Graduation Day (1999 film)

Graduation Day is a 1999 teen drama film directed by Scott Winant and written by David Webber, Jason Stewart and Winnie Holzman. The film is a continuation of My So-Called Life and stars Claire Danes, Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Devon Gummersall, Jared Leto, A. J. Langer, Devon Odessa, Lisa Wilhoit, and Tom Irwin reprising their roles from the show, with newcomers Sarah Paulson, Carly Pope, and Kerr Smith joining the cast. It takes place three years after the events of the final episode, focusing on the students' graduation at Liberty High School.

The film was released in the United States on April 16, 1999, by Buena Vista Pictures under its Touchstone Pictures banner. It received positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office.

Plot
After earning their bachelor's degree at Liberty High School in Pittsburgh, most of the parents were invited to a graduation ceremony at Liberty High School with 12th grade students who had just been graduated. Angela (Claire Danes) is giving them their graduation speech, and it was about to be graduated from high school. Among them, most of the 11th grade students at Liberty are attending 12th grade. More coming soon!

Cast

 * Claire Danes as Angela Chase
 * Bess Armstrong as Patty Chase
 * Wilson Cruz as Rickie Vasquez
 * Devon Gummersall as Brian Krakow
 * Jared Leto as Jordan Catalano
 * A. J. Langer as Rayanne Graff
 * Devon Odessa as Sharon Cherski
 * Lisa Wilhoit as Danielle Chase
 * Tom Irwin as Graham Chase
 * Sarah Paulson as Amy Miller
 * Carly Pope as Emma Smith
 * Kerr Smith as Tom Davis

Production
After My So-Called Life was cancelled by ABC in 1995, the series was left resolved on a cliffhanger. Screenwriters David Webber and Jason Stewart wrote a treatment for the film along with the series' creator Winnie Holzman in 1996. The experience of Webber and Stewart came after the duo watch all 19 episodes of the show. Both of them were members of the Operation Life Support fan campaign. The film was immediately pitched to Touchstone Pictures and hired Barry Mendel, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herkowitz to produce, with Roger Birnbaum executive producing under the Caravan Pictures banner. Claire Danes, Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Devon Gummersall, Jared Leto, A. J. Langer, Devon Odessa, Lisa Wilhoit, and Tom Irwin were announced to reprise their roles. After completing  ' Til There Was You, Scott Winant came on board to direct. Sarah Paulson, Carly Pope, and Kerr Smith have signed on to join the cast.

Filming began from April to July 1998 in Los Angeles. W.G. Snuffy Walden was hired to compose music for the film in the August of 1998.

Release
The film was originally slated for March 12, 1999, but it was bumped up a month to avoid competition with Baby Geniuses, The Corruptor, The Deep End of the Ocean, The Rage: Carrie 2 and Wing Commander.

Box office
Despite high anticipation, Graduation Day performed poorly at the box office. Although several box office authorities predicted a #1 opening, the film opened at #3 in the box office, grossing $13.2 million in its opening weekend behind The Matrix and Life. It closed on July 15, 1999 with a domestic box office gross of $32.5 million.

Graduation Day ' s international box office results were mixed, with strong openings in the UK, Portugal and Russia, but poor results in Spain, Australia, France and Italy. Buena Vista International cancelled the film's theatrical release in seven countries, planning to release it directly to video instead. The box office income outside of the United States was $17.4 million, with a worldwide total of $49.9 million, all over a $45 million budget.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 8.0/10. The site's critical consensus states that: "Picking it from when it left off, Graduation Day is all about when our school is graduated in this fun movie.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average of 78 out of 100, based on reviews of 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.