When Allison Closs couldn’t find a suitable guy to bring to her senior prom, the Carlisle, Pa., student took matters into her own hands: She bought one.
The 17-year-old attended the big dance Friday night with a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito, the hirsute 73-year-old actor famous for his roles in films like “Get Shorty” and “Batman” — as well as for his gnarly “troll foot.”
Closs knows DeVito isn’t your typical teen heartthrob.
“I considered other celebrities, like Bill Nye the Science Guy,” she tells The Post. “But many of them would [have required] ordering a custom-made cutout, and I’m not about that money life, if you know what I’m saying.”
But Closs found “a shockingly wide variety” of premade Danny DeVito cutouts on Amazon. The “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” fan decided that he was worth the $100 price tag.
“I think Danny DeVito is hilarious,” she says.
The teen dressed up her cardboard date with a tie from her brother’s closet and a boutonniere. She duct-taped him to a cheap plastic scooter, which she wheeled around using a leash.
During the lead-up to prom night, she tried to keep her date’s identity a secret.
“My parents and a few friends knew,” she says. “My mom was a little skeptical, [and] my friends thought the concept was amusing. But to be honest, I don’t think they thought I was actually going to go through with it.”
But she did — and DeVito ended up being the life of the party, with teens lining up to take selfies.
Closs allowed the photo ops, but wouldn’t let anyone else dance with her man.
“I was afraid he’d get broken,” she says.
Barring one awkward moment — Closs yanked on her date’s leash a little too hard, and DeVito face-planted into her rear end — Closs says that he was a perfect gentleman.
And he was certainly less taxing than a real guy.
“Making things work with a human date can be so exhausting,” she says. “Danny’s not like that. He just goes with the flow . . . We never argue, never fight. Plus, he treats me the way a woman should be treated.”
The teen plans to attend Gettysburg College in the fall and major in film and media studies. In the meantime, she’s enjoying her newfound Internet fame and hopes that the news reaches DeVito himself.
“As an aspiring filmmaker, it would be huge to be acknowledged by a legend like him,” she says.
))
