PROM Movie Review and Giveaway!

Do you remember your high school prom?

I remember mine vividly....I was asked to our big high school dance by a boy who was 2 years older than me.  I couldn't believe it when he asked me - it was a big thing back then for a junior high girl to go with a senior high boy - and I had no idea he even knew I existed.  I felt like a queen!

Then, to add to the drama - and what Prom doesn't have its drama - my mother refused to let me go!  I was raised in a very strict religious family and school dances were a big no-no.  What to do???  So I did what any self respecting teenage girl with a mission on her mind does, I called my dad and asked to stay at his house for the weekend, haha!

My friend lent me a sky blue strapless dress - the first grown up dress I had ever worn - and my dad dropped me off at the local football club for the big night.  It was everything I thought it would be and I can still remember swaying on the dance floor with my date's arms around my waist (although for the life of me I can't remember what his last name was!) and then at the end of the night he bent down and kissed me *sigh*.  That was the one and only high school dance I ever went to but I will never forget it.

So, when Disney asked me to review their new movie "PROM", I could hardly wait!  I asked my teenage niece and nephew (aged 12 and 15) to watch the movie with me to get the real opinions of modern day teenagers (it being quite some time since I went to my prom!).

PROM is a family friendly story that captures all the anticipation, drama and fun of high school - especially in the lead up to Prom.

The story revolves around senior high school girl Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden) whose big dream of the perfect Prom seems to be falling in pieces around her.  To make matters worse, she gets stuck organising the Prom with the school's bad boy, Jesse Richter (who is played by the oh-my-goodness-so-good-looking Thomas McDonell).

But Nova's friends also have their dramas in the lead up to Prom and these stories are interwoven throughout the movie.  Steady relationships fail, new romances begin and nothing seems to be going as planned.

One of the most hilarious characters in the movie is that of Lloyd (played by Nicholas Braun) who is desperate to get a date for the Prom and comes up with some very inventive - but highly unsuccessful - ways to ask girls out.

You can watch clips from the movie and interviews with the cast about their real life PROM's right here.....

Soooooo, does Nova get the magic Prom night she's always dreamed of?  Does Lloyd end up with a date for the Prom?

Well you will just have to rush out and get the DVD to find out!

What was the verdict on the movie?

It was a lighthearted sweet movie aimed at the younger teen audience.  My 15 year old nephew thought the story line was a little predictable (what love story isn't!) but I notice he didn't drag himself away from the screen.  My 12 year old niece loved the film and spent the next two hours yabbering away about her dream Prom date and of course, her dream dress (although she still has a few years to think about that one).

My final thought on the movie.....the best bits were when Thomas McDonnel, playing Jesse, was on the screen.  Talk about a young Johnny Depp!  Mums, its worth watching the movie just for him :)

PROM is available on DVD from November 2nd as a 2 Disc Blu-Ray Value Pack (Blu-Ray plus DVD) for $49.95 or a 1 Disc DVD for $39.95.

The DVD includes bonus features such as a "Making Of Prom" featurette plus bloopers from the movie.  The 2 Disc Value Pack also includes an exclusive short - "Last Chance Lloyd" - which shows all the hilarious ways Lloyd asks girls to the Prom, plus 4 deleted scenes and 7 music videos which is great value.

But one lucky blog reader will have the chance to win a great PROM prize pack especially from Disney that includes -

• The PROM 2 Disc Value Pack (Blu-Ray & DVD)
• A PROM keychain
• A PROM sticker set
• A PROM notebook
• and a PROM t-shirt

The PROM Prize Pack is valued at $97.95 and all you have to do to enter the competition is leave a comment about your magical or disastrous Prom night by midnight, Sunday November 20th.  The winner will be the entry that I think is the funniest, most romantic or most tragic Prom night ever!

True Romance - the best screen kiss ever....

When I was 14 years old I saw a movie that has remained my favourite film of all time, even now 25 years later, it's still my favourite.


The movie is called "Room With a View" and is based on the novel of the same name by E.M. Forster.  It starred Helena Bonham-Carter (last seen in The King's Speech) as a young Edwardian woman called Lucy Honeychurch; Julian Sands (last seen in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as her admirer, George Emerson; Daniel Day Lewis as Lucy's aristocratic fiance, Cecil Vyse; and the indomitable Maggie Smith (from Harry Potter and Downton Abbey) as Lucy's irritating cousin Charlotte.

