That should make it easy to understand why I didn't want to go to my prom. I kind of regretted it on the Monday after prom because that's all anyone was talking about, but I know I made the right choice. It was prom or band banquet. Band banquet won with flying colors.
Anyhow . . . I'm not talking about the movie and seeing as this is a movie blog, I might want to do that.
Disney's Prom is about . . . well, prom. It explores every kind of stereotype about how teenagers deal with their prom. It has been accused of being High School Musical 3 without the dancing, but I don't think that's really the case, though both movies do have a prom in them. But if that's the standard, Prom is also 10 Things I Hate About You, She's All That, Pretty in Pink, and countless other films. So that claim is ridiculous.
Moving on . . .
In the film, there are two distinct views of prom.
For Nova, Prom is everything. In fact, Nova dedicates everything she has to create the perfect Starry Night prom for her fellow seniors after all the supplies and decorations are burned to the ground. It's all about a perfect, magical night to change everything. Personally, I feel like she's severely over-romanticizing prom. It's not a change everything night. Yes, it's a night that allows for some sort of connection between all the cliques; however, once school starts again on Monday, everything goes back to "normal." Nothing has changed. But, for some reason, however, Nova makes prom out to be the most significant moment in a person's life.
"High school -- It happens to everyone. And for four years, it has a way of dividing us: athletes, over-achievers, drama queens, jokers. But then, just before it ends and we're almost out the door, one night has a way of bringing us together: prom. It's the one night when no body cares who wore the varsity jacket and who got cut from the team. It's the night when you might find yourself singing at the top of your lungs with people you've never even spoken to. The night when that cute guy from math class might finally make his move. Prom's our night and each of us wants it to be unforgettable."
"Prom. A night when nice guys might not finish last. When friends might completely surprise you. And the person you were throughout high school could change in an instant. Maybe you find what you're looking for. Or maybe you just find yourself. It's true. One night can bring us all together. But it's more than that. 'Cause when it ends, it's really just the beginning."
These quotes ought to provide enough evidence to show what prom means to Nova as well as what she thinks it should be to everyone else. At least she's happy though. And if prom makes her that happy, then I say let her have it.
I, on the other hand, am more like Lloyd. He hates the idea of prom:
"The prom is like the Olympics of high school. You wait four years, three people have a good time and everybody else gets to live on with shattered dreams."
That about sums it up. Prom is pointless, especially for the "normal" students who aren't nominated for any award and do not have a date. His sister, however, tells him to try finding a date because it might make the idea of prom more enjoyable. I won't tell you how that turns out, but I will say that his attitude towards prom does not change much.
I may think prom is over-rated, but I can still appreciate, however, how many different challenges prom-goers have to go through before that special night.
1) The "IT" couple nominated for and expected to become Prom King and Queen. Their relationship, however, is far from being perfect. The King is a little too free with his affections which, in the end, will lose him two girls. And, instead of freaking out about the break-up, the Queen is as regal as her title implies she will be. She goes to prom alone with her head held high.
2) The couple expected to go to prom together can't because one of them has been accepted into a special program at the university he will attend in the fall, leaving his date to scramble trying to make her own night magical in a very short time period only to see that her date makes it to prom after all.
3) The couple in progress, though they are not expected to last. She is preppy, sweet, ambitious and loving prom. He is a fighter with more detentions than he can count who is forced to help set up prom. As you would expect, they begin to fall in love and become "star-crossed lovers" because they are from opposite sides of the track so to speak, just like Molly Ringwald Judd Nelson in Breakfast Club. There is even a Breakfast Club moment when they are chased through a rival school by a school security guard.
4) The desperate guy who goes through the list of every girl in school begging them to go to prom with him, but is turned down every time.
5) The crazy guy no one believes because he insists that he has a hot girlfriend from Canada who looks like a Victoria Secret model.
6) The guy who falls in love with a girl and sacrifices everything to be with her, including his best friend.
7) The girl who has a panic attack about her future and being away from her boyfriend and gets defensive and emotional about going to the prom to the point that she nearly loses her boyfriend over it, even though he did ask her to prom in the cutest way.
As you can see, every prom date issue, then, is clearly covered within this Valentine's Day-esque montage of characters that are linked despite their differences.
Overall, the movie is cute. A little cheesy, but still enjoyable if you don't mind Disney films because, let's face it, the live action ones are all fairly similar and if you enjoyed your own prom experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment