By Liz Ciocher
Staff Writer
Since the launch of Disney+, the streaming service has been producing original content very similar to the beloved Disney Channel Original Movies. Their latest release, “Prom Pact,” has a familiar feel to the original’s I grew up loving, which was something I could really appreciate.
Unfortunately, I think the creators of this movie knew of the example the Disney Channel Originals have set for them — they were trying much too hard to accomplish the same magic. A lot of the jokes didn’t land, and there were too many attempts of using today’s lingo that just didn’t sound natural.
The plot follows a group of high school seniors in their final semester before graduation, taking on the common conflict of selecting a college. The movie’s protagonist, high school outcast Mandy, has her heart set on Harvard but is waitlisted. She decides the only way for her to get accepted is by getting close to their town’s senator’s son Graham so that his father can write her a letter of recommendation. Graham, of course, is the most popular boy in school and the captain of the basketball team.
Immediately, I could see where this was going. Through and through, the movie is so unbelievably cheesy and predictable. One thing I can say though: I think the cheesiness might’ve been purposeful. The very first scene reveals that the upcoming Prom’s theme will be 80’s, and since then there are various references to 80’s movies. Some of these movies are really cheesy themselves, which could be why “Prom Pact” is too.
Mandy makes plenty of questionable choices while trying to manipulate Graham to get her letter, hurting her best friend Ben in the process. Ben is easily the most well developed character in the movie, and he makes a number of jokes that are actually funny. Much like the various characters Anthony Michael Hall portrayed in the 80’s (“Sixteen Candles,” “Weird Science”), he’s the outcast that gets the girl in the end.
A lot of times, Disney movies suffer from bad acting, but these actors weren’t so bad. It was predictable what they would be doing and how they would react to everything, but they still did a good job demonstrating these emotions and genuinely becoming their characters.
In what I would assume to be an attempt at being one with the times, there are a few random mentions of unnecessary details, like the school counselor being a lesbian and random feminist opinions from Mandy. I can see this as a good thing, since these things are being normalized in society now, but it would’ve been handled better if it wasn’t so random.
I do like the diversity in the cast. There are different types of people playing the different characters, but it doesn’t feel like these actors were casted specifically to contribute to diversity like a lot of movies have been doing lately.
Although cheesy, there were a lot of really cute moments for the fans of romance. Graham’s character has a lot of charm and has some pretty good lines he uses on Mandy. He also sings a parody of “What Makes You Beautiful,” which felt nostalgic in a good way — although a little cringey.
The ending was a little bit better than I anticipated. I expected it to follow the commonly used cliché ending, but it is a little different.
I don’t think this is the kind of movie to see when looking for something deep and meaningful, but it’s okay for something lighthearted that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. The plot is probably the film’s weakest point, since it’s so unoriginal and cheesy, but the acting and characters do somewhat make up for it.
It’s a give and take with this movie. I wouldn’t say to avoid it at all costs, but don’t necessarily go out of your way to watch it.
