This Ends at Prom

"My story doesn't begin with a boy. It begins with me." The Wives Colangelo are joined this week by the brilliant Mallory O'Meara to talk about the underseen should-be coming-of-age classic, HOW TO BUILD A GIRL. Together they agonize about what it's like to work in male-dominated industries, praise the always fantastic Beanie Feldstein, and preach the gospel of author Caitlin Moran. This movie is...

"There's a place for us ... somewhere a place for us" As May-usical month comes to a close, the Wives Colangelo are talking about a musical that folks forget is also a coming-of-age story, WEST SIDE STORY. Let's talk about the changes Steven Spielberg made, praise Ariana DeBose's brilliant performance, and examine whether or not WEST SIDE STORY is a show better left in the past. ------ Morning Ann...

"Creeping like a communist, it's knocking at our doors / Turning all our children into hooligans and whores!" BJ's birthday is just around the corner so The Wives Colangelo are tackling one of her all-time favorite films, the movie musical adaptation of REEFER MADNESS. They're talking propaganda! They're talking dark comedy! They're talking Kristen Bell in fetish gear! They're talking THE RETURN O...

Justin: "Hey, you're the girl from the beach." Kelly: "My friends call me Kelly for short." May-usical Month continues along with quite possibly the least favorable film ever covered on the show and one that has been loudly disavowed by the star. That's right, it's time for FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY. Harmony breaks down how this film came to be and The Wives Colangelo try their hardest not to shor...

“Do, do, do, do, do, do. Why isn’t the issue here who I am?!”” May-usical month is back with a vengeance ... and The Beatles! We're kicking off the month by celebrating Julie Taymor's psychedelic, underappreciated jukebox musical. We're talking about the adorable (and insufferable) coming-of-age experience of discovering The Beatles for the first time, why this film resonated so heavily with...

“I want to take you out to dinner. Every time we go out we got to watch other people eat. Hell, I wanna eat too.” If you haven't seen Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle Reid's B.A.P.S., you haven't lived. This week The Wives Colangelo are joined by Lyvie Scott to talk about the criminally underseen satirical comedy about two Georgia homegirls thrust into the polite white society of a wealthy man in...

"Why didn't you fight back?" Coming of age isn't always about prom dresses and virginity pacts, sometimes it's a lot more... raw. This week The Wives Colangelo are joined by the brilliant Vanessa Guerrero to discuss Julia Ducournau's coming-of-rage masterpiece, RAW. Together they discuss why cannibalism stories are so prominent in teen horror, what it feels like to put on femininity as a costume,...

"High school's better than junior high. They'll call you names, but not as much to your face." We're diving into the grandmother of cringe coming-of-age films by tackling Todd Solondz's magnificent WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE. Join the Wives Colangelo as they discuss laughing in the face of trauma, why Heather Matarazzo is a natural treasure, and why only '90s kids remember what a screwed-up time it...

We mustn't dwell, No, not today. We can't. Not on Rex Manning Day." You asked for it and we delivered. With Rex Manning Day right around the corner, it's time we finally tackled the cult phenomenon, EMPIRE RECORDS. The Wives Colangelo talk about the bangin' soundtrack, our celebrity crushes, wax poetic about films that are "just vibes," and Harmony shares a wild story about dealing with a shoplift...

"It's a perfect example of life imitating art imitating life." We're closing up sequel month with arguably the greatest teen slasher series in history and talking about SCREAM 2. Friend of the show and FREAKY screenwriter Michael Kennedy drops in from the set of his new horror film to give some extra love to his all-time favorite movie, and Harmony once again laments how the SCARY MOVIE franchise...

"Remember who the real enemy is." As sequel month continues on, we're tackling a sequel that surpasses the original and represents the best installment of a franchise. That's right, we're reentering THE HUNGER GAMES! The Wives are talking about the increased political messaging, what was lost by maintaining a PG-13 rating, and why the film has only gotten more relevant with time. ------- Become a...

"Just because I didn't get my fairytale ending doesn't mean you shouldn't." Justice for Lilly Moscovitz!! Sometimes a movie gets a sequel ... and really shouldn't have gotten a sequel. This week The Wives Colangelo are returning to Genovia, and aren't exactly thrilled with the results. How dare Disney make us disappointed by a movie starring so many of our favorites AND written by Shonda Rhimes? L...

