A narrator offers these wise words: “High school, it happens to everyone.” Fortunately, Joe Nussbaum’s Prom doesn’t have to happen to everyone. When the Starry Night Prom set accidentally gets burned to a crisp, the school principal assigns badass Jesse Richter (Thomas McDonell) to help the ambitious Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden) rebuild it in three weeks. Romance ensues. Hormonal, prom-obsessed seniors conjure up romantic gestures no teen would likely have the patience to follow through with —invitations come in the form of sidewalk chalk drawings or body-painted bellies. Its earnestness, flatly delivered lines and Disney-fied lack of swearing, sex and booze can be counted among the film’s shortcomings. The bumbling nerd who can’t get a date is endearing, but this doesn’t make Prom the next Pretty in Pink.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.