Disney’s latest teen film is hitting DVD and Blu-ray today. “Prom” didn’t do too well at the box office, which isn’t surprising since it was a bit of a straying outside of the safety boundaries for the Mouse House. By no means would the material in the movie be considered questionable. It was just targeted to a much older demographic than even the “High School Musical” movies are.
“Prom” tells the story of “a group of teenagers [who] find their lives intersecting and their futures taking shape as they prepare for the most pivotal event of their high school careers. At first Nova Prescott is infuriated at a classmate who nearly destroys her plans for prom. But the closer the big day gets, the more she realizes that he may be the perfect date. Meanwhile, secretive seniors Tyler and Mei wrestle with the consciences over how to make the most of their big night as the rest of their classmates attempt to reconcile their explosive anticipation with their growing uncertainty over how the dance will ultimately pan out.”
Is “Prom” cheesy and at times hard to believe? Absolutely it is, but that shouldn’t be held against it. It’s a movie that is supposed to show teens that everyone can get along for at least ONE night. I do have to give it props for attempting to show that not everything always goes the way we think it’s going to.
If there’s one thing that “Prom” does have problems with, it’s staying consistent. It can’t decide if it wants to be a feel-good movie or a message movie. Sometimes a movie can be both (i.e. John Hughes movies) and work, but it just doesn’t with “Prom.” It makes it feel uneven.
All the actors in “Prom” take their roles seriously. I honestly can’t remember a bad performance in the whole film. They are all very sincere and put their hearts into each character they portray.
For those who immediately dismiss “Prom” as another version of “High School Musical,” you are very wrong. This movie has no musical numbers or kids running around dancing with each other. It’s a straight-shooting comedy drama about life in the last days of high school for a group of students. I think that’s part of the reason why the movie failed at the box office. In many ways, “Prom” reminds me of how Vanessa Hudgens’ “Bandslam” was reacted to when it came out.
I received the Blu-ray / DVD Combo of “Prom.” Disc one is the Blu-ray feature film and bonus materials. As usual, the Blu-ray disc has all the extras on it. They include an all-new short entitled “Last Chance Lloyd” that shows the hilarious ways Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) asks girls to Prom in his heroic quest for the perfect date… actually any date; bloopers; deleted scenes; “Putting on ‘Prom’: Making Of featurette; seven music videos from bands on the soundtrack; and more. Disc two is the standard DVD format that features the movie and a couple bonus features. They include the bloopers and the “Putting on ‘Prom’: Making Of featurette. You can buy the “prom” Blu-ray / DVD Combo right here. You can buy the regular format DVD version of “Prom” right here.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
‘Mars Needs Moms’ Blu-ray/DVD Movie Review
Disney’s 30th Anniversary Edition 2-Movie Collection of ‘The Fox and the Hound’ and ‘The Fox and the Hound II’ Blu-ray/DVD Review
Disney Theme Park Movies that Must Be Made