"The Prom" overstuffed but such a vibrant, proudly queer, infectious bowl of talent and joy

The Prom (2020)

“The Prom” is as spirited, wholly felt, and joyous as a film can get that, even if only for 132 minutes, makes the world feel like a safer, better place. Vibrantly adapted to the screen from the 2018 Broadway musical by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, and Matthew Sklar, this cinematic manifestation of razzmatazz, love, and acceptance is a rainbow-colored movie-musical event that emanates jubilance in nearly every frame. Unflagging director Ryan Murphy has amassed an entire ensemble of theatrical talent in two movies—a small-town queer story and a redemption story for showbiz narcissists—for the price of one. The exertion of the cast’s gusto could have been a little much, but in the context of such a splashy, bouncy and proudly queer production, it’s cumulatively just the right amount of effort without ever being obnoxious. Even if the narrative could have been streamlined in places, the film’s “let’s-put-on-a-show” energy and overall feel-good vibes paper over the overstuffed nature of Martin and Beguelin’s screenplay. This would be an infectious delight any year, and yet in a hellhole of a year where Broadway has remained closed, “The Prom” fills that void. Come for the glitzy, starry spectacle, and stay for the universal messages of tolerance and inclusivity. 

“The Prom” gets right to it. In small-town Edgewater, Indiana, James Madison High School’s close-minded PTA president Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington) cancels prom, all because of one girl who wanted to take her girlfriend to the rite of passage. That girl is 17-year-old Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman), and her closeted girlfriend Alyssa (Ariana DeBose) happens to be Mrs. Greene’s daughter. Meanwhile, in New York, “Eleanor! The Eleanor Roosevelt Musical” has opened and closed the same night after narcissistic Broadway stars Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep), a two-time Tony Award winner, and Barry Glickman (James Corden) were lambasted by the critics for their performances. Drinking away their sorrows at Sardi’s, along with chorus girl Angie (Nicole Kidman) and Juilliard graduate/former sitcom star/bartender Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells), they realize they need a performative cause to make them look less self-involved. With Emma’s civil-rights story trending on Twitter, the Broadway opportunists hitch a ride on a non-union “Godspell” tour bus heading through Indiana to raise hell and get Emma the prom she deserves. 

Newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman (who resembles Leighton Meester) is a radiant joy to watch from the moment she utters her first few lyrics of the earnest “Just Breathe,” emanating a warmth, goodness, and self-assuredness. Even as the A-listers threaten to steal the show, this really is about Pellman. As much as the Broadway bunch helps and acts as a support system when she needs it most, Emma does do the work on her own. Broadway performer Ariana DeBose also has a special spark and makes Alyssa Greene sympathetic as a young woman who's always been pressured to be perfect and "normal." Her coming-out and reconciliation with her mother are both exquisitely acted enough to bring one to tears. If more than half the battle for a musical love story is for its performers to have spectacular voices and lovely chemistry, Pellman and DeBose have both in spades. 

As for the actors playing the showbiz types, they are hard to beat, and their collective enthusiasm goes a long way toward selling their arcs in a two-plus-hour film that has a lot of bases to cover. Further testing her musicality, Meryl Streep is a beguiling hoot as Broadway diva Dee Dee Allen and able to humanize this Patti LuPone stand-in. Her comedic timing and delivery of a snarky line are perfect, like “I’ve never said this before to anyone…tell me about you,” when Dee Dee goes out to an Applebee’s with Principal Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key). Despite those who don’t agree a straight man should be playing a queer character, James Corden is endearing and unexpectedly touching as the “gay-as-a-bucket-of-wigs” Barry. Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells may receive less business than the others, but they sure do have their moments in the spotlight. As Angie, a perky “Chicago” chorus girl who never got to play Roxie Hart, Kidman gets to share a few nice moments alone with Emma eating pints of ice cream, as well as put her “crazy antelope legs” to use in Fosse-esque duet “Zazz” with Emma. Rannells, as Juilliard’s proudest graduate Trent, is just a delightful presence to have around, and his mall-set number “Love Thy Neighbor,” where Trent teaches the popular kids not to cherry-pick which Biblical rules to follow and to open their hypocritical minds, is one of many musical highlights (and a cute parallel to “The Book of Mormon” of which Rannells was a star). 

In other supporting roles—you thought we were done?—Keegan-Michael Key makes a major impression as the compassionate Principal Tom Hawkins, who also happens to be Dee Dee’s biggest straight fan. With his grounded presence, Key helps make the blossoming romance with Streep's Dee Dee sweet rather than contrived filler. Kerry Washington is fiery as the staunchly conservative Mrs. Greene, who doesn’t get an overnight mind-change and turnaround, and sells her tender moment with Alyssa at the final prom just right. Mary Kay Place, as Emma’s grandmother who has taken her in, and Tracey Ullman, as Barry’s estranged mother, round out the cast, while making their small moments count, and even the quartet of straight cheerleaders (Logan Riley, Sofia Deler) and jocks (Nico Greetham, Nathaniel J. Potion) are well-cast, particularly for their abilities during the song-and-dance numbers.

With fizzy snark and a whole lot of zazz, “The Prom” showcases Ryan Murphy’s showmanship and why his maximalist sensibilities are well-suited for this material. All of the songs are catchy and cleverly written, but a few stand out above the rest. The first big number, “Changing Lives,” is a satirically sharp introduction to just how narcissistic Dee Dee and Barry really are, and they put on a hell of a show inside Sardi’s. The lyrically funny “It’s Not About Me” is Dee Dee’s pageantry-filled shame-on-you to the Hoosiers, as she crashes the PTA meeting and hijacks the spotlight, while insisting this is all for Emma. “Dance with You” is a wonderfully sweet and ethereal anthem for Emma and Alyssa; the memorably peppy “You Happened” is a grandly staged confession of love on Promposal Day; “Tonight Belongs to You” is a show-stopper of Barry getting Emma ready for the prom that, despite the upbeat celebration, ends up stinging afterward; and the giddy “It’s Time to Dance” brings the show home at the inclusive prom built by Emma and her new theater pals. The lustrous cinematography by Matthew Libatique has a scope that’s desired in movie musicals to allow Casey Nicholaw’s dazzling dance choreography to be captured from head to toe. The lighting pops in most of the numbers, and the editing even has a rhythm that cuts on the beat. 

One can see stone-hearted cynics finding the near-ceaseless cheeriness tiring or glib, so let them. Is “The Prom” corny? Yes. Are there perhaps too many characters and plot threads vying for attention? Maybe. Then again, screenwriters Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, who also wrote the stage musical, aren't about to kill their darlings. Even so, the cast is so eager to please that it’s impossible to resist and even harder to complain. Sure, “The Prom” is a little ungainly with an exorbitant runtime, but one thing’s universal: this is a toe-tapping, crowd-pleasing entertainment that deserves making the rotation of movie-musical favorites. 

Grade: B +

Netflix released “The Prom” (132 min.) in select theaters December 4, 2020 and to streaming on December 11, 2020.