''Teen Spirit'' is an American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

that premiered on

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

on August 7, 2011. It is directed by Gil Junger and stars

Cassie Scerbo Cassandra Lynn Scerbo (born March 30, 1990) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She was one of the members of the all-girl pop band Slumber Party Girls in the CBS children's music variety series '' Dance Revolution''. In acting, she s ...

and Lindsey Shaw as the main protagonists.

Plot

Amber Pollock, a mean, snobbish, shallow, popular high school senior, dies after being named

Prom Queen A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school year ...

. She was picking up a crown that was electrified, after an accident with her boyfriend's car. While in

Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...

, an angel tasks her with returning to her high school as a ghost in order to transform the school's least popular student, Lisa Sommers, into the next Prom Queen at the makeup prom. If she succeeds, she will be sent to Heaven, and if not, she will be on the next

shuttle bus A shuttle bus is a bus that travels a shorter route in comparison to most bus routes. Typically, shuttle buses travel in both directions between two points. Shuttle buses are designed to transport large groups of people who are all travellin ...

to Hell. At a memorial announcement at school, Amber realizes her friends do not really care about her, and Lisa is the only one who can see her. Initially, Lisa does not want to go to the prom, but after Amber is able to get her the attention of Lisa's crush Nick Ramsey, Lisa agrees to skip school to go shopping for fashionable clothes and a makeover, during which she charms a "

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...

boy" at the store. The next day at school, Lisa starts turning the heads of her classmates, but due to Lisa still being nervous, Amber possesses her body to help show off some attitude and gain confidence. But their plan to run for Prom Queen gets complicated when Amber's former friend Carlita decides to run, and she is also dating Nick. When Carlita decides to throw a house party, Amber and Lisa decide to mess with Carlita's plan by changing the party's date and sending this change in an email from a school computer to everyone's phone at their high school. With Carlita's party plans ruined, Amber and Lisa plan a party at Lisa's house the same night, since her parents are away at a spa treatment. At the party, Amber gets Lisa up on stage to sing "Typical" which attracts the attention of Nick. Lisa and Nick talk after her performance and the two end up sharing an unexpected kiss, but then Amber possesses Lisa again to stop her from sleeping with Nick. Amber and Lisa soon find out from Vice-Principal Richardson that Lisa's friend, Raj Kurkuri, who was trying to buy a used calculator online, accidentally forgot to log off on a school computer before Lisa sent the changed party date message, and Raj is held responsible for the damages at Carlita's house. Lisa ends up passing on her friends' plans for finishing a

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

pig film now that she is popular. Meanwhile, Amber's sister Clementine feels her mother is too busy mourning the death of Amber to pay any attention to her. Seeing this for herself, Amber helps guide her mother into paying more attention to Clementine now that she has died. Lisa's friend Selena learns about Amber's involvement with Lisa's popularity and decides to use black magic to tell Amber to leave Lisa alone, but Amber tells her she needs to right what she did wrong in order to get into Heaven. Selena is understanding but still pleads for Amber to help Lisa return to normal. Amber confronts Lisa and, realizing that she has unintentionally ruined her life by making her popular, jumps into her body to drive her out to Oak Springs on Highway 7 (out in the middle of nowhere) so she would not make it back to town in time for the prom that evening. After stumbling onto Floyd's Gator Jerky Shop, and calls all her friends on a pay phone, Lisa is unsuccessful in getting a ride back into town until she reaches Selena. When Selena (along with Raj and Collin) make it to pick her up, Lisa learns being popular isn't what it is cracked up to be. She also learns Raj was suspended and has to perform community service to fix Carlita's yard. Meanwhile, Amber reports her failure to the angel and takes a ride down to Hell in a flaming prison shuttle bus. After just making it to prom night, Lisa confesses to her vice principal and the rest of the school that it was her that sent the mass email about the change to Carlita's party, not Raj. She then makes a speech on stage that everyone should break down the barriers between the popular and unpopular by voting Raj as Prom King, which almost all of the students agree upon. After Raj is elected Prom King, Amber is transported off the shuttle bus to Hell to get her wings to enter Heaven, as the least popular student was voted Prom King. She appears to Lisa one last time and the two share a hug with Amber when Amber spots Aidan at the prom. Lisa smiles and Amber promises to watch over Lisa from Heaven before she goes. Aidan looked for Lisa at seven different proms before he found her. Aidan and Lisa smile and talk and soon dance; it looks like a new relationship starts. Carlita (angry that she did not get crowned Prom Queen) tries to stop the music by pulling wires from the stage's control box, but gets herself electrocuted in the process. The angel remarks, "Oh, lucky me. Here we go again."

