''Prom'' is a 2011 American
teen
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by
Joe Nussbaum
Joseph Nussbaum (born January 10, 1973) is an American film director and screenwriter. Nussbaum got his break into the film industry by passing around Hollywood offices his short film ''George Lucas in Love''. The success of the film eventually ...
written by Katie Wech and produced by
Ted Griffin
Ted Griffin (born December 21, 1970) is an American screenwriter whose credits include '' Ravenous'', ''Matchstick Men'', and ''Ocean's Eleven''.
Born in Pasadena, California, Griffin graduated from Colgate University in 1993. He was schedule ...
and Justin Springer. It was released on April 29, 2011, by
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
. The film was the first major production that was filmed with
Arri Alexa
The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arr ...
cameras to be released in theatres.
Plot
Nova Prescott (
Aimee Teegarden
Aimee Teegarden (born October 10, 1989) is an American actress, model, and producer. She starred as Julie Taylor in the NBC drama ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). In 2014, Teegarden starred as Emery Whitehil ...
) is on the prom committee with her friends Mei Kwan (Yin Chang), Ali Gomez (Janelle Ortiz), Brandon Roberts (
Jonathan Keltz
Jonathan Lippert Keltz (born January 17, 1988) is an American actor known for his role as Jake Steinberg in the HBO series ''Entourage'', and his work in the films ''Prom'' (2011) and '' 21 & Over'' (2013). He starred as Leith Bayard in The CW' ...
) and Rolo Banus (
Joe Adler
Joe Adler (born March 29, 1993) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Zart in ''The Maze Runner'' and Jason Wylie in ''The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, ...
). Nova hopes Brandon, whom she has a crush on, will ask her to go to the prom. Lloyd Taylor (
Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Joseph Braun (born May 1, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Hirsch in the HBO series ''Succession'' (2018–present), for which he has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...
) complains to his stepsister Tess Torres (
Raini Rodriguez
Raini-Alena Rodriguez (born July 1, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Trish in the Disney Channel original series '' Austin & Ally'', Maya Blart in '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' (2009) and '' Paul Blart: Mall ...
) that he has no date. Mei discovers that she has been accepted at a different university than her boyfriend Justin Wexler (
Jared Kusnitz
Jared Andrew Kusnitz (born November 8, 1988) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Doll Graveyard'' (2005), ''Dance of the Dead (2008 film), Dance of the Dead'' (2008), and ''Prom (film), Prom'' (2011), and television series such as ...
) and worries about telling him as prom approaches. Lucas Arnaz (
Nolan Sotillo
Nolan Andres Sotillo (born October 2, 1994) is an American Entertainer with versatile talent who has found success on stage and screen. After discovering his love for entertaining during his childhood in West Palm Beach, FL, Sotillo tested out of ...
) is in love with his lab partner Simone (
Danielle Campbell
Danielle Marie Campbell (born January 30, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Jessica Olson in the 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie '' Starstruck'', Simone Daniels in the 2011 Disney film ''Prom'', Davina Clair ...
) and turns to his friend Corey Doyle (
Cameron Monaghan
Cameron Riley Monaghan (born ) is an American actor and model. He is known for his role as Ian Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' and as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who serve as origins for the Joker, on th ...
) to help him ask her to the prom. The only one who does not care about the prom is Jesse Richter (
Thomas McDonell
Thomas Hunter Campbell McDonell (born May 2, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Finn Collins on the CW post-apocalyptic series ''The 100''.
Early life
McDonell was born and raised in Manhattan, New York, and attended boar ...
). He works at a local market, stocking shelves; plays truant, rides his motorcycle across the schoolyard, and behaves inappropriately. Principal Dunnan (
Jere Burns
Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...
) tries to talk but does not get through to him.
Meanwhile, Jordan Lundley (
Kylie Bunbury
Kylie Bunbury (born January 30, 1989) is a Canadian-American actress.
Life
Bunbury was born in Montreal, Canada, to Kristi Novak and Alex Bunbury, a soccer player. Her father is Guyanese-Canadian. She spent her childhood in England (for two yea ...
) finds an earring in her boyfriend's car, Tyler Barso (
DeVaughn Nixon
DeVaughn Walter Nixon (born July 8, 1983) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Bodyguard'', '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', and '' Sugar Hill'', and television series such as '' Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,'' ...
