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The World's Best Prom
Once a year, prom mania grips the entire population of Racine, Wisconsin. The city's extravagant celebration begins with a rowdy parade where students compete for the most outrageous form of transportation, driving fire engines, 18-wheelers, even riding elephant-back through the city streets. Prom-goers from seven city high schools converge on one citywide prom to make red carpet entrances bombarded by the flash of cameras and screams from bleachers filled to capacity. Meanwhile, in sports bars and living rooms across the city, residents keep their eyes glued to the live television coverage of the spectacular event. If the Academy Awards were moved to the heartland, this is what it would resemble.
Hear Stories About the Film
Chris Talbott, Director, The World's Best Prom
"'The World's Best Prom' uncovers the face of a new small-town America, one that is substantially more complex than the existing stereotypes that persist. Here is a quintessential American rite of passage, updated by a surprisingly diverse small city with a hip-hop sensibility. It's a real-life fairy tale for the new century, and one that is an undeniable crowd pleaser."
What the Critics Say...
Entertainment Weekly
"In cheddar's heartland, you might expect this full-on embrace of cheese, but you'll be surprised to find yourself cheering along." More
Milwaulkee Jounral Sentinel
"It's an event that thousands of teenagers anticipate for years, a night complete with limos, tanks and maybe an elephant but definitely a red-carpet and live telecast." More
Lee Roberts, The Journal Times
"Excitement, disappointment, love, laughter, embarrassment and fun - it's all there on the big screen. And while its honesty may make you squirm a little at times, the film will bring a smile to your face more often than not. It might even teach you something about the city you live in - its history, its culture and its people." More
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat Gazette
"While it would have been easy to find in this Wisconsin town's tradition a festival of cheese, The World's Best Prom draws us into the lives of its subjects and makes us care about them." More
Brian Orndorf, DVD Talk
"'The World's Best Prom' is a sweet, fleeting reminder that not all teenagers are horrible." More
Yahoo! Picks
"Every prom story is unique. But some are more unique than others." More
Mike Mayo, Max and Mike On the Movies
"Fascinating American story" More
David Cornelius, Hollywood Bitchslap
"It's more fascinating than I ever thought prom could be." More
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Find out more about the film, the people and history of Racine, Wisconsin, which hosts "the world's best prom", and more!
- Official Website
- The City of Racine, Wisconsin
- MADD
- Proms n' Dresses
- The Princess Project
- Rotary International
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Richard Calo, Ph.D., author of American Prom: First Love & Coming of Age
"At a time when so much of our past is coming into question and traditions are slipping quietly out of view, this movie is here to tell us about a wonderful tradition that gets better and acquires more significance each year."
Sara Keiner, The World's Best Prom Blog
"My girlfriends and me were at the prom together because of the shortage of guys at my school. We all had oysters to start and they made us ill and Sarah was sick on herself, and I puked down the side off the table and it ran onto the dance floor. The prom was abandoned because everyone was so sick and we never got to do the final dance..." More from The World's Best Prom Blog
Ben Adrian, Racine Prom-Goer
"It was the most amazing thing I've ever been a part of in my whole life. I think everyone should feel that way about prom."
Bob Fisher, Screenwriter of Wedding Crashers
"Hilarious and poignant. Any town that would turn its prom into a televised red carpet event has either got something really right about it or something really wrong. The fact that I still can't decide made me love this film all the more. A smart and funny look at adolescence and its ultimate ritual."