Do you remember your Prom? (and if you do, did you do it wrong?)

I ran an informal poll over on the ‘Gram last week, asking people for their favorite PROM movie suggestions (I capitalize PROM because someone thought I said “porn”). When I asked the question, I was thinking of MY favorite movie in this niche genre, the 1988 Disney made-for-TV movie, Dance ‘Til Dawn.

Author’s Note: I was floored - FLOORED I TELL YOU – to receive multiple nominations for horror-themed prom movies, with Carrie and Prom Night topping the list!! After those two, votes also came in for more traditional fare, including Never Been Kissed, Footloose, Grease, and Twilight.

But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Prom is a defining moment in high school, maybe even more so than graduation. It makes sense that there’s a certain fear associated with the idea that “one night can change everything.” I mean, Back to the Future posits that the stakes of a single dance can literally be life or death, right?

Or maybe I just have some really dark-humored friends.

But, I digress…

In Dance ‘Til Dawn, we follow five couples over the course of one life-changing evening (light spoilers ahead):

Shelly and Dan – the most popular girl in school and the ‘dweebiest’ boy are on the run together from friends and family, hoping to hide the fact that they are both dateless on the most important night of their lives.
Patrice and Roger – this pre-engaged couple is caught in a horror movie of their own making as nothing goes as planned for their perfect night (Patrice is, in fact, head of the Prom committee and responsible for the iconic theme “Paris in Puce.”)
Angela and Margaret – emotions are tested for these best friends when Angela is invited last-minute to Prom and Margaret uncovers the reason why.
Ed and Ruth – Angela’s dull parents embark on an evening of criminal behavior as they spy on their daughter and her date.
Larry and Nancy – Patrice’s parents and dance chaperones spend the evening reflecting on how their lives have changed since their own Prom 20 years ago.

There’s so much about this movie that I didn’t appreciate at 18. When you are in school, Prom is the gateway to the next phase in life. It’s a ritual, a ceremony, a celebration, a farewell, that belongs solely to the ones about to embark on the journey. As a parent, you know that life is about more than just one night, and the thought of dancing in heels for 4 hours in a movement-restricting outfit (probably without pockets!) is a nightmare. But you can appreciate the nostalgia – there are few things that evoke it quite like Prom, regardless if your night was Paris in Puce perfection, or a bucket of blood horrific.

I also appreciate that Disney made room for adults in this movie - the very real experience of parents watching their children grow up and move on. It’s a perspective not often examined in other 80s fare (looking at you, Breakfast Club).

It would be nice if we could embrace a little more of the optimism and whimsy that Prom represents. The potential for one evening to change everything, the belief that Donna Summers’ “Last Dance” is the closing ceremony for one part of your life and the beginning of another.

So, Gen Xers, what do you say? Even if we’re not planning to dance ‘til dawn, let’s remember the joy of living as though we are.