Premise: A group of Broadway performers head to a small Indiana town to protest the school board's unwillingness to allow a lesbian couple attend their prom.
Leading up to the release of Ryan Murphy's adaptation of the Broadway show, The Prom, I heard a lot of negative takes. I heard people complain about James Corden getting cast as a gay man. People critiqued casting Meryl Streep in a role that requires a belter. I even heard technical comments about how this is another musical that doesn't understand the importance of longer shots and showing the performers' feet during the dance numbers. I just wish someone would've warned me about the material in the actual story too, because that's the worst thing about it.
You see, this movie is about some narcissistic Broadway performers looking to improