual prom, which is a day that we both cherish and dread all at the same time.  If Prom had been a TV movie and aired on Disney Channel, I would have thought of that as a more appropriate outlet since most of the target audience for a movie like this is kids that are tuned in to the Disney Channel daily.  Prom felt a bit out of its league on the big screen.  In summary, I mildly enjoyed Prom mostly due to the pimple-popping memories that it induced, along with a charismatic Aimee Teegarden.  But, even still, the movie is just way too cheesy, cliché and predictable for me to really recommend it to anyone that does not have a “teen” on the end of their age.

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