Prom.  The idea of it means many different things for senior high school students; girls dream about the dress they are going to wear, guys think about how hot those girls are going to look, and both realize the high probability of there being some sort of action in the room the guy was supposed to have gotten for afterwards.  It is also the basic premise of Bart Got A Room, a film that enlists a great cast for a not-so-great result.

The film’s protagonist is Danny Stein (Steven Kaplan), a high school senior who is searching for a date for the upcoming prom.  Going with his best friend Camille (Alia Shawkat, Arrested Development) is the most likely scenario, but he decides that he’d like to go with someone he’d have a chance of getting with instead.  While he searches, he has to deal with the divorce of his parents (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines) and their attempts at finding someone in their life. Additionally, his search becomes even more desperate when he finds out that Bart – the class nerd – got a room (hence the title).  Actually seeing Bart is one of the funnier scenes in the movie.

It is worth noting how well the Bart concept is implemented.  He (and his name) is brought into the script at properly timed moments.  The mentioning of his name garners some funny reactions, and is also used as a tool for Danny to get some prom necessities.

The film goes through some quirky twists and turns along the way to its cute (and anticlimactic) ending, but it fits the indie flick mold pretty well.  All of the actors give solid performances, even if the talent brought in to make Bart Got A Room wasn’t put to full use. Other than that, everything else feels sadly average.  Ultimately, the film feels like it could be a lot more than it is.  Still, because of its ‘true-to-life’ nature, and date movie nature, it is a cute movie to check out in a pinch.

(6.1/10)