This past Friday, American High released their latest collaboration with Disney called “Prom Dates”, which follows best friends Jess and Hannah, who made a pact at 13 to have the perfect senior prom. Despite the impending changes that college will bring over the next four years, the two are committed to honouring their prom pact. However, with only 24 hours left before the big event, everything falls apart when they break up with each of their dates. Jess and Hannah are left with one night to find new dates and live out their middle-school fantasies.

If you’ve ever watched any of the other high school-themed movies from American High, like “Miguel Wants To Fight”, “The Binge” or “Sex Appeal”, then you should know roughly what to expect. But you’ve never seen them (and if you enjoy “Prom Date”, maybe give them a whirl), then the comedy style is a bit hit and miss. It’s a very modern comedy, aimed at high schoolers, etc, so there is bad language, along with references to sex, drinking and drugs, since they are teenagers, after all.

I’ve said multiple times before, the American obsession with High School Proms is something which I just don’t understand, since I’m British and these weren’t a thing when I was growing up. But as you might expect, this movie hits most of the cliques along the way.

There isn’t anything original about “Prom Dates” that hasn’t been done hundreds of times before, but this is for a new generation, and so has a more modern take on it. One of the main characters is trying to come to terms with letting her friends and family know how she really feels (though they predictably already know).

There are lots of typical high school movie moments in here, the party with the police raiding it, a boyfriend cheating to cause chaos on the night before the prom and ultimately, as you will no doubt predict a mile off, they eventually all have a lovely evening when they realise they don’t need anyone but each other to enjoy the Prom. But you probably worked that out within seconds of reading the description.

Another major problem I have, not just with “Prom Dates”, but with these types of films, is the age of the actors. Jess is played by Antonia Gentry, who is in her late twenties, and Julia Lester, who plays Hannah, is in her mid-twenties. And that’s not all, the boyfriend is played by Jordan Buhat from “Grown-ish”, who is in his thirties, but playing an eighteen-year-old and it just looks bad. Throw in expensive cars, big houses and not a hint of reality, and you’ve got your typical unrealistic situation for teenagers to aspire to.

“Prom Dates” is a by-the-numbers typical American high school movie. It does nothing original. It’s not that funny since the comedy aspect feels so bland compared to the high school-themed movies I’ve seen in the past. But, it’s also not terrible. It’s passable, but it does have a straight-to-video/streaming vibe because it simply isn’t anything above average.

Overall, this is a solid modern high school drama that shows off the basics of being a teenager, nothing of which is surprising or unexpected. If you enjoy high school romps, this might scratch that itch, and younger audiences, probably more than likely ones who still have their prom to come, will probably get a chuckle out of this and enjoy it.

Rating: 3 Out Of 5

“Prom Dates” is out now on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States and on Disney+ around the world.

Have you checked out “Prom Dates”? What did you think of it? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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