Premiering on ABC, it was a part of Walt Disney Presents revival series, and has since become a Cult Classic.
contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer: Reid to Hallie. Mostly because he’s awkward and constantly tries to make a move on her.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: When she firsts sees Steve driving by on his motorcycle, Hallie is clearly attracted to him. Later in the film, she goes off with him, having dumped Duncan after learning about the bet with his friends.
- All Men Are Perverts: Almost every male character Hallie encounters throughtout the film tries to hit on her, much to her annoyance. Of course, perhaps if she didn't dress so skimpy...
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Like so many examples of the time, Duncan’s sister Tracy is quite condescending and bitchy towards not only her brother, but also her own parents and several members of the cabinet. She’s civil with the President though and even gives him the affectionate nickname, Mr. P.
- Asshole Victim: Reid gets beat up by the group of hilbillies who mistake him for Duncan. It is somewhat hard to feel sorry for him after he spent most of his screentime hitting on Hallie even after she expressed zero interest in him.
- Big Eater: Tracy is shown chowing down on food in just about every scene she is in.
- The Bet: Duncan bets his friends $50 that he can bring a date to the dance. Later in the film, he ups the wager when he tells them his date is the President's daughter.
- Blind Date: Somewhat, since Duncan didn't find out that Hallie was the President's Daughter until he drove to her house.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Hallie has shades of this, but with good reasons, since she has never been able to do what she's wanted to do.
- The Bully: Steve
- Chekhov's Gunman: Reid is introduced in a brief scene near the beginning of the film as a Slimeball who Hallie despises for hitting on her constantly. Later in the film, he reappears when Hallie and Duncan are at Club Alien, where he gets beaten up by a couple of rednecks who mistake him for Duncan.
- Chekhov's Skill: Duncan's magic tricks come in handy when he manages to use them to get out of trouble with a group of bikers at a bar.
- Coming of Age Story
- Contrived Coincidence: When she and Duncan are getting new clothes at a store, Hallie picks up a Club Alien card, and suggests they should go there after the dance. When the two have to find a place to ditch a couple of hillbillies, the parking lot they park in just so happens to be Club Alien.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot
- Credit Card Plot
- Damsel in Distress: Hallie becomes this when Steve refuses to let her leave his house after she rejects his advances.
- Deadpan Snarker: Hallie often speaks to Reid like this, especially when he asks her out on a date to Club Alien. Her reply is “Sorry, I don’t date out of my species.”
- Dirty Old Man: the leader of rednecks harasses Hallie when she and Duncan at a stop light.
- The Dreaded: Steve is this to Duncan and his friends when they first bump into him.
- Dumb Blonde: While Hallie is by no means dumb, she has very poor judgment and is very impulsive, which leads her into trouble.
- Everyone Loves Blondes
- Extremely Short Timespan: The entire film occurs within a little over 24 hours. A good bulk of the film takes place during the evening.
- Fakeout Makeout: While at the movie theater, Hallie comes up with an idea for her and Duncan to ditch the Secret Service. She proceeds to pull Duncan down out of view of the agents, who believe the kids are just making out. This allowed the teens to crawl to the exit without being detected.
- Fatal Flaw: Hallie has very poor judgment. Rather than wear a proper date attire, she purchases a sexy dress that draws the wrong kind of attention to her. She believes almost anything that anyone tells her, which almost lands Duncan in trouble with some rednecks. And after leaving Duncan, she goes off with a shady biker who she was warned was bad news.
- Forced into Their Sunday Best: Hallie.
- Grounded Forever: Hallie and Duncan discuss what's going to happen when they get back home after the trouble they've caused.Hallie: Duncan, what do you think your parents are going to do when you get home tonight.Duncan: Grounded, for life. No allowance. Oh, and I get to lick the garage clean once a week forever....and a month.Hallie: : And I won't be allowed to date until I'm married.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Steve and the biker gang Duncan and Hallie encounter.
- High-School Dance: The whole movie revolves around Duncan trying to get a date to the spring dance at his school.
- Iconic Outfit: Hallie's sexy pink minidress.
- Insult Backfire: Reid seems undaunted by Hallie’s insults as well her poisonously sarcastic tongue.
- Karma Houdini: For the most part, Duncan and Hallie don't receive too harsh punishments for their actions, considering that it helped Duncan's father get raise from his boss (who got to meet the president).
- Letting Her Hair Down: When she leaves to go on her date with Duncan, Hallie wears her hair in a tight bun, showcasing how she was still under the control of her political parents. After escaping the secret service, she lets her hair down, and from then on acts like the wild teenager she always wanted to be.
- MacGuffin Location: the dance at Duncan's high school.
- Made-for-TV Movie: Debuted as a part of ABC's "A Wonderful World of Disney" segment.
- Mistaken from Behind: While at the mall, the President and Duncan's spot a couple who they believe to be Duncan and Hallie making out on a bench due to the boy having long brown hair. Upon calling out at them, the couple turn to face them, revealing themselves as two random teens. Much to their embarrassment, the two men apologize to the couple.
- Ms. Fanservice: Hallie spends a majority of the film wearing a sexy pink velvet spaghetti strap mini-dress
◊. This inevitably attracts the wrong type of attention. - Not Good with Rejection: When Hallie rejects his advances and tries to leave, Steve angrily tries to force her to stay.
- One Crazy Night: And what a night it was.
- Pedal-to-the-Metal Shot: When Hallie is driving Duncan's father's car and she has to floor the gas hard (in high heels sandals) to get away from thugs at a red traffic light.
- Pink Means Feminine: For most of the film, Hallie wears a hot pink velvet dress.
- Police Are Useless: The police officer who arrests the President and Duncan's father cannot clearly recognize the former. Also, the Secret service were easily tricked by Duncan and Hallie, who easily managed to ditch them at the movie theater.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Or in Hallie's case, the President's daughter. She chooses a hot pink minidress to wear on her date with Duncan.
- Proper Lady: The role Hallie has been forced to be for most of her life.
- Rebellious Princess: Or in Hallie's case, rebellious President's daughter. The moment she gets the chance, she provides an opening for her and Duncan to slip away from the Secret Service.
- Sexophone: Hallie gets one of these when she emerges from the dressing room, wearing a sexy pink minidress.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: For the first quarter, Hallie fits the bill with her very regal and conservative attire. She deconstructs this in the second half when she decides to dress more sexier, allowing her let out her wild and more adventurous side. This is played straight at the end, where she wears a more casual date wardrobe for her second outing with Duncan.
- Smooch of Victory: Hallie and Duncan share a kiss at the Lincoln Memorial after the fight with Steve.
- Stage Magician: Duncan uses his magic tricks to get him and Hallie out of trouble with a few bikers. Bonus points for Hallie actually being impressed by his magic.
- Stalker with a Crush: Both Reid and Steve. The latter manages to show up in almost all the same places that Hallie and Duncan are at.
- Too Hungry to Be Polite: Pretty much of all of Tracy's screentime.
- Wait for Your Date: Duncan ends up in this position when Hallie tells him to stop by a clothing store so she can pick up new clothes to wear on their date. This takes a while as she tries on dozens of outfits before finally settling on one.
