PROMRating: PG for mild language and a brief fight.Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes.
It’s not just prom, it’s Disney’s “Prom.” And so no one smokes, no one sneaks in peach schnapps in a flask and no one – that’s right, no one – gets lucky in the back of a limo.
This is all about that magical night when everyone gets together, regardless of the social hierarchy that had been firmly in place for the past four years, and dreams come true. Wholesome, earnest dreams for wholesome, earnest kids – except for the resident bad boy, that is. But naturally, he’ll turn out to have a heart of gold.
Yes, director Joe Nussbaum’s film, from a script by first-timer Katie Wech, is chock full of high-school movie clichés – sometimes knowingly and amusingly so. There’s a tall, misfit character named Lloyd (Nicholas Braun), who resembles “Say Anything”-era John Cusack – a tall, misfit character named Lloyd. His awkward attempts at landing a prom date represent the film’s most consistent source of laughs.
Of course, straight-arrow good girl Nova (Aimee Teegarden) will get stuck working with motorcycle-riding rebel Jesse (Thomas McDonell), and they will see through their respective prejudices to not only get along but fall for each other. Various other couples will suffer through missed opportunities and miscommunication and come out better for them in the end.