Netflix’s The Prom – An Acquired Taste Musical (Early Review)

So it’s only natural that the cast of Netflix’s highly-anticipated musical, directed by Glee co-creator (among many other things) Ryan Murphy, would jump out for most potential audiences but that can be deceiving. Nevertheless, fans of Glee will be right at home with The Prom. However, Glee ended 5 years ago and that same song and dance (pun intended) is nowhere near as effective today and just feels dated this time around considering the plethora of other content that has come since then. That being said, viewers can for the most part figure out what’s coming for better or worse over the course of it’s overlong 2+ hour running time which easily could have been cut down by 15-20 minutes. Suffice it to say that this will not be everyone’s cup of tea and will be a polarizing one, meaning that those who love it will really love it and those who hate it will really hate it. In the end, the film will still find an audience. Though there are some decent elements here, the film as a whole can never quite come together in a satisfying way and will surely get on some nerves.

The Prom follows a group of comically narcissistic New York City theatre actors led by legend Dee Dee Allen (Streep) and Barry Glickman (Corden). Meanwhile, the latter’s casting and subsequent over-the-top performance has already caused a stir due to its caricaturish nature and what was essentially a gay stereotype. While it was certainly distracting at times, this was only one of many issues. This theatre troupe took it upon themselves to travel to a Conservative small town in Indiana to support a high school girl Emma (Pellman) who simply wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom like anyone else. Of course this was a contentious issue for Emma’s town as it went against their precious conservative values. Once the actors arrived, the contrast could not be more apparent as the characters could not be any more obnoxious (though the objectors could be described as caricaturish). While the town did feature some supporters/allies, their presence only served to undercut Emma’s story which was actually decent and sincere in comparison despite still coming off as incredibly cheesy.

Along with that cheese was a thick layer of sugar as The Prom plays out like an extended episode of Glee plot wise, featured plenty of elaborate, energetic albeit mostly superfluous song and dance numbers with decent production value that were somewhat entertaining though will inevitably get on some nerves. Since there seemingly wasn’t much to be had within Emma’s main storyline other than cliches and unoriginal messaging about acceptance and inclusion, the film sprinkled in plenty of inconsequential subplots involving the theatre actors to give them their own conflicts that only added to the running time. Though they would unsurprisingly find somewhat of a redemption by the end, their general unlikable nature (there were some bright spots) made those journeys feel unearned. It was just a shame that the film couldn’t give Emma more of a chance to figure things out on her own and pull viewers into that inner conflict. Ultimately, the unrealistic bow to tie it all together was the unsurprising cherry on top.

As far as the acting was concerned, they weren’t horrible and the actors could all definitely sing for the most part though the script and direction didn’t do them any favors. Most chew up the scenery with their over-the-top characters which some may find entertaining though others are sure to think otherwise with some being harder to watch than others. While Streep and Corden as Allen and Glickman are the biggest names here therefore will get the most attention and perhaps rightfully so but both were trying way too hard here. At least Streep didn’t completely embarrass herself by overplaying gay to the point of being distractingly cringeworthy. In terms of the other big names, Nicole Kidman and Kerry Washington were wasted as Angie Dickinson and Mrs. Greene respectively, however, Andrew Rannells was the lone bright spot as Trent Oliver. Regardless, they will all be fine. The biggest standout will likely be Pellman as Emma who proves her worth, holding her own alongside the film’s all-star cast and is on her way to greater things.

The Prom, just like most musicals, will be an acquired taste but just get ready for sugar with their cheese. 

*still courtesy of Netflix*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.