) but he assures her that he's not cheating. To show his love, he takes her on a date in the shed where the prom decorations were stored; Tyler forgot to extinguish one candle before they left, and the shed and everything in it was burned down. With only 3 weeks left, Nova is left to manufacture replacement props alone. The principal, annoyed at Jesse's lack of respect, gives him a choice: either he helps Nova with the rebuild, or he can't graduate. Jesse accepts reluctantly, as does Nova; and realize they need each other's cooperation. While Brandon disappoints Nova by not asking her to the prom, she and Jesse grow closer, despite the fact that he finds the idea of prom ridiculous. When Nova discovers that the prom theme of the neighboring school is the same as theirs, Jesse decides to sneak into their school to check it out. However, the security guard notices them, and the police catch them after they escape. The police call Nova's parents, and when Nova's father arrives, he snaps at Jesse.
Meanwhile, Lloyd still cannot find a date and becomes frustrated. Lucas asks Simone to a barbecue hosted by his friend Tyler. Tyler tries to talk and flirt with her, but she rejects him, because he is dating Jordan. Meanwhile, the stress in Mei and Justin's relationship reaches its breaking point, and Mei cancels on Justin for fear of telling him about her acceptance. At school, Lucas blows off Corey to spend more time with Simone and invites her to study for the upcoming test with him. However, en route to the library, Simone is stopped by Tyler, who convinces her to talk with him about his feelings. Jordan sees the two talking and immediately realizes the situation. After school, Nova apologizes to Jesse for her father’s behavior. Later, she brings him along as she goes dress shopping, for a second opinion. Back at school, Simone apologizes to Lucas for having ditched him. She has a surprise, tickets to a concert, where Stick Hippo (his and Corey's favorite band) is opening. Lucas wants to take Simone instead of Corey, much to his dismay. Jordan dumps Tyler for his unfaithfulness and decides to go to prom alone. This prompts him to ask Simone to prom, which is the same night as the concert, and she agrees. Simone tells Lucas that she cannot attend the concert.
Mei apologizes to Justin and tells him the truth, but instead of feeling hurt, he tells her he is proud of her, and agree to attend prom together. As Lloyd gets rejected by another girl, he spots Lucas sitting outside the school, looking dejected. He learns of his situation and tells Lucas his own problem. Two nights before the prom, Nova, Ali, and Mei are in Nova's room, chatting. Nova confesses to them that she has feelings for Jesse, which her father overhears. The next day, Nova's father tells Jesse he cannot ask Nova to prom, because he is "bringing her down". That afternoon, Jesse is unusually hostile towards Nova and deserts her. On prom night, Lucas climbs a tree to reach Simone's window. He tells her how he feels and begs her not to go to prom, but she does anyway. Disappointed, Lucas realizes what a bad friend he has been to Corey and offers him the other concert ticket.
At her house, Nova is heartbroken. Her father explains that he was the one who told Jesse not to ask her to prom. Angered, Nova storms out of the house. Meanwhile, at Lloyd's house, it is revealed that he is taking his sister to prom. At Jesse's house, his mother has a talk with him, and he realizes that he should still take Nova to prom. At the school, Tyler leads Simone into the building, and almost immediately abandons her. Simone finds out that it was actually Jordan who dumped Tyler, and Tyler had gone to her with no other option. As Tyler and Jordan are pronounced prom king and queen, Jordan refuses to participate in the king-and-queen dance. When Tyler asks Simone to dance, she refuses and leaves. She goes outside to wait for Lucas, and they share a dance. Nova is having a bad time, and when Ali tells her the fountain centerpiece has failed, she cannot take it anymore. As she is about to leave, she hears the fountain start again, and knows the only person who could have fixed it was Jesse. He walks up to her and asks her to prom. She agrees, and they dance followed by a kiss.
Cast
*
Aimee Teegarden
Aimee Teegarden (born October 10, 1989) is an American actress, model, and producer. She starred as Julie Taylor in the NBC drama ''Friday Night Lights (TV series), Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). In 2014, Teegarden starred as Emery Whitehil ...
as Nova Prescott, the class president who is determined to host a great prom.
*
Thomas McDonell
Thomas Hunter Campbell McDonell (born May 2, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Finn Collins on the CW post-apocalyptic series ''The 100''.
Early life
McDonell was born and raised in Manhattan, New York, and attended boar ...
as Jesse Richter, the school bad boy.
