So I'm sure a lot of people saw this from the trailer, but Prom is a classic Disney spin on a very big moment in a teenager's life. Yes this movie is a preteen/early teen's dream about the life and drama involved in asking someone out for prom and the plans that go in it.
To star off on this review Prom centers on about five different scenarios all wrapped up into one movie. The scenarios are a romance story between the class president and a ruffian, another love story between a dweeb and a beautiful sophomore, a small side story about a guy trying to get someone to come to a prom, another story of deceit and betrayal, and finally a story about an ideal relationship hitting a rocky course. I know sounds like a soap opera doesn't it, and in fact I would call this movie a teenage soap opera. The story lines in my opinion were predictable, very linear, and felt similar to a plot found in most Glee episodes. The dialog in this movie was not strong enough to keep the story interesting as well, as it was more juvenile and not really deep. However, from the trailers this is what I was expecting would be the case and thus am not too shocked by it.
Despite the poor main story line and the intense drama from others I enjoyed the brief interludes present throughout the movie that involved the unknown loser Lloyd and his quest to ask a girl out. These funny, although weak, scenes gave the film a little more pace and took away from the drawn out drama. The other story was the sophomore geek Lucas and his quest to impress the lovely Simone while ditching his best friend. This story was also weak and predictable, but the acting was done well enough that I was dragged into feeling sorry for him. In fact I could even see some qualities of myself in Lucas, which is probably why I was interested in this story.
So what else is there to say about this movie? Well the acting is not bad, and although young, these actors are already showing potential for being good actors. However, most audience members may be caught up in the dramatic actions these teens do in the movie. However, I believe the teenage girls will be focused more on the sulky, pouty, and rebel nature of the main dude and will be making various sounds that represent their attraction to the man. At least that was what I saw when I saw this movie. Another thing is that the soundtrack is very mainstream radio with songs from All Star Weekend, Taio Cruz, and yes even Katy Perry being played throughout the movie. It adds zest to the film and makes one feel like they are in prom, but if you're not a fan of mainstream radio then you will not enjoy it. The camera work is nice too, and the setting does actually feel like a high school setting so that's another thing I find positive. However this movie was also like being in high school musical, except get rid of the singing and dancing and instead replace it with Twilight qualities.
To wrap this up, Prom is a movie that will make teenage girls go gaga and laugh at almost every scene. If they are not laughing, then there is a good chance that they will be swooning over the guy leads in this movie or awing at the cuteness this movie does have. As I have mentioned before the dialog is weak, the story is predictable, and the pace can be a little slow and boring at times. However, it is a cute, high school soap opera that will entertain those that like to see happy endings and smiles. This is also a movie that could be good for a date as well. Regardless looking at this movie for what it is I will give it a 7, but that's being a little generous. Until then enjoy and please email me if you have any ideas to improve my writing at rgkarim@mail.roanoke.edu
