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Prom (2011)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc Released: 8/30/2011
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 8/26/2011
"Everything old is new again" is a saying which pertains to how fashion and fads go through trends, and the way that something which was in style years ago can suddenly become popular. This saying can also apply to the fact that those who are ignorant of history can be made to feel as if they are experiencing something new when it is actually old. (That made sense, right.) This happens all the time in entertainment. Movie studios and television networks will aim something at children, advertising it as fresh and original, which adults will gawk at how it is just like things which were made years ago. Is this practice wrong? Should young 'uns be allowed to enjoy the new thing in peace, or should they be educated on what has come before? These questions came to mind while watching Prom.
Prom is set in an average (if you say so) American high school and introduces us to several characters. Nova (Aimee Teegarden) is senior class president and in charger of the prom planning committee. She is a Type A perfectionist and she hopes that Brandon (Jonathan Keltz) will ask her the prom. Mei (Yin Chang) and Justin (Jared Kusnitz) have been a couple for years and had planned to go off to college together, but Mei has decided to go elsewhere. Lucas (Nolan Sotillo) is an up-and-coming lacrosse player who wants to take Simone (Danielle Campbell) to the prom, but she has her sights on someone else. Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) is desperate to have a date for the prom and asks every girl which he meets. Jesse (Thomas McDonell) is the school bad-boy who sees the prom as a conformist waste of time. As the story progresses, the paths of some of these characters will cross and they will all learn that while the prom is an important part of the high school experience, it's not all that it's cracked up to be.
Disney's goal/gamble with Prom is that it will only be viewed by a tween audience who has not only yet to ascend to high school, but who hasn't seen any classic high school movies. That way, no one will notice that the movie doesn't have anything original to say. Channeling 10 Things I Hate About You and
Can't Hardly Wait, while also paying homage to the great John Hughes films, the movie throws a lot of characters at us who are all stereotypes: the smart girl, the dumb stoner guy (although here, he's addicted to Rolo candy), the jock, the rebel, the baby-faced sophomore, the loser, etc. (The movie really takes liberties with 10 Things I Hate About You, as Jesse is just like Heath Ledger's character from that film.) Everyone here is just a cardboard cutout of a real person. Thus, the story is predictable as well. There are no surprises and, in true Disney fashion, everything is tied up nicely at the end.This would have been OK to ignore if the movie had anything else to offer. However, the movie is never funny, moving, or dramatic. It simply lays there, throwing character after character and storyline after storyline at us, hoping that something will stick, but nothing does. This is like the high school version of
Love Actually, but with all of the life sucked out of it. Given that this is a Disney film, one would expect the high school world to be very sanitized, but the movie wants to have a slight edge, so we get the sense that everything isn't peaches and cream in the upper grades. However, nothing really bad happens either.All of this may sound like the ramblings of an old man who is not the intended target for this movie, and it is. But, my daughter asked if she could help with this review, so here's the view of a true tween:
"Disney is known for creating these tween flicks that are enough to sate the hunger of younger kids (particularly girls), but, naturally, barely even consider tucking a few jokes in there to please the adults. Has Disney ever released a movie where the main character had more then one parent? Fortunately, with Prom the family issues are kept to a minimum, leaving plenty of room for high school romance.
First of all, I have to say that I find this high school universe to be highly sanitized and unrealistic. The worst profanity a character uses is "suck." From what I can collect, seniors do more than moon over the cute guys/girls and endure a myriad of dramas. And there are far too many characters (some of which are not very likable.) I simply disliked Nova: she was rather shallow, hollow, and the girl couldn't wear a high-cut shirt to save her life.
Before this sounds like I was in agony the entire time, let's look at the few positive attributes to the movie. There were a couple of seconds where I laughed, more of which within the subplot of one character attempting to ask another to the prom in a series of failed plans. The predictability was laughable, a good thing for my family, where we tend to poke fun at rather terrible movies to pass the time.
My younger sister enjoyed the film, but, of course, it doesn't take world-class cinema to impress her. This just goes to show that the movie is aimed towards kids her age, who will find the cheap jokes funny, the thin plot exciting, and the century-old romance entertaining."
Yikes! Out of the mouths of babes...
Disney has made a killing with its Disney channel TV shows which features middle-school tweens doing zany things, so it was only natural that they would try something similar on the big screen. And, it makes sense to set the story in high school in order to make it seem more mature and respectable. These best laid plans only give way to a stagnant film which made me want to stay home on prom night.
(And for the record, it's not "prom" it's "the prom". We're not in Britain, where they go to "hospital".)
Prom has one interesting moment involving a large rock on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. At one point, I turned to my wife and said, "Why does this awful movie have such an awesome transfer?" The sharpness and clarity found here was very impressive. There is no grain or noise to be seen, even in the brightest scenes, as there are no defects from the source material. The colors look great, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is excellent and the image has nice depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. First of all, the in-film music, most notably the music at the prom, sounds very good, as it offers nice bass response and fills the rear speakers. The stereo effects are good as well, and they are especially noticeable in the many school hallway scenes.
The Prom Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with four DELETED SCENES which run about 8 minutes, complete with Director Joe Nussbaum and Producer Justin Springer. With the introductions removed, these scenes are all quite brief and, as described the filmmakers, are unnecessary because the story points are explained elsewhere. "Last Chance Lloyd" (10 minutes) is a cross between deleted scenes and a movie-within-a-movie, as we get more scenes of Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) desperately trying to find a date for the prom. This is presented as a mini-movie, but it plays like a series of excised scenes. "Putting on Prom" (6 minutes) is a making-of featurette which offers comments from the filmmakers and the cast who discuss the story, characters, and the inter-action of the stories. There is a 3-minute reel of BLOOPERS. Finally, we have MUSIC VIDEOS for the following songs; "Not Your Birthday" by Allstar Weekend, "Your Surrender" by Neon Trees, "Time Stand" by Moon, "We Could by Anything" by Nolan Sotillo, "Juntos Lo Haremos Bien" by Nolan Sotillo, "I'll Be Yours" by Those Dancing Days, and "Come On, Let's Go" by Girl in a Coma.
Review Copyright 2011 by Mike Long