The Prom
We will be the biggest thing to happen in Indiana since…..whatever’s happened in Indiana
Barry Glickman
Summary:
After finding her courage to come out, Emma faces many problems in her small Indiana town. She manages to handle the slander and rude comments to the best of her abilities, but when her high school’s prom is canceled solely because she is a lesbian, it proves to be too much for her to handle herself.
After receiving more than a few horrid reviews about their newest Broadway performance, Barry and Dee Dee are desperate to find something, anything to revive their personal images. This is when Angie stumbles onto Emma’s story. Convinced they will be able to clear up this situation and fix their public image, the group heads for Indiana. Nothing could have prepared them for what they found.
Characters:
Emma Nolan is a 17-year-old girl who really wants to take her girlfriend to the prom but the PTA of her school in Indiana says that the students must have a date of the opposite sex. Though the news makes national headlines, Emma doesn’t want to be a symbol she just wants to be able to be like every other student and go to her prom with her date. Emma is just a normal girl, but she is braver than most as she is proudly gay and does not shy away from who she is. She is also a pretty understanding and kind person who is just trying to live her life. Dee Dee Allen is a Broadway star who has won multiple Tony awards and is just had a show that got panned by critics and canceled her and some of her fellow Broadway stars decide to try and get good press by helping Emma. Dee Dee is a typical narcissist as she only cares about herself and her image but this is due to years of cultivating her Broadway persona and caring about herself because others didn’t care about her. Barry Glickman is another Broadway star who goes along with Dee Dee to gain good press as well. Having also been accused of being a narcissist Barry tries to change that perception while also learning to overcome his past trauma as there are many similarities between him and Emma.
Sebastian: 9.3/10
This movie had the songs, had the dances, and had the story to create a great musical with all the zazz the characters talk about having. I love musicals, they have always been something I have gravitated towards whether watching them or performing in them I love them. This movie really plays hardcore into the musical elements which I thought added to this adaptation and made it fun. There were a lot of songs in this movie and way more than I expected which was a fantastic surprise as 90% of the songs were really catchy or heartfelt and the choreography of the dancing was superb. They utilized the fact that this was a musical to great results with many elaborate and cool musical numbers that each have a different style but all fit with each other. The movie also has a star-studded cast with such actors as Meryl Streep, James Cordon, Nicole Kidman, and Keegan-Michael Key who each play their roles well and add to the music and comedy throughout the film. My favourite character was Barry (played by James Cordon) as I felt he had a pretty good character arc as he gained confidence and reconciled with some people in his past and I just felt that James Cordon gave a heartfelt performance with some good comedic moments as well. While the big stars shined throughout, I feel that the young cast should be given props, as well as their acting, felt quite natural and their singing and dancing was fantastic. Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma had a really deep performance and she excelled at conveying the emotions that someone might feel in this type of situation and also how much she just wants to be treated like everyone else. The story in this movie was powerful as it touched on issues that are still being dealt with today in many places and the movie deals with universal messages of wanting to fit in, be yourself, and to be accepted for your differences. I felt that the comedic scenes were well done and the emotional moments worked well and were quite believable.
All in all, I thought this was a great musical movie that makes me want to see the musical it is based on and has music that I am still humming. I recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a movie with an important message and a fun Broadway-style of presenting it!
Austin: 9.1/10
This is great. Like really, really good. I’m not typically one for musical adaptations, or movies with a whole bunch of musical numbers unless it’s full of that Disney flair, but this one is different. It contains such a wide variety of characters, a really solid plot, and a really important message behind the film as a whole.
My biggest issue with musical movies is that the songs can feel forced, or just not good. This movie isn’t like that. Every single song served a purpose, either furthering the plot or developing characters. It didn’t feel like a waste of a scene, and they didn’t feel like filler.
The beginning is pretty slow, and it takes a few minutes for the movie to find its feet and really take off, but once it does, we get a good pace. The plot is packed with powerful, emotional moments, and it takes on some pretty real issues. It dives into more than a few situations that more than a few of us can relate to either experiencing personally or knowing someone who has. These issues aren’t the prettiest side of society, but they are things that need to be discussed and put out into the open, and I think The Prom does a good job.
The characters are pretty decent. This isn’t the smoothest written dialogue but the character development is great. The amount of change we see from many of the more prominent characters is incredible and it helps the plot move along. The thing that grabbed my attention is that each character had his/her own role to play. They all represent a different train of thought, and they all bring something different to the plot. We don’t see a whole lot of overlap in concerns of the character features. As well, the acting is pretty darn good, especially from James Corden. It really adds to the quality of this movie and makes it that much more enjoyable to see that group of actors in those roles.
I really enjoyed this adaptation of the 2016 Broadway musical, The Prom. It has a solid cast of characters and the plot is both emotional and pointed. If this one doesn’t have you on the edge of a tear and smiling at different points, we gotta work on your empathy. Go enjoy this one on Netflix!
Nathanyal: 9.0/10
The first that pops into mind is Wow. Just wow. What a movie. It was a beautiful movie, with strong messages, deep characters, and just a real feel to it all in all.
Now, before I get into the wonderful things of the movie, there is just one complaint that I had. The beginning of the movie was slow and it took a while before the plot started picking up. Also, since this movie is a musical, some of the musical numbers didn’t sit right with me and bored me. They were either too long, or just weren’t catchy enough.
With those out of the way, let’s get on to the wonderfulness this movie brought. First things first, the plot and setting. The basic premise of this movie is that a lesbian girl is unable to join her prom due to the repercussions the community brought. Now, although the story was simple, what they did with the plot is what was amazing. With a simple plot, the movie is able to focus more on its messages and its characters. Its message of inclusivity was flushed out completely throughout the movie and brought up all angles about the issue, showing the defiance and the attacks both sides of the argument brought. Although this movie had a happier ending, the message is one of hope for all those who relate to this movie.
After such a strong and supportive message, I think the best part of the movie was without a doubt the characters. All of them were unique and relatable. Now, when you first meet your quadruple Broadway stars, all of them seem like your general, boring characters. Nothing special about them at all. But over the course of a 2 hour and 15-minute movie, each of them was given a time to shine and to develop. We got to see each of their strengths, weaknesses, and what makes them human beings. They all had their roles in helping Emma, and their character development felt natural. Dee Dee, for example, is a narcissist. Nearing the end of the movie, you can tell she’s trying to change. It doesn’t happen instantly, and we get to see her slip back a bit, and because of that, it just feels all the more natural.
Overall, this is a movie I highly suggest watching. It was strong in portraying its message, it had diverse characters, and many scenes will tug those heartstrings. Definitely a joy to watch.