"I always liked the idea of being in charge of my future ... until it actually started happening." Sequel month continues as The Wives Colangelo go on summer vacation with the cast of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2. This week they're joined by writer and funnyman Zach Heltzel, who used to host the incredible Zetus Lepodcast: The Oral History of Disney Channel Original Movies. Together they talk about why t...

"Wow, maybe I shouldn't be dating such an old man. It's gross. I should be thoroughly repulsed." We're kicking off a month of sequels with the second installment of the TWILIGHT saga, NEW MOON. We're into uncharted territory for Harmony, who had as good of a time watching this film as you can imagine ... which is to say she had a very bad time. Let's talk about Bella's adrenaline junkie phase, the...

“I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go.” It's been 25 years since James Cameron dazzled the world with his gripping, historical disaster romance drama, but it's perpetually annoying that people forget TITANIC is a teen girl story. We're revisiting the film by focusing on the one aspect of the film that hasn't been analyzed to death yet -- the teenage power of Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukat...

"Man, he's like tripendicular, ya know?" Ohmigod like, gag us with a spoon! VALLEY GIRL is turning 40?! We're going back in time to celebrate one of the teen girl movies that completely changed an entire culture, permanently altered the way people speak, and gave us a heartthrob leading man out of Nicolas Cage. We're totally dying over this movie and hope you enjoy this celebration of a classic re...

"You may have my body, breasts, and boyfriend, but you are not me." We're turning on the Disney Channel and talking about another body swap film, the beloved and yet somehow still underrated, WISH UPON A STAR. The Wives talk about the edgy story elements that keep this film off of the Disney+ platform, how the sisterhood of the characters fundamentally changes the body swap story elements often se...

"I mean, you're a freak and everything, but I like you." There's so much more to the teen girl movie genre than high school stories, and Joe Wright's HANNA is a perfect example of it. The Wives Colangelo are discussing the different ways a parent can define love, Cate Blanchett's questionable accent, whether or not Hanna is neurodivergent, and why Sophie is such a fantastic best friend character....

"I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends." The Wives Colangelo are joined by the wise and wonderful Jaclyn Moore to talk about the glory of ALMOST FAMOUS. We're talking about "egg behavior" trans themes, good tunes, groupi...

"You're out here collecting tickets instead of being inside at the dance. You spend your weekends doing extra credit algebra, you play way too much Monopoly with your parents, and you've never eaten anywhere near the fountain. And in 4 years I will be YOU unless I get into that dance!" We're heading back to 2004 to talk about the teen hijinks comedy SLEEPOVER. This week The Wives Colangelo are joi...

"Now boys, if either of you give me any grief I swear to God I'll kill you. Dead, murdered, stabbed." ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING is an undeniable classic of the teen girl movie canon, but the fish-out-of-water story of a group of kids from the suburbs thrust into Chicago has aged ... poorly. We have a lovingly frank discussion about an absolute blast of a movie, that tried very hard to be different...

"She's gone! Oh my God, she used me. I was used. I was used! Cool!" We're kicking off 2023 by examining the real reason that teen girl cinema went into hibernation after 1999, with the sex comedy that completely changed the genre. That's right, strap in for a discussion on AMERICAN PIE. As This Ends at Prom expands the scope of the films we cover, it's important to look at the game-changers that i...

"Listen, I know I can be hard to be around sometimes. I totally understand if you don't want to hang anymore." For the third year in a row, we're ending the calendar with a Michael Cera movie that completely changed the way women were presented in teen cinema moving forward. This time, we're rocking out, playing games, dying our hair, and unpacking our baggage with SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD. We'...

"Christmas is fast becoming my least favorite 'C' word." We're combining a coming-of-age story, a musical, a zombie-comedy, and a Christmas story all in one, ridiculously fun package with ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE. The Wives Colangelo are joined by prolific film journalist, Matt Donato, who is quite possibly this film's biggest fan on the planet. We talk about seeing ourselves on screen, the appreci...

"No, Clare, it's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir making their annual obscene phone call." After three years, we've finally made our way through all three versions of BLACK CHRISTMAS. This week, we're talking about the one that started it all, Bob Clark's classic from 1974. We discuss the importance of BLACK CHRISTMAS in the slasher canon, how the oldest version of the film is somehow the most progress...