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Apr 5, 2023

"Prom Pact": Do Teen Romcoms in 2023 Have Any Gay Content?


 Prom Pact, on the Disney Channel, features a girl and her best friend, a boy, negotiating prom dates and Harvard admission. I figured that, in 2023, the best friend would be gay, but no, according to the plot synopsis, they both get heterosexual partners.

so I checked the fan wiki for gay characters.  None mentioned. 

Finally I just googled "Prom Pact" and "gay," but all I found was a review from a fundamentalist screaming about the horrible gay agenda: "guys asking guys to the prom!  A gay sex scene!  Disgusting!" So I went through the movie on fast-forward, looking for evidence that gay people exist.

Minute 7:  Focus character Mandy, who is obsessed with getting into Harvard, her bff Ben (Milo Manheim, top photo), Charlie (Jason Sakaki), who has a sort of feminine gay vibe, and an unidentified girl are at lunch, discussing how proms are a patriarchal way for men to maintain dominance over women.  Sounds like all prom dates are boy-girl.  Actor Jason Sakaki is gay, so is the vibe just his regular personality, or is his character gay?


Minute 8:
BFF Ben is at work in a grocery store, getting ribbed by bag boy Kyle (Nolen Dubuc) because he doesn't have a girlfriend. and has never had sex with a girl.  It never occurs to Kyle that he might be gay.  Wait -- when the hunky Graham (Blake Draper, below) comes to check out, Kyle gets all flustered and whispers "Don't embarrass me!"  I'm confused -- if Kyle is gay, why is he critical of Ben's lack of heterosexual experience?  Maybe he just wants to kiss up to the popular guy? 

Minute 23: Mandy and BFF Ben at a party, discussing how, in 1980s movies, girls always give up their future plans in order to be with of the Boys of their Dreams.  That will never happen to her: it's Harvard, or nothing!  Foreshadowing, anyone?   Ben clumsily tries to flirt with the Girl of His Dreams. A boy asks a girl to the prom. Mandy interrupts two unnamed guys who were kissing (off camera); she says "I'm an ally, so please continue."  Ok, so there are two guy guys at this party. Otherwise it seems to be boy-girl couples all the way down.

Mandy decides that the best way to get into Harvard is to get a letter of recommendation from the Senator, and the best way to get the letter is to tutor his son Graham, the hunk from Minute 8.  She doesn't like him, of course: he's extremely hot, which she finds distasteful, and "arrogant."  Maybe if you're 12, you won't figure out where this is heading.


Minute 31
: BFF Ben is trying desperately to speak to the Girl of His Dreams without dissolving into a pool of hormones.  She's surprised that he knows her name.  "But. doesn't.everyone know your name?  You're a Goddess.  Surely you have millions of worshippers."

The next upteen minutes are devoted to the Mandy-Graham and Ben-Girl of His Dreams romances. 

Minute 53: Graham takes Mandy to his father's elegant tuxedo parties, all middle-aged male-female couples dancing.  His friends rib him for having multiple girlfriends, which enrages Mandy: she thought he had been waiting for her his whole life.  Then he discovers that she is just using him to get the letter of recommendation, and angrily dumps her.

Ben and the Girl of His Dreams have a falling out, too.

Minute 122: The prom, finally. Mandy and Ben go together, to make their respective exes jealous.   They mistakenly thought it was a costume party, so their 1980s hair and outfits draw sneers and ridicule.  Charlie from Minute 7 appears with a girl, so he's hetero after all.  Kyle from Minute 8 is not arround. There are two girls dancing together, but otherwise it's all boy-girl couples.

TIme to pick the Prom King and Queen.  How heteronormative!  It's Ben and the Girl of His Dreams.  Ulp -- they've broken up.  Awkward!  Not to worry, they get back together.

Minute 133: Graduation.  Contrary to expectations, Graham and Mandy stay broken up.  I guess she really meant it: you can have a relationship, or you can go to Harvard, but you can't do both.  I've been with Harvard guys, so I'm relatively sure that they are allowed to date

Gan Content: No same-sex prom requests, no same-sex couples except for one easy-to-cut scene, a couple of gay teases, and we're done.  Better than a 1980's movie, but not by much.

3 comments:

  1. I prefer when the gay characters are integrated into the story line- not just one special gay theme movie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also, the guidance counselor has a wife. Throw away line, but at least one other character.

    Some dialogue was much more suggestive then I thought. I thought Milo’s character was into the football player at first.

    Harvard girl ends up getting back together with jock at Cambridge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wait -- the guy needs tutoring because his grades are so low, but still gets into Harvard? This must be TV Harvard, where you can slide through high school with Fs and still get due to your coolness.

      Delete

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