*
Cameron Monaghan
Cameron Riley Monaghan (born ) is an American actor and model. He is known for his role as Ian Gallagher on the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Shameless'' and as twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, who serve as origins for the Joker, on th ...
as Corey Doyle, Lucas' best friend.
* Yin Chang as Mei Kwan, Nova's super smart friend who is dating Justin.
* Janelle Ortiz as Ali Gomez, Nova's other friend
*
Nolan Sotillo
Nolan Andres Sotillo (born October 2, 1994) is an American Entertainer with versatile talent who has found success on stage and screen. After discovering his love for entertaining during his childhood in West Palm Beach, FL, Sotillo tested out of ...
as Lucas Arnaz, Corey's shy music loving best friend who harbors a deep crush on Simone.
*
Danielle Campbell
Danielle Marie Campbell (born January 30, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Jessica Olson in the 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie '' Starstruck'', Simone Daniels in the 2011 Disney film ''Prom'', Davina Clair ...
as Simone Daniels, plays guitar and piano and is Lucas' lab partner and his prom date.
*
Kylie Bunbury
Kylie Bunbury (born January 30, 1989) is a Canadian-American actress.
Life
Bunbury was born in Montreal, Canada, to Kristi Novak and Alex Bunbury, a soccer player. Her father is Guyanese-Canadian. She spent her childhood in England (for two yea ...
as Jordan Lundley, Tyler Barso's girlfriend who is extremely popular
*
DeVaughn Nixon
DeVaughn Walter Nixon (born July 8, 1983) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Bodyguard'', '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', and '' Sugar Hill'', and television series such as '' Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,'' ...
as Tyler Barso, Jordan's lacrosse-playing, self-absorbed boyfriend.
*
Jared Kusnitz
Jared Andrew Kusnitz (born November 8, 1988) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Doll Graveyard'' (2005), ''Dance of the Dead (2008 film), Dance of the Dead'' (2008), and ''Prom (film), Prom'' (2011), and television series such as ...
as Justin Wexler, Mei's steady, easy-going boyfriend.
*
Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Joseph Braun (born May 1, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Hirsch in the HBO series ''Succession'' (2018–present), for which he has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...
as Lloyd Taylor, the shy, "invisible" kid at school who has trouble getting a date to prom
*
Joe Adler
Joe Adler (born March 29, 1993) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Zart in ''The Maze Runner'' and Jason Wylie in ''The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, ...
as Robert 'Rolo' Banus, Nova's absent-minded friend
*
Jonathan Keltz
Jonathan Lippert Keltz (born January 17, 1988) is an American actor known for his role as Jake Steinberg in the HBO series ''Entourage'', and his work in the films ''Prom'' (2011) and '' 21 & Over'' (2013). He starred as Leith Bayard in The CW' ...
as Brandon, Nova's crush
*
Christine Elise McCarthy
Christine Elise McCarthy, professionally known as Christine Elise, is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Emily Valentine in ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' and ''BH90210'' and Kyle in the ''Child's Play'' fra ...
as Sandra Linsey
*
Raini Rodriguez
Raini-Alena Rodriguez (born July 1, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Trish in the Disney Channel original series '' Austin & Ally'', Maya Blart in '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' (2009) and '' Paul Blart: Mall ...
as Tess, Lloyd's stepsister who tries to help her stepbrother in his hour of need.
* Aimee-Lynn Chadwick as Rachel, a goth girl.
*
Dean Norris
Dean Joseph Norris (born April 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for playing DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2020). He also portrayed town councilm ...
as Frank Prescott, Nova's over-protective father.
*
Faith Ford
Faith Alexis Ford (born September 14, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Corky Sherwood on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'', for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and as Hope Shanowski on the A ...
as Kitty Prescott
*
Robbie Tucker
Robbie Tucker (born April 5, 2001) is an American actor. His best known role to date is that of Fenmore Baldwin on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Tucker has also starred on other series, such as ''Criminal Minds'', ''FlashForw ...
as Charlie Richter, Jesse's little brother
*
Jere Burns
Jere Eugene Burns II (; born October 15, 1954) is an American actor who has appeared in theatre productions and on television. He played the roles of ladies' man Kirk Morris on the television series '' Dear John'', DIA psychiatrist Anson Fullert ...
as Principal Dunnan
*
Allie Trimm
Alexandria "Allie" Trimm (born October 27, 1994) is an American singer and actress, active on Broadway, in regional theater and on television. She began performing in professional theatre in her native San Diego, California at age nine.
