Prom

At an all-American high school, a mixed bag of seniors (and a sprinkling of sophomores) looks forward to the prom, wondering who will ask whom, or whether they’ll have to go stag—and, at one point, if the prom will even have to be called off. Gee whillikers, what a novel plot! Why hasn’t anyone thought of it before? Katie Wech’s script gives a Grand Hotel-style update to the Andy Hardy pictures of the ’30s, predictably sweet and sweetly predictable. The cast is composed of hungry young newcomers eager to make an impression, led by Aimee Teegarden as the (sort of) campus queen and Thomas McDonell as the school (sort of) bad boy. Like any nice prom, everybody behaves themselves and it’s a good wholesome night out for teenagers, but how did this trifling movie escape from the Disney Channel into theaters?