What I'll be watching tonight. (From today's Globe and Mail)
Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (CTV, 9 p.m.) is a scintillating TV-movie version of the story of Hall, the Oshawa, Ont., teenager who fought for the right to take his boyfriend to the school prom.
The story is well-known by now. Hall, a lively, cheerful, gay teenager, submitted the name of his boyfriend to the school principal (played by Dave Foley here) for approval, as required. Then he was told that because he was attending a Catholic school, his male partner could not be approved for attendance at the prom. Marc petitioned the school authorities and got nowhere, but he started to get a lot of media attention, and was dubbed "Cinderfella" by one newspaper. Eventually he sued, with the help of a shrewd lawyer, and he got to go to the prom with his boyfriend.
As Marc, young Aaron Ashmore is marvelous, a happy kid until he runs into the stonewall of Catholic authority. (The entire cast is great and Tamara Hope as Marc's best friend is excellent as a shrewd, feisty youngster.) There's a marvellous early scene where he tells his parents that he's gay. His mom and dad (Marie Tifo and Jean Pierre Bergeron) look a tad embarrassed that he's brought up the obvious. Marc says, "The thing is, I'm gay." And his mother gently replies, "Your hair. It's blue. And you have a poster of Celine Dion on your wall. We know."
As the battle for Marc's rights progresses, his dad gets some grief at work. A union rep steps in. Then there is a marvellous Canadian moment during a confrontation with school officials. The CAW guy appears, puts his hand on the dad's shoulder and says, "My name is Mike Shields, and I'm with the Canadian Auto Workers. Listen, you have an obligation to this young man and to the members of this community to do the right thing. This is a community of inclusion. We are not a bunch of rednecks."
Soon, along comes Scott Thompson in a flashy car. Thompson is playing the lawyer who's anxious to fight for Marc in the courts. Things get even livelier from there.
This is an outstanding TV movie, a saucy, smart and entertaining work that celebrates a kind of Canadian triumph that we all want to see. It makes you glad to be Canadian, and that's worth cheering.
