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Movie Review: 'The Prom'

Ryan Murphy and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman deliver a killer Prom on Netflix.

By Sean PatrickPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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The Prom has all the elements of a complete disaster. It’s a musical adaptation of a beloved Broadway musical and features big stars belting tunes to the back of the room in big voice. It also has director Ryan Murphy, he of the deeply hit and miss television vehicles and circumspect film vehicles such as Eat, Pray, Love. The potential for The Prom to be a massive, all time disaster was high.

The Prom stars newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma, a gay teenager at the center of a controversy in her small Indiana hometown. Emma has stated that she would like to attend the High School Prom with her date, her girlfriend. The local PTA, headed up by busybody Mrs. Green (Kerry Washington) is entirely opposed to Emma attending the prom with a girl as her date and has rallied the town against poor Emma and her only ally, her High School’s Principal Mr. Hawkins (Keegan Michael Key).

A million miles away in a different reality, Broadway legend DeDe Allen (Meryl Streep) and her co-star Barry Glickman (James Corden) are celebrating the debut preview of their latest musical extravaganza on the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Eleanor." Celebrating at least until the reviews arrive. Both stars are pulverized by critics for their fatuous performances and before they can finish the celebratory champagne, the play has closed and their careers are in disrepair

While Dede and Barry may need a miracle to revive their careers, Angie (Nicole Kidman) and Oliver (Andrew Rannells) may need more than just a miracle. Angie’s reached a point in her career where remaining in the chorus is getting kind of sad and Oliver, despite a successful sitcom in his past, is now tending bar. As the four drown their sorrows, Barry has an epiphany. What about a charity case? What about a cause celebre that they could hitch their P.R wagon to.

Just then Angie sees Emma’s story on Twitter and suddenly the path is clear. The four will travel to small town, small time, Indiana, and use the power of their celebrity to help Emma get her ticket to prom. Naturally, this will not go as planned and each of our four celebrities will have to learn a valuable lesson about ego and selflessness while also learning that not everyone who lives in a small town is so small minded.

The Prom is an adaptation of the 2016 musical that combined the talents of lyricist Chad Beguelin, music by Matthew Sklar, and Book by Beguelin and Bob Martin. The musical had a winding road to Broadway which began on the stage in Atlanta, Georgia before being transplanted to the Great White Way in 2018 where it went on to earn 7 Tony nominations and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.

This type of Broadway musical adaptation is tricky for the big screen. There is a deeply checkered history of Broadway musicals and Hollywood with famous flops dating all the way back to the 1970’s such as Lucille Ball’s disastrous Mame and massive blockbuster successes so big they spawned Academy Award nominations and wins for movies like Chicago and 2012’s Les Miserables. The Prom may not be Oscar caliber but it is, thankfully, on the better side of this ledger.

Director Ryan Murphy’s adaptation has a lively energy, wit and in newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman, a radiant new star who makes the whole movie better. While her big name co-stars are chowing down on every piece of scenery, Pellman gives The Prom a big beautifully beating heart filled with longing, romance, love and pluck. It’s a star making performance and hopefully the start of a bright new career in Hollywood for Pellman who has had only two prior, minor roles, on HBO’s The Deuce and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Of course, the big draw of The Prom are the fabulous and glamorous musical segments and The Prom has no shortage of funny, witty, songs that underline the central message of inclusiveness. The stand out is a show-stopping power pop tune called “Unruly Heart” sung with conviction and sensitivity by Pellman. The song uses the framing of a viral YouTube clip to lead into a group singlalong that is lovely and tearful.

Okay, fine, you want to know if the big movie stars are in tune and the answer is yes. I will admit to being deeply skeptical of seeing Meryl Streep in a Broadway adaptation after her shaky, to say the least, performance in Mamma Mia. Thankfully the Oscar winning legend overcame my skepticism with her wonderfully broad theatrics alongside James Corden on the song “Changing Lives” are very funny, and well sung.

The Cast of The Prom with director Ryan Murphy

The Prom opens in limited theatrical release on December 4th and debuts on Netflix on December 11th.

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About the Creator

Sean Patrick

Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.

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