Plot
The "mega prom" was introduced to Racine almost 50 years ago by the city's Rotary Club after an alcohol-related car accident. As a result, the Rotary decided to sponsor a post-prom party for the city's high schools as a safe alternative for prom-goers. The film focuses on the prom-obsessed residents of Racine, and in particular, two very different girls and one boy (Tonya, Dori, and Ben) who are followed in the days and nights leading up to their prom night.
Racine is a racially mixed population. The film portrays the long history of its one-of-a-kind prom.
Some of the students are going to college after graduation; others are headed to the military. The film gives an inside look at everything from the students' selection of gowns to dinner. The celebration begins with a rowdy parade where students are shown riding fire engines, 18-wheelers, and even elephants through the city streets. Prom-goers from seven city high schools converge on one citywide prom to make red carpet entrances.
As the credits roll, we are given an update almost five years later about some of the people featured in the film. Several have not achieved their high school goals. Others have lost contact with their high school sweethearts. One heartfelt scene shows a couple going off to war.
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and 60 miles (97 km) north of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 77,816, making it the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin. It is the principal city of the Racine metropolitan statistical area. The Racine metropolitan area is, in turn, counted as part of the greater Milwaukee combined statistical area.
A promenade dance or promenade, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held at or near the end of the school year. There may be individual junior and senior proms or they may be combined.
Hall v Durham Catholic School Board was a 2002 court case in which Marc Hall, a Canadian teenager, fought a successful legal battle against the Durham Catholic District School Board to bring a same-sex date to his high school prom. The case made Canadian and international headlines.
Pennsbury High School is a four-year public high school located in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Pennsbury School District.
Caitlin's Way is a teen drama television series that aired from 2000 to 2002. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States and YTV in Canada. The series was co-created by Thomas W. Lynch and Paul M. Belous.
Lori Schappell and George Schappell were American conjoined twins. In 2020, they were the oldest living conjoined twins in the world. They died in 2024, at the age of 62.
Mark Metcalf is an American television and film actor often playing the role of an antagonistic and aggrieved authority figure.
Washington Park High School is a public, four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, with an enrollment of 1,500 students. Its school colors are blue and orange. The school's mascot, the panther, was adopted by the Class of 1949, reportedly because of a nearby Native American effigy mound in the shape of a panther. It is a part of the Racine Unified School District.
William Horlick High School is a comprehensive public four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. The school opened to students in 1928, after William Horlick, the original patent holder for malted milk, donated the land the school was built on. It was designed by Racine architect J. Mandor Matson.
Baruch College Campus High School (BCCHS) is a public high school located in Kips Bay in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. BCCHS is renowned for its high academic standards, advisory program and perfect graduation rate.
Walden III Middle and High School is a middle and high school in Racine, Wisconsin that offers alternative education. Walden is one of the Racine Unified School District's two magnet schools for secondary students, alongside the REAL School. Located between the city's Midtown and School Section neighborhoods, Walden is smaller than most Racine schools, with 292 high school and 246 middle school students as of 2016, and "emphasizes increased freedom based on responsibility and accountability".
Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school and college in Racine, Wisconsin, that operated between 1852 and 1933. Located south of the city along Lake Michigan, the campus has been maintained and is today known as the DeKoven Center, a conference center, educational facility, and special events venue operated by the DeKoven Foundation.
Jason Paul Collum is an American film maker. Collum has written and directed multiple films in the horror film genre, and has earned a reputation as the “gay horror guy". He has written articles for several horror magazines, and made a documentary on the Slumber Party Massacre franchise by Roger Corman. He has worked on several projects with B-movie filmmakers David DeCoteau and J. R. Bookwalter. Collum is also the author of the books, Assault of the Killer Bs: Interviews With 20 Cult Film Actresses, They Made How Many?! (Mostly) American Horror Franchises of the 20th Century, the children's self-esteem book Heads Up , and Basements: A Short Tale of Terror.
"Graduation Day" is the season finale of the third season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, consisting of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes. They were written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon. "Part 1" first aired on May 18, 1999 and "Part 2" first aired on July 13, 1999; both airing on The WB. The second part was to originally be aired on May 25, 1999, but was postponed due to the episode's content and the occurrence of the Columbine High School shootings one month prior.
Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including Shelter Dogs in 2003 about animal welfare and Freeheld in 2007 about LGBT rights as well as television commercials and web campaigns. She has won over 40 film festival awards, won an Oscar in 2008, and was nominated for her second Oscar in 2013.
Prom Night in Mississippi is a 2009 Canadian-American documentary film written and directed by Paul Saltzman. The documentary follows a group of 2008 Charleston High School high school seniors in Charleston, Mississippi as they prepare for their senior prom, the first racially integrated prom in Charleston history.
Vishvanath Buddhika Keerthisena, also known as Boodee Keerthisena, is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He began his career drawing comics before moving into painting, dress design, and visual arts. He moved into music in the late 1980s, and performed in a band called "Boo-Dee and the Woo-Zees" (1986–1992) as the lead singer.
Teen Spirit is an American teen comedy film, directed by Gil Junger and starring Cassie Scerbo and Lindsey Shaw. In United States, Teen Spirit was premiered on ABC Family on August 7, 2011, but in South America the film had a theatrical release.
Ronald Bruce Pittman is a Canadian television and film director best known for directing the 1987 slasher Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II. He also directed the 1989 film Where the Spirit Lives, which won the Gemini Award for Best TV movie and numerous international awards.
