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The Prom Movie Review - One Lesbian At A Time

The Prom is a middling film that tries sailing on two boats. 


In this colorful musical gay world of Ryan Murphy's The Prom, people don't open up but sing their hearts out. In New York City, Broadway stars Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden) exhibit excitement on the opening night of their new show by singing. Meanwhile, in Indiana, a student named Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) gives a note to herself about being cautious if gay in this town by singing. It is a sad situation sweetened through Emma's mellow vocals. The Prom, too, delivers on this promise of tackling a sensitive subject with a breezy smile. 

When Allen and Glickman's show gets negative reviews on the opening night, resulting in a shutdown, they, along with Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells) and Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman), decide to enter charity in order to boost their individual status. Since poverty and world hunger is too difficult to handle and require a lot of money, the four of them zero in on Emma. 

Emma's school has canceled the prom. The reason being her choice to take a girl to the dance. Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington), the school PTA, is strictly against same-sex romance policy. She is not alone. The whole town considers this notion offensive except for the principal, Tom Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key). He threatens to take the matter to the state's attorney, "This is not about school rules. This is a civil rights case." The Broadway celebrities join in to "help." 

Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin's screenplay, adapted from a 2018 Broadway musical of the same name, mashes two movies into one. The first one sings ballads of aging stars and struggles attached with the entertainment industry. The actors' narcissism is responsible for the downfall of their show, "You're just not likeable. Nobody likes a narcissist." It also expands on our connection towards theater and films and how they revitalize our mundane lives. Hawkins channels this point in a scene at a restaurant when Allen says she sometimes thinks of quitting. An actor remains distant from the audience. He/she measures the public's love by looking at the box office numbers. They are often unaware of the gargantuan impact they have on the fans. As Hawkins narrates how stirring Allen's performance is to him, she cognizes how her job affects the little faces seated in the auditorium. It is one of the few emotional moments that works wonderfully. A fan moment between Hawkins and Allen is shot with the camera revolving around them. This is possibly how you will feel when meeting your idol in real life. Nothing will seem stable, as if things are going around in motion.  

The second film follows Emma and her struggles. The combined efforts from everyone to open the town's eyes. Apparently, all you need to do is convince two girls, Kaylee (Logan Riley Hassel) and Shelby (Sofia Deler). The rest follow immediately. Mrs. Greene is the exception case reserved for the finale. There are few investing moments, and some that even begin to work their magic get interrupted by songs. Take, for example, the horrific two prom bit where our feelings are distracted with an incorrectly timed musical number. The song should have been delayed or removed. It dilutes the dramatic build-up. 

The lyrics are catchy, though: "By the time I get tuberculosis in act two. Even the people who are dead inside will shout, 'Bravo,' on cue." "Just breathe, Emma. Not everyone is that repressed. Just breathe, Emma. It wouldn't be high school without a test." Murphy knows how to choreograph a dance routine. Within minutes, a banal platform is converted to a concert stage. The monotonous lights are shaded with various colors (even the frames shout LGBT). 

Scratch a little more and find these visuals as nothing more than a diversion. Because The Prom is just another teen comedy embodying done-to-death beats, conflicts, plot points, etc. The Prom's set up of merging Broadway and Gay is acceptable. However, it fails to carry them parallelly. As mentioned earlier, it shelters two films, and each of them would have benefited from a solo outing. The characters are paper-thin. Read the paper to find a line defining each one's strife: angry parent, a failed career, romantic issues. Admittedly, the actors chew up the screen making a meal out of their parts. Sadly, the same cannot be applied to the film's underdeveloped writing.   

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