Trimm mad ...
as Betsy
*
Amy Pietz
Amy Pietz (born March 6, 1969) is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for her role as Annie Spadaro in the ...
as Mrs. Doyle
* Carlease Burke as Rhoda Wainwright
*
Blair Fowler as Leah
* Madison Riley as Kristen
* Rocco Nugent as Anton
* Ivy Malone as Alice
* Chloe Little as Janel Lundley
*
Kofi Siriboe
Nana-Kofi Siriboe (born March 2, 1994) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his role as Ralph Angel Bordelon on the television series ''Queen Sugar'' (2016–present). He has also appeared in films such as ''The Longshots'' (2008) ...
as Max
* Kristopher Higgins as Derek
Production
While ''Prom'' is set in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, filming took place in Los Angeles, California.
Reception
Box office
In its opening weekend the film grossed $4.7 million in 2,730 theaters, ranking fifth. By the end of its run, ''Prom'' grossed $10.1 million domestically.
Critical reception
Review aggregate
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports that 36% of 89 critics recommended the film, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Given its flatly descriptive title and live-action Disney pedigree, ''Prom'' is more nuanced and less cynical -- but also just as corny and clichéd -- as you might expect."
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
''Salon'' film critic Andre O'Heir gave the film a negative review, calling it "a would-be tween-oriented hit so scrubbed and sanitized and not worthy of paying attention to that it can barely be said to exist at all".
[O'Heir, Andrew (April 28, 2011]
"Prom" and the bland, creeping evil of girl culture
''Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
'' Another film critic, Claudia Puig of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', notes that ''Prom''s "entertainment quotient comes up deficient".
Conversely, ''Boxoffice Magazine'' film critic Pete Hammond offers a more positive review of the film, calling it a "highly entertaining original movie that's funny, touching, and real", while mixed reviewers note that it is a "predictable but painless pastiche of high school drama cliches that will give its intended tween audience a lot to squeal about."
Home media
The film was released by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
on
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
, DVD, and movie download on August 30, 2011.
The release included the "Bloopers" and "Putting on ''Prom''" extras, while the Blu-ray Disc combo pack included a bonus short called "Last Chance Lloyd" (directed by Taz Goldstein) that expands on Lloyd's search for a prom date as well as four deleted scenes, and seven music videos.
The film's download version included the "Bloopers" and "Putting on ''Prom''" extras as well as three music videos by
Allstar Weekend
Allstar Weekend was an American pop rock band based in Poway, California. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel television network. The band consisted of lead singer Zachary "Zach" Porter, bassist Cameron Quiseng, drummer Micha ...
,
Neon Trees
Neon Trees is an American rock band from Provo, Utah. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records. Their fi ...
, and Moon.
Soundtrack
Pop band
Allstar Weekend
Allstar Weekend was an American pop rock band based in Poway, California. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel television network. The band consisted of lead singer Zachary "Zach" Porter, bassist Cameron Quiseng, drummer Micha ...
's song "Not Your Birthday" was used to promote the film. It was later included in
iPhone/
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
app ''
Tap Tap Revenge 4
''Tap Tap Revenge'', also known as ''Tap Tap Revenge Classic'' was a music game created by Nate True, and developed and published by Tapulous for iOS in July 2008. It is the first game in Tapulous' ''Tap Tap'' series. Development for the game ...
'' as a free soundtrack song. Additionally,
Example
Example may refer to:
* '' exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example"
* .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet
** example.com, example.net, example.org, ex ...
's "
Kickstarts" was used in the trailer and
Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
's "
Firework
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...
" was used in the trailer of the film and during the actual prom scene of the film. The soundtrack was released under Disney's
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...
label, three days before the film's premiere date.
Award
Young Artist Awards
, -
, style="text-align:center;" rowspan="1", 2012
, rowspan="1", Robbie Tucker
, Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Ten and Under
,
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prom (film)
2011 films
2011 romantic comedy-drama films
2011 soundtrack albums
2010s teen comedy-drama films
2010s teen romance films
American high school films
American romantic comedy-drama films
American screwball comedy films
American teen comedy-drama films
American teen romance films
Films about proms
Films directed by Joe Nussbaum
Films scored by Deborah Lurie
Films set in Michigan
Films shot in Los Angeles
Hollywood Records soundtracks
Walt Disney Pictures films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films