BJ Colangelo is a critic, author, screenwriter and podcaster. One of the things she writes about is wrestling and it is in this context that I first heard of her. She has been a guest on the podcast Shut Up and Wrestle with Brian Solomon a couple of times, once discussing the movie The Iron Claw and more recently having a general chat about wrestling and her relationship with it, amongst other topics. It was after the second episode that I was inspired to check out her podcast, This Ends at Prom.

In the show, BJ, a queer cisgender teen movie apologist, makes her wife Harmony Colangelo watch teen girl films that she missed out on because, as a transgender woman, she didn’t watch them growing up. BJ recalls watching the movies when she was younger and reevaluates them now, seeing if she remembers them through rose-tinted glasses. On the other hand, Harmony tells us what she thinks from the point of view of someone who is coming to them later in life, and not as a teen.

They give the movies context by discussing what was going on at the time of their release. There is also often a discussion of how the movie hits differently watching it now versus watching it when it was released, or whenever it was that BJ or Harmony watched it first.

Naturally, as queer people, they also look at the films through a queer lens and have come up with some intriguing takes. I also enjoy the fact that they cover some animated films. In the end, Harmony decides whether the film is good enough to be taken to prom, hence the title of the show.

Many listeners may gravitate towards the podcast because of its discussions on women in film, but I think it has something for everyone. For example, many queer men did not grow up with depictions of people like them, and so have often turned to strong women in media as this was the closest we could get to seeing ourselves on screen. So we often identify with the characters in teen girl movies. Plus, different kinds of people like what they like, and some of them just like teen girl movies.

They cover iconic films like Mean Girls, and although the list goes on, I think I probably have a lot of you sold there. I’m not so much a Mean Girls fan but, going through their episode list, I was surprised at the number of teen girl movies I really love.

I have already listened to their episodes on Juno, Cruel Intentions and Inside Out, amongst others. Juno is an interesting discussion given that Elliot Page had just come as trans when they recorded their episode. Cruel Intentions was some peoples’ gay awakening (Ryan Philippe for me) and is super queer and camp and probably wouldn’t be made today. They also have a very interesting read of Inside Out that makes complete sense to me.

There is also a Patreon where, amongst other things, there are watch-alongs and bonus episodes, including ones where Harmony makes BJ watch teen boy movies. The podcast episodes are full of insightful commentaries and interesting perspectives, and they give their listeners an excuse to rewatch some old favourite films. Maybe Hocus Pocus? Halloween is coming up after all.

Listen to This Ends at Prom here!