'The Prom' Movie Review

Introduction

Prom! The biggest event of the year that everyone looks forward to. Yet one small-town teen can't join in the excitement because of who she loves. Confidence, boldness and a bunch of celebrities is what it takes to save a girl and a community.

Key themes

There is a a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) ruling to cancel the prom as Emma wishes to go to the prom with her girlfriend, Alyssa, which is against the rules of the prom.

Dee Dee and Barry's 'Eleanor' Broadway performance is a hit and they are extremely excited, believing they have power and are changing lives.

Dee Dee and Barry receive hate comments from critics that causes their show to be cancelled on opening night.

They drink in misery with Trent, who despite having performed in 'Hamlet' and went to Julliard, is currently a waiter serving drinks as his career fails to fly.

They also drink with Angie, who despite having worked in Chicago on a show for 22 years, failed to get the lead actress role so decided to quit the show completely.

They decide that they still have 'power' and want to use it. They look for a cause to showcase that power and become credible celebrities again. They discover the trending case of the cancelled prom in Indiana because Emma wants to take her girlfriend to prom.

Emma is hated on by everyone at her highschool for getting the cancelled. The principal helps Emma to get the Court involved to fight the injustice.

Dee Dee, Barry, Trent and Angie arrive at Emma's highschool and perform a song claiming that it is 'ok to be gay' and discreetly (maybe not so much) express that they want to be recognised for their act of kindness towards the LGBTQ+ community.

Emma and Alyssa plan to walk into prom together loud and proud as Alyssa isn't a known lesbian like Emma.

The celebrities find a dirt trucking arena to allow them to perform an 'acceptance' song.

The principal informs the celebrities that after pressure from the state, the prom is uncancelled. The celebrities are delighted about their influence. Barry insists to dress Emma for the prom.

With prom reinstated, Emma and Alyssa are determined. Alyssa is slightly uneasy as she isn't 'out' yet. Alyssa's cheerleading friends overhear them and discover she is gay.

Whilst having drinks at a local Applebee's restaurant, Mrs Green, head of the PTA and Alyssa's mother, interrupts Dee Dee and the principal and tells Dee Dee to 'stick to acting instead of activism'.

Barry visits Emma at her grandmother's home and discovers that she was kicked out her home for coming out. He relates with her and takes her out to shop for prom.

Emma, all dressed for prom, arrives at the school boldly, only to discover that the actual prom is not at the school, but at another location. The school sport's hall was poorly decorated for an 'inclusive prom of one' for Emma.

When Alyssa finds out that her mother and friends deceived her, she is upset. Her friends shame her for being a lesbian.

Emma asks Alyssa to leave the other prom but she refuses. The principle, who has grown fond of Dee Dee, discovers that she only wanted to help Emma as a part of a publicity stunt.

The celebrities encourage Emma to showcase her story, but she refuses. Angie stays with Emma determined to encourage her to share her story.

Dee Dee tells Barry about her old love, Eddie. Barry advises her to strike up a new love with the principal. Dee Dee advises Barry to call his parents and patch things over.

Dee Dee asks the principal to take her out and he denies as he is upset that she was ingenuine about her purpose for visiting Indiana. She convinces him to go out with her.

Alyssa asks Emma to meet. Alyssa gives excuses to why she didn't leave the prom for Emma. Emma breaks up with Alyssa.

Trent goes to the mall to meet some of Emma's highschool classmates and teaches them to 'Love thy neighbour'.

Dee Dee calls her ex-husband and asks for a favour - a slot on his TV show for Emma to appear and tell her story. Emma declines saying she wants to do it 'her own way'.

Emma tells Barry she is going to tell her story and make prom happen for everyone, regardless of who they love. She asks Barry to be her date.

Emma posts a song online illustrating her story and love. The celebrities decide to plan a prom for Emma. They all chip in their own personal money to finance another prom.

Dee Dee calls Barry's mother, who surprisingly shows up. Barry's mother apologises and they resolve old problems.

Emma, the celebrities, the principal and Barry's mother, organise and set up the prom. The celebrities admit the truth to Emma about the real reason they came to help her. Emma's classmates show up and apologise and ask Trent to be their drama teacher because he is 'good at explaining things'.

