The stars of Prom Pact, now available on streaming, say it’s not your typical teen movie.
“Everyone is so multidimensional and no one fits into the cookie cutter mold of some high school trope,” says Peyton Elizabeth Lee, who stars as Mandy.
She told ABC Audio the movie “really brings out this idea that we’re all much more similar than is often portrayed and more than we often like to believe.”
Like teen movies, the film features over-the-top promposals and the stresses of getting into college — but it doesn’t end with the two main characters becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Milo Manheim stars as Ben and apologizes in advance to fans who might be upset by this.
“That’s not what this movie’s intention was,” he said, adding he appreciates Ben and Mandy staying best friends because “many of my best friends are girls.”
“A friendship between a boy and a girl is just as meaningful as a girl and a girl or a boy with a boy,” he said.
Director Anya Adams also said keeping Ben and Mandy’s relationship platonic gave them “a chance to have their own real true storyline … and [have] a lovely journey.”
Adams also described Prom Pact as a love letter to the ’80s movies she watched growing up, such as The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles.
“I always wanted to be able to be part of making something like that for a generation,” she said, adding it was fun making those “nostalgic nods” without “[falling] into the usual tropes that you see in a rom-com.”
“It was really exciting to be able to bring something that had that same feel and same development of character without hitting those notes,” she added.
Prom Pact is now streaming on Disney+.
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