Dude 2018

At the junior prom, four best friends — Lily, Chloe, Amelia, and Rebecca — share a night of big dreams and fragile futures. Chloe’s brother Thomas shares a tender moment with Lily as they discuss his upcoming move to college, and just as they lean in for a kiss, their friends interrupt them. On his way home from prom, Thomas is killed in a car crash.

A year later, the girls are in their final two weeks of high school. Chloe and Lily dream of attending college in New York City together, with the former aiming for NYU and the latter eyeing Columbia. Rebecca develops a crush on the school librarian, Mr. Bemis, while Amelia navigates her parents’ divorce. Despite their challenges, the group decides to go to prom together.

Lily is overwhelmed with school celebrations, while Chloe grapples with grief over her future and family responsibilities. Chloe is accepted to NYU, but she hesitates and Consider attending UCSB to stay close to home. Sam consoles her and asks her to prom, which she accepts. Lily begins delegating responsibilities as Noah promposes to her via serenade, which she declines, yet they share a kiss at a party later. At another party, Chloe reveals her plan to attend UCSB, which upsets Lily. She retreats to a bedroom with Mike, whom she met earlier, and he rapes her.

Lily confronts the others for leaving her out of Chloe’s NYU news and for the way her feelings were handled, and they reprimand her for her selfishness as they all navigate their own struggles. She then vents to Noah about his ex’s jealous comments, and he insists he is only interested in Lily, which she rebuffs before walking away.

After her brother’s memory helps her see her own flaws, Lily apologizes to the group. A flashback reveals that Thomas and Lily shared a kiss and confessed their mutual love at junior prom, deepening the sense of loss and what might have been. She reconciles with Noah, and the four friends celebrate their renewed bond.

Graduation brings a moment of pride and relief as Lily delivers a valedictorian speech and shares a kiss with Noah. At their graduation party, Mr. Bemis introduces himself to Rebecca as “Immanuel,” a name they had joked about before, and she gestures toward introducing him to her parents. The four friends step out onto a rooftop with the city sprawling beneath them, taking in one last shared view before they begin the next chapter of their lives.