Cast

as Amber Pollock, a popular high school

queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...

. * Lindsey Shaw as Lisa Sommers, an unpopular girl who wants to get into Juilliard music school. *

Tim Gunn Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to Ma ...

as Supervisor J-3, the angel who is responsible for Amber's assignment. *

Chris Zylka Chris Zylka (born Christopher Michael Settlemire; born May 9, 1985) is an American actor and model, known for his roles in the films ''Shark Night'' (2011), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), Doyce Plunk in the TV series '' Zeke and Luther'' (2009 ...

as Nick Ramsey, a popular high school guy. *

Katie Sarife Katie Sarife is an American actress. She is best known for playing Daniela Rios in the 2019 supernatural horror film ''Annabelle Comes Home''. Career She appeared in the episode ''Fan Fiction'' of the television series ''Supernatural'' and in '' ...

as Selena, Lisa's best friend. *

Lucius Baston Lucius Baston is an American actor from Queens, New York. He is known for best known for his roles in ''Atlanta'', ''Lovecraft Country'' and '' The Underground Railroad''. Early life The younger of two boys, Baston started entertaining at the ...

as Vice Principal Richardson. * Travis Quentin Young as Colin, Lisa's friend in their film club. * Paras Patel as Raj Kukuri, Lisa's friend in their film club. *

Ben Winchell Ben Winchell (born July 3, 1994) is an American film and television actor, known for playing Aiden in the film '' Teen Spirit'' and Dixon Ticonderoga in the series ''A.N.T. Farm''. He has played the titular role of Max Steel in the live-action f ...

as Aiden, the

guy at the mall. * Carissa Capobianco as Paisley, Amber's friend in their high school clique. * Katrina Tandy as Dakota, Amber's friend in their high school clique. * Gabriela Lopez as Carlita Cache, Amber's friend in their high school clique. * Cree Ivey as Clementine Pollock, Amber's sister. * Andrea Powell as Gillian Pollock, Amber's mother. * Elena Varela as Aunt Marielle, Selena's aunt who is a spiritual medium. *

Rhoda Griffis Rhoda Griffis (born January 9, 1965) is an American actress who has played supporting roles both in independent and mainstream films and television. Life and career Griffis appeared onstage in ''Angels in America'', ''Proof'', '' Collected Stor ...

as Vesper Sommers. * Allen Williamson as Brandon. * Langley McArol as Floyed. * Katie Garner as Liz.

Production

Filming took place in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

Soundtrack

''Teen Spirit'' is a soundtrack album by the film of the same name, released on August 7, 2011 by MarVista Entertainment. "

Typical Typical may refer to: * ''Typical'' (album), Peter Hammill * "Typical" (song), song by MuteMath *"Typical", song by Frazier Chorus from ''Sue'', 1987 *''Typical'', story collection by Padgett Powell Padgett Powell (born April 25, 1952 in Gaine ...

", performed by Lindsey Shaw was released as single on August 7. ;Track listing ;Other songs non-included in soundtrack * " Arms" –

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series '' So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and relea ...

* " Just in Love" –

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin and Nick. The group released their debut studio album '' ...

* "Spirit School" – Anya Marina * "Watch Me Move" –

Fefe Dobson Felicia Lily Dobson (born February 28, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she began performing as a teenager, during which time she received and refused an offer from Jive Records for a recording contract. Dobso ...

References

External links

* {{ABC Family Original Movies 2011 television films 2011 films 2011 comedy-drama films 2011 fantasy films 2010s fantasy comedy-drama films 2010s ghost films 2010s high school films 2010s teen comedy-drama films 2010s teen fantasy films ABC Family original films American fantasy comedy-drama films American ghost films American high school films American teen comedy-drama films Comedy-drama television films Fantasy television films Films about the afterlife Films about proms Films directed by Gil Junger Films scored by Richard Gibbs Films shot in North Carolina Limbo 2010s American films