Mrs Green shows up and says that the prom should be cancelled as it was not authorised by the PTA. The principal shuts her down. Alyssa also shows up and comes out to her mother, who is unhappy and claims that Alyssa is 'confused'.

The prom is a success, with many LGBTQ+ teens coming from all over. Mrs Green shows up and tells Alyssa that she loves her and that nothing will change that.

Key observations and questions

• Why didn't the principal overrule the PTA? Does he not have superior power? How powerful are the PTA?
• The celebrities are helping Emma in order to help themselves. Their ulterior motives conflict and weaken the message of the film. In the end, Emma didn't take notice to their self-centred intentions and each of the celebrities got something out of helping Emma. What message does this send?
• The gay character, 'Barry', is played by a straight man. This seems to conflict the purpose and message of the film. To think about this factor in details, the directors had to give the straight actor gay mannerisms in order for him to fulfill his role as a gay man. This conflicts a lot of advances the LGBTQ+ community is making.
• Should the entire LGBTQ+ be expressed and referred to via the word 'gay'?
• Stereotypical coming out journey for Alyssa. Her mother is the leader of the PTA, strict and the most hot-headed about LGBTQ+ relations.
• Barry, a gay man, insisted on dressing Emma for the prom. Isn't this stereotypical? For a film that is sending a message of being different and accepting of all, the film, at times, appears to succumb to 'straight' perceptions of the LGBTQ+ community.
• It feels like Alyssa and Emma are the only people in Indiana or their highschool who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Why are Angie and Emma so close? How did they become so close out of all the celebrities? What bonded them?
• The four celebrities are, in a way, were Emma's guardian angels. These celebrities sang, danced, jazzed and were glamorous. This could symbolise being 'bent' or 'not-straight' which is offensive to the LGBTQ+ community and conflicts the image the community is trying to present to the world.
• Why is Barry's response to everything to 'dress up'. This is a poor stereotypical 'gay' thing to do. This conflicts the film's message.
• The film had a colourful mise-en-scene and was well colour coded.
• What was significant about 'Eleanor'? Her name/the musical was mentioned numerous times during the film as if she is an inspiration. Why?
• Why did Emma wear a tux to prom? It appears to be a poor stereotypical perspective. Just because they are lesbians does not mean there has to be a distinct 'male' and 'female' in the relationship.
• What were the purpose of the celebrities? They did not do much. Emma and the principal more likely brought the change. The celebrities mostly financed the second prom. To not forget, they didn't really care for Emma's fight, but themselves. How does this help the film and its message?

Conclusion

'The Prom' was an interesting film. The film spoke up for the LGBTQ+ community and relayed messages of acceptance. However, the message was weakened by the many stereotypes that greatly conflicted the overall moral. There were even non-LGBTQ+ related stereotypes in the film, such as the 'jocks' dating the cheerleaders - a basic highschool movie storyline. Although the film was trying to place LGBTQ+ beliefs in a 'normal' American setting (in a way to say that being Queer is normal and acceptable), the message is about difference and how our differences are acceptable and make us stronger. This unfortunately wasn't strongly presented as a message as the film was surprisingly heavily stereotyped. The film seemed to attack Indiana, a state in America, in particular for their injustice to the LGBTQ+ community which is very assumptive and biased. The film referred to the Christian religion throughout the entire film. The song 'Love Thy neighbour' very much mocked and disregarded the religious beliefs of the Christian community. I think, to ridicule another group for their beliefs or pinpoint a particular group as the cause for the injustice against the LGBTQ+ community is wrong and disrespectful, allowing the film to become distasteful. It is always best to display respect to all, especially as a community fighting for respect.

Overall, the musical base to the film didn't serve much purpose and personally the songs could have been better worded in order to not offend other communities and cultures (Emma mentioned 'namaste' in her song 'Just Breathe' - this could be offensive to Hindus). The film adequately acted for its cause and unfortunately only spread a basic and very conflicting message.

As a human race, regardless of opposing beliefs, we should respect one another.

Cast

Jo Ellen Pellman - Emma

Ariana DeBose - Alyssa

Meryl Streep - Dee Dee

James Corden - Barry

Andrew Rannells - Trent

Nicole Kidman - Angie

Keegan-Michael Key - Principal

Kerry Washington - Mrs Green