Um Pacto de Amizade

This movie has all the makings of your run of the mill DCOM coming of age film, but it weirdly overindulged on the 80's nostalgia. Kind of odd to make a movie for Disney channel age teens and pre-teens with so many 80's references and tropes. The kids did not understand the John Cusack or Molly Ringwald references nor did they enjoy the soundtrack made up entirely of 80's songs. Disney is clearly trying to branch out with a more edgy teen film, but at the same time ended up making a Kenny Ortega meets John Hughes film. While the movie still made for an entertaining watch, I definitely think that Disney missed their target audience with this one.

The closest thing I've seen to a John Hughes movie, without it being a John Hughes movie. I was hoping for more of a Pretty in Pink ending, so I can only do a 9/10. It just made me too nostalgic for an actual John Hughes film. Overall it's a cute movie about friendship and covers the stereotypes of classic high school cliche movies. It just was missing something or needed a bit more. I can't put my finger on it. It needed a big moment or elaborate gesture or something. I also am unsure of how well our main protagonist actually follows her own beliefs about single use plastics and being a vegan, etc. You can be a feminist without being all those things, but if you are going to have a character like that it should be consistent. While watching it I almost forgot it was a Disney movie, but maybe it could have been better if it wasn't so family friendly. Just some thoughts. Give it a chance for sure!

This movie has definitely made it onto my list of the top 50 films I want to watch with my son during his teenage years. The way Mendy and Graham's friendship develops in the film, along with the challenges everyone faces, really resonated with me. I strongly believe that even if you're not the most popular person in class, you should still have your own circle of friends. Ben's character in the movie is truly heartwarming. He's there for Mendy when she's down and continues to support her even when he knows she has feelings for Graham. But what I really want to share with my son is that even with true friends, you can accidentally hurt your real best friend by getting distracted, just like Mendy unintentionally neglects Ben. However, if we can all take a moment to reflect on our actions, I hope my son can be as brave as Mendy. Brave enough to take practical steps to mend the trust and commitments between friends. Wow, this is really a must-watch for every student before graduation.

Mandy Yang (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is the school misanthrope. She is desperate to get into Harvard. Both her and her best friend Ben Plunkett (Milo Manheim) are class outsiders. Graham Lansing (Blake Draper) is the popular senior. Ms. Chen (Margaret Cho) is the school councilor. After getting waitlisted by Harvard, Mandy needs to befriend Graham and get help from his Senator father.

Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Milo Manheim are naturally endearing performers. It's too bad that Mandy is so snarky. I get the idea of character growth, but it's an off-putting start. The more interesting premise is that Graham is not an idiot. I would play with that even more although the plot device is that she's tutoring him. It needs to sort out his character, but there is potential there. It tries to reference a lot of 80's teen movies, but this movie doesn't have their essence. It seems to be trying to overturn a couple of those 80's tropes and I am interested in seeing what this movie is trying to do. This is a borderline case. I would like to like this more for the actors, but there are cringe issues.

While in some ways it felt like a rehash of many high school rom com movies, "Prom Pact" was actually a pretty good movie. It wasn't as cheesy as some of Disney's other recent movies, the acting was pretty good, and the characters were dynamic. Mandy was one of Disney's better female lead characters in recent movies--strong, confident, but also vulnerable and willing to change as she learns more about people.

The movie is also pretty spot on with contemporary teenage culture, with the omnipresence of phones and social media, as well as the idea of these big glamorous "promposals." The movie is fun for a wide audience, but very relatable for teens.