With the one-time king of the teen movie prom happily living a non-cinematic life in Illinois, it's now up to filmmakers like 34-year-old Aussie Phil Price to try and carry the torch.
By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com
Recently, Hollywood made a mess out of an old story idea from teen comedy-drama maestro John Hughes in the form of Drillbit Taylor. Though the script was co-written by feature film comedy man of the moment Seth Rogen, the finished product hit only 26% on Rotten Tomatoes on its way to a $31.2 million domestic box office gross.
Far more promising in this regard is Prom Wars, a new movie opening this past weekend in limited release across Canada that was made by Phil Price, an Australian born, Montreal based filmmaker who idolizes Hughes. Price's other credits include another teen movie, Hatley High as well as the IFC mockumentary series The Business. He's currently planning a feature film mockumentary wrapped around his New Zealand rock band Stereogrand.
"I was weaned on John Hughes movies, and I have no problem with that," Price tells Ottawa's Xpress newspaper. "I still watch The Breakfast Club and think it was genius, that it's a classic, that it endures. I mean, some of the language might be a bit dated, but otherwise it's a nearly perfect movie."
"It was a product of the time it was written, but also it captures something eternal about one particular time in a teenager's life, and it transcends time and trends, because the experience it's depicting is an honest one," he adds. "Whether or not you were someone who liked high school or hated it, you get it right way. That's why people can still watch those movies."
Prom Wars is essentially a jocks vs. nerds tale, centered around the idea of students at two girls' schools setting up a competition to win them as prom night dates. Xpress writer Melora Koepke calls the film "a weird, fun little movie" and "an engaging, sweet, rather feminist little flick about 17-year-old girls worrying about their big day."
Shot in Montreal during the winter of 2006-2007, Prom Wars pairs up local talent with Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat and Phil of the Future's Raviv Ullman. The soundtrack features the music of east coast Canadian artists such as DJ Champion, Jason Kent and Pony Up!
In Theaters 