The movie is a Merchant & Ivory production, who specialise in making period films (usually set in Edwardian England) with exquisite detail.  Even though Room With a View was made 25 years ago, it has not dated at all.  Everything, from the costumes to the locations, to the soundtrack is as authentic and relevant today as it was when it was first filmed.  Other Merchant & Ivory films in a similar vein include Howard's End (also starring Helena Bonham-Carter), Remains of the Day and Jefferson in Paris.


The Kiss......


In the movie there is one scene in particular which has stuck in my head for 25 years.  Its a spine tingling, goose pimpling, rush of blood to the head, giddy at the knees, sweep you off your feet, tender, passionate kiss between Lucy and George.  

In my mind it is everything a kiss should be and I'm not the only one who thinks so - this kiss frequently appears in 'Best Movie Kiss' lists along with classics like the bone crushing kiss between Scarlett and Rhett in Gone With the Wind (I personally think there is no comparision between the two!)


Kisses are pretty commonplace in movies - unless you are watching an action movie starring Vin Diesel (why people?, why???)  - there is bound to be a kiss in most movies somewhere.  Some of them are romantic, some of them are soft porn but every now and again you see a kiss with just the right amount of tension or build up or passion and at that particular moment the chemistry between the two actors seems heightened and real and that's when the magic happens.  Your spine tingles and you feel a flush of emotion wash over you.  That's a really good movie kiss.


Okay enough talking about what is required for a really good kiss - it's time to experience it for yourself. If you have not seen Room With A View here is a little background to the scene we are about to watch.....


Background to the Kiss......


It is around 1905 and Lucy Honeychurch is on holiday in Florence, Italy with her much older cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett.  Charlotte is conventionally English, with an extremely restrictive personality.  Lucy has been brought up in an upper class but easygoing household and has fewer inhibitions but both women find themselves initially confronted and then changed by the free-spirited backdrop of Italy.  


Lucy and Charlotte are staying at a small hotel where they meet other English guests including the middle class Mr. Emerson and his handsome, philosophical son, George.  Mr Emerson and George are radical free-thinkers of the Edwardian age, seeking to escape the repression of Victorian times. At first, the two Emerson men seem socially uncouth and embarrassing to Lucy and Charlotte with their modern views and opinions but as Lucy spends more time in Florence, she finds herself drawn to George in spite of herself.  There are a few awkward moments between them in Florence which build up the tension between them but Lucy is determined to stay conservative and respectable and tries to ignore him.

One afternoon, a group of the guests staying at the pensione take a carriage ride into the countryside outside Florence to enjoy a view of the city. 

Typically, the men wander off to smoke cigars or whatever while the women sit down on a picnic blanket.  Lucy accompanies Charlotte but soon gets bored listening to her gossip with a friend and decides to take a walk on her own.  Unbeknownst to her, George has also got bored and is standing in a meadow looking at the view when Lucy suddenly comes upon him.....

Now, watch the Kiss......

Oh cousin Charlotte, what a moment to come along and spoil everything!  I just love the look on George's face afterwards, it's like "I've been wanting to do that for ages and it was extremely satisfying".


If you want to watch a longer clip, click here to view this one on You Tube which is about 6 minutes long.


The Movie


If you get a chance to see the movie, I highly recommend it.  The costumes and scenery are beautiful.  The charactors are portrayed perfectly (Daniel Day Lewis as Lucy's aristocratic fiance, Cecil, is absolutely hilarious) and there are some very funny scenes in the movie when they return to England including a skinny dipping scene with George, Lucy's brother and the local Reverend Mr Beebe, played by Simon Callow (not someone you would want to see naked!)

By the way, the music playing in the background is an aria from Puccini's opera "La Rondine".  The soundtrack features Puccini throughout including the beautiful 'O Mia Babbino Caro' [the version on this link is sung by Sissel, a fantastic Norwegian soprano].


Do you have a favourite screen kiss from a movie?  Is there a movie you have loved for years?  I'd love to hear all about it.