The Prom, a music for young people, is full of relevant messages about equality and self-love, and inclusiveness that gives a voice to minorities, even if the voice in Murphy’s hands is filled with clichés, soap operas and absurdities. Best Movie Site
Adapted by screenwriter duo Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin from the eponymous Broadway musical, who were also born by the duo, The Prom is about a prom night at a canceled Indiana high school. According to Greene (Kerry Washington) as the chairman of POMG, the ban is because one of the students, Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman), plans to bring other women to the event. Despite the full support of Tom Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key), the principal, Emma is still criticized by the whole school.
Elsewhere, two Broadway narcissists, Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden), took a hit with their latest show that has come under heavy criticism from critics. Until the news of Emma gave them both an idea. For the sake of publicity, Dee Dee and Barry, along with Julliard graduate Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) and supporting vocalist Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman), plan to come to Indiana to help Emma.
Just as the superpowers feel that poor countries need their helping hand to achieve prosperity, or SJW, big city residents of expensive cafes, think that rural people need to educate them, these four Broadway stars insist on giving help, without knowing (read: caring) what Emma need. But again, this is a Ryan Murphy film, where humans with bad temper will realize their mistakes, then change. Although the changes did not go through a convincing process. Movie Review
Even through a musical lens, where singing can solve problems, The Prom’s simplification is exaggerated. No matter how much I like hearing the insinuation against the hypocrisy of the homophobes about the application of Bible teachings in the number Love Thy Neihgbor, this musical sequence is clear evidence of the simplification of the film on complex issues. But I’m sure Murphy, Martin, and Beguelin realized that.
Even though they were annoying, it felt like they weren’t fooling the audience. The shortcomings above are intentional. As Mr. Hawkins said about how Broadway became escapism, The Prom provides a place for the audience to escape the injustices of reality, accompanied by super catchy songs with super cheesy lyrics. Murphy was also able to produce fun entertainment in a series of musical sequences, for example the festive climax set on prom night, which, although again seeming naive, contains good intentions, namely providing a safe haven for everyone, regardless of their gender and sexual preferences.
The story of The Prom is not only hampered by simplification, but also by the inclusion of subplots, as well as unnecessary moments. Maybe the writers wanted the audience to also care about characters other than Emma, but as a result, the focus widened, and the duration swelled to 131 minutes. Maybe it would be tiring if the film didn’t have a top-notch lineup. Unexpectedly Corden is quite good at processing the taste, Keegan gives us a likeable figure, as well as Pellman, as the protagonist that we are happy to support thanks to his determination and strength. Streep? Perhaps not many actresses apart from Streep have been able to combine the comical over-the-top with the fragility of a middle-aged star whose heart is not as glamorous as her image. While Kidman’s performance in the song Zazz will make you miss Satine from Moulin Rouge !, hope that one day the actress will get a similar musical project as the main star. Top Movie