Review: The Prom

"The world is better because of people who have the courage to be who they are" 

A musical about a prom in Indiana getting cancelled because Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman) wants to bring her girlfriend as her date and a few Broadway stars trying to save the day. Directed by Ryan Murphy, starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Keegan-Michael Key amongst others, "The Prom" is based on the true story of Constance McMillen.

Rule of thumb: A title that has Meryl Streep attached to it usually has great acting performances. That also applies to this movie. As always, Meryl Streep delivers a great performance as Dee Dee Allen, a narcissistic Broadway star. James Corden is almost over-acting in the start, making him look ridiculous at first, but throughout the rest of the movie he gets better and gives a well-layered performance, portraying the sensitive, loving Barry Glickman. He ends up delivering a great dialogue in one of the best and most heartbreaking scenes of the movie and has the best character development, becoming a caring and selfless friend. Other mentionable performances include Kerry Washington playing a highly conservative and controlling mother, her daughter Alyssa Greene played by Ariana DeBose, who gives very heartfelt and touching performances at times and Andrew Rannells playing the character of Trent Oliver, who proves to be a great comedic actor. However, it is noticeable that in the quartet of Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, James Corden and Meryl Streep, the latter three have a lot of experience with musicals. I feel like there is a lack of chemistry between Emma and her girlfriend. Emma herself definitely is the weakest out of all the actors. She is mainly just smiling and not really conveying any emotions. All in all, the acting is nothing outstanding but solid and you can see that everyone involved put a lot of heart into the project.

Visually, the movie convinces in every way. The cinematography is extremely dynamic and explores every detail of the scene, keeping up the fun with innovative perspectives and fresh angles in every scene. It draws in the audience and captures everything, from the production design to the elaborated costumes, perfectly. The cinematography works especially well in the mall scenes, that turned out amazing. The director of photography Matthew Libatique was recently nominated for an Oscar for his work on "A Star is Born" and was the DoP on projects such as "Birds of Prey", "Mother" and "Black Swan". The costume design is super flashy. There is a lot of sparkly outfits making the movie look over the top, which in this case is a plus because it fits the whole setup and mood of the movie. Combined with the amazing production design, you really feel like you are watching a Broadway production. Especially the locations at school (the gym, the pool, the corridors) are very well designed. The school colors (blue and yellow) are incorporated into every little detail and play a significant role in the symbolics of the whole movie (i will explain this more in the spoiler section). Another very detailed location is Alyssa's room where you can see trophies and medals in the background displaying her seemingly perfect life.

In general the feel and mood is one of the main reasons why "The Prom" works for me. It does indeed feel and sound like the usual, American, high-school, coming-of-age movie and yes, it is very predictable and incredibly corny but it is made with so much heart and love, making it such a feel-good movie and a really enjoyable film. While the story is rather cliché it unfortunately struggles to keep up the pace and the storylines of secondary and main characters get mixed up a lot, making you forget about the main plotline. While I really liked Nicole Kidman's character and her scenes, at times I did find her quite redundant.

Lastly, the most important aspect of a musical - the music. Starting with the intro the music already hyped me up for the rest of the movie. There are different genres of songs sung in different ways, as duets, groups or solos and getting reprised as well. The music is heartfelt, funny, sassy and is incorporated into the story and setting really well. However, the lyrics are the best part about the music. They make you laugh, cry, sigh and eventually you'll start singing along.   

To sum up, as a fan of musicals and Ryan Murphy's work I had a great time watching "The Prom". It does have its weaknesses, but as a whole I really enjoyed the movie and would definitely watch it again. In fact, I already have. It is a feel-good movie and even though at times it is really predictable and struggles with the plot, it still makes you laugh and leaves you with a smile. 

Observations & (Fun) Facts

Disclaimer: contains spoilers

Emma looks like Elizabeth Moss' and Drew Barrymore's love child.

We all need a friend like Barry.

Meryl Streep is like that grandma who just got a phone and is taking photos of everything.

Barry's solo and dance is one of the cutest things ever.

Stick around until the end to hear Meryl Streep rapping. 

What I think the costumes symbolize: In the first scenes at school Emma is wearing a yellow cardigan, while no one else you see wears anything yellow and a lot of people are dressed in something blue-ish. I believe this symbolizes, her being the outsider and being different than the rest. However, in the end at the prom, Emma is wearing blue and a lot of other people are wearing something blue-ish as well (including Barry and Trent). The bully girl (the blonde one) is wearing yellow then, turning the tables. Now she is the one who's different.

Things I laughed at pretty loud:

• the Juilliard running gag
• Dee Dee pulling out her two Tonys (fun fact: Meryl Streep doesn't have a Tony)
• the acceptance song
• Trent pointing out the homophobe hypocrits who use their religion as an excuse for intolerance (we've all met these kind of people)

Some quotes that resonated with me or made me laugh:

• "This isn't America, this is Indiana"
• "We are liberals from Broadway"
• "A distraction is momentary, an escape helps you heal"
• "The zazz comes from within"
• "You're not yourself, you're not what she wants, you're somewhere in between"
• "You can't cherry-pick the bible, choosing which parts you wanna believe"
• "I just don't want you to have a hard life"
  "It's already hard"