BuzzSugar

An Ode to Movie Proms

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:00:29 -0700

My TV prom slideshow put me in the mood for even more prom fun - this time in the movies. Often the prom is the setting for a climactic moment, whether climatically romantic or, well, the climactic moment when everyone dies. Either way, watching these scenes can be cathartic, depending on your own personal experience with the teenage ritual. Ready to see some of my favorite movie proms?

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In Praise of the TV Prom

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:30:29 -0700

Many of you felt my pain when it came to this week's episode of Gossip Girl. Thanks to the Lily flashbacks, just a few Upper East Side prom scenes got squeezed in between trips back to '80s LA - and that means an entire generation of GG fans got cheated out of the kind of episode that can be the highlight of a teen TV show's lifespan. So I've gathered up some memories of favorite proms from TV shows past. It won't fill the void left by GG, but it might help.

Photos courtesy of The CW

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Buzz In: Did You Have A Prom Song?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:00:50 -0700

The horror remake Prom Night, opening this weekend, doesn't look like the kind of movie I'd love, but it did get me thinking about my own prom (which was, thankfully, free of blood and guts). There was a vague Dirty Dancing theme to mine, and the prom song was "I've Had the Time of My Life," which seemed a little presumptuous to me. As Rayanne from My So-Called Life would say, I had a time, but I certainly wouldn't call it the time of my life. Anyway, this led me to wonder: Did other people have a prom song? And did it in any way influence the prom experience?

Conducting an informal little office poll, I got a pretty garden variety of high school dance standards, like "Wonderful Tonight," "Lady in Red," "We Are Family," and "Oh, What a Night." Then there was the girl who, lacking a prom song, decided with her friends that their song for the night would be "Ghetto Superstar."

What about you? Did your prom have a song? Did you like it? Hate it? Skip prom altogether?

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

It's Pop Culture Prom Week

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:31:58 -0800

Break out the wrist corsages and sparkly tiaras - it's prom week! Yes, I know it's only January, but the pop culture universe has brought everyone's favorite spring formal back this week, big time. Consider:

We kicked off the week with the new trailer for Prom Night, the remake of the '80s horror flick that makes your own prom night, no matter how heinous, seem tame.
Then, NBC Entertainment Co-Chair Ben Silverman invoked the memory of the formal in an interview with E! when NBC was still angling to keep the Golden Globes on the air, saying: "Sadly, it feels like the nerdiest, ugliest, meanest kids in the high school are trying to cancel the prom. But NBC wants to try to keep that prom alive." The ugly, mean, nerdy writers then retaliated by promising to throw Silverman the prom of his dreams outside NBC next week.
And finally, in what can only be described as perfect timing, Project Runway went to prom, too, trotting out a parade of candy-colored gowns for 17-year-old aspiring goddesses. The dresses were just the second-best part of the episode, though, next to the prom photo flashbacks to the designers' awkward years.

I'm not sure what caused this sudden prom frenzy, but - just like real prom - I'm fretting less about that and more about whether anyone will ask me to the dance. Think Michael Cera would be my date?

Source, Source, and Bravo

Law Abiding Citizen: Deserves a Death Sentence

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:30:13 -0700

Oh, Gerard Butler, what were you thinking? You might be able to forgive the 300 actor for starring in this horror flick disguised as a meaningful thriller, but he also served as producer to help finance the train wreck. Did he not even read the script?

Law Abiding Citizen opens with Butler as Clyde Shelton, a devoted father and husband who witnesses the murder of his family by two psychopaths after a break-in. When his lawyer, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), strikes a deal in the case that lets one of them free, Shelton begs Rice to reconsider. And that’s where Shelton's deadly resentment - and the slasher flick stuff- begins.

To hear more about what I mean, read more.

Ten years later, Shelton returns to seek vengeance against Rice and the entire Philadelphia legal system through a series of mass killings and car bombs. The man is understandably still distraught over his family’s deaths, but he’s clearly gone cuckoo.

This is when the movie becomes less of a drama and starts resembling the Saw franchise instead. While Shelton starts off as the good guy, he's later partaking in gruesome torture scenes that leave him completely in covered in blood like the prom scene in Carrie. To make matters worse, Shelton throws out bad jokes as he's wreaking havoc for a few cheap laughs. It negates any possibility for the audience to feel sympathy for Shelton, and the attempted shock value also completely ruins the movie's credibility.

The film wants to make us question the inner-workings of law - when dealing with a killer, is it better to leave things to the justice system or take matters into your own hands? Really though, it would’ve worked better as a cheesy horror movie. It has all of the requirements: splattered body parts, a giant chain saw, abandoned warehouses, goofy wigs and costumes, creepy music, the obligatory muffled voice on the end of the phone - and loads of plot holes. Like, why is Shelton rich enough to buy all of his assassin-style supplies and how does he know how to use them all? The film attempts to answer the question for us later in the film, but it feels tacked on and much too late.

In other words, if you do go see this film, don't try to think too much about it. Foxx and Butler do their best with what they're given, but the film is only good for a couple of thrills that make you jump in your seat. As for me, I just wanted to walk out.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Movie Reviews community group if you want to weigh in about your own weekend film picks.

New York, I Love You: A Jigsaw Puzzle That Doesn't Quite Fit

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

As a city with so much personality and penchant for possibility, it's no surprise that the follow-up to Paris, Je t'aime heads to New York. New York, I Love You is a tale of the connections and personal missteps that occur every single day in the city that never sleeps. It plays out like a movie version of a song mash-up: some story lines are linear and independent of the rest while other characters wander in and out of each other's lives. Throw an all-star cast in there, and you could possibly have a recipe for perfection.

Unfortunately, the ingredients don't blend together as well as I had hoped, and instead we're left with an engaging but bland look at a handful of trials and tribulations in relationships. To see what I mean, just read more.

Made up of a series of short films, New York, I Love You is an homage to the city as well as the residents who hold it near and dear to their hearts. The "anything can happen" theme is alive and well, as strangers become acquaintances and friends, putting so much emphasis on each and every interaction that we take part in on a regular basis.

You meet a few characters that represent New York well enough; Bradley Cooper is the guy who's constantly jumping into a cab the same time as someone else, Orlando Bloom is the struggling musician who turns to Central Park for inspiration, Hayden Christensen is the pick-pocket who's as sexy as he is dangerous. But sometimes it feels just a little too forced; like the film is primarily concerned with proving that New York is a melting pot. Rather than seeing a few love stories shine through stereotypes, I was more distracted by the fake accents.

As with Paris Je t'aime, some of the stories shine brighter than others. Natalie Portman directs a sweet piece about a relationship between a father and daughter; Olivia Thirlby and Anton Yelchin are refreshing as a younger pair who makes the prom a night to remember. The lighter films are breaths of fresh air amongst others that are trying too hard to be hip and stylized.

The ensemble cast certainly gives the movie a boost; even when it's not provoking the deepest of emotions, the film always had my attention. There are solid performances all-around, particularly from Chloris Leachman and Eli Wallach as an aging couple who are still bickering when they aren't helping each other cross the street. It is the most hopeful of the scenarios, and by far the sweetest and most touching.

The film provides plenty of the standard money shots of Manhattan: a typical day in Grand Central Station in fast forward, subway rides, hours of people watching in a coffee shop. The encounters feel authentic and realistic, but the failure lies in the inability to make us feel something on a deeper level. Sometimes you can relate to the characters, and sometimes you feel sorry for them, but it doesn't squeeze your heart nearly enough - and with a title like New York, I Love You, this a disappointment.