PROM

Prom, the movie, is sort of like prom, the event: more superficial spectacle than anything of substance. It's something a few folks will probably love a whole lot, while most everyone else will look back on it with a "meh."

Unfolding like a checklist of high-school movie clichés, the story revolves around the titular rite of passage and all the archetypal teenaged classmates eager (or reluctant) to get their party on. There's the good girl Nova (Aimee Teegarden), who's the head of the prom committee; long-haired bad boy Jesse (Thomas McDonell), who's hiding a good heart; sweet sophomore Lucas (Nolan Sotillo), who's carrying a torch for comely Simone (Danielle Campbell); popular jock Brandon (DeVaughn Nixon), who's cheating on girlfriend Jordan (Kylie Bunbury); goofy stoner Rolo (Joe Adler), who keeps talking about his girl up in Canada; long-together overachievers Mei and Justin (Yin Chang and Jared Kusnitz), whose romance is threatened by post-grad plans; and adorably geeky Lloyd (Nicholas Braun), who desperately tries to find himself a date for the big night and who bears more than a passing resemblance to John Cusack.

As these characters' lives criss-cross, pre-prom planning gets complicated. Attraction blossoms for some and fades for others, new friendships are made and old ones are tested. There's absolutely nothing surprising about anything that happens – is anyone anywhere surprised when the good girl starts to fall for the bad boy? – and the script feels very much like it was cobbled together as some sort of greatest-hits collection of material from teen movies of the past. Only... none of it is done particularly well and the movie seemed more like poorly cribbed notes than an homage.

The cast is a likable enough assortment of young actors, with Sotillo's smitten, baby-faced music lover and Braun's lanky nerd the standouts of the lot. McDonell is very obviously being groomed to be the next Robert Pattinson-esque heartthrob and he does make for a dreamy romantic lead. Too bad co-star Teegarden is so much less compelling onscreen.

And, for all its predictability, Prom is still sort of fun to watch in a kind of saccharine, G-rated sense. It was actually nice to see a family friendly movie about teenagers, where no one swears or smokes or does drugs or has sex. In that sense, it was a pleasant surprise and did remind me of the teen flicks of my youth. I just wish the filmmakers had infused it with a tiny bit more imagination.

BLU-RAY & DVD NOTES

Extras on the Prom DVD are a bit skimpy, with the requisite making-of featurette, and a blooper reel. But the Blu-Ray has those extras, plus a bunch of music videos by featured artists like Allstar Weekend and Nolan Sotillo (plus the option to download three videos), as well as deleted scenes, and an extra short featuring the character of cute, geeky Lloyd (Nicholas Braun) continuing to desperately try to ask girls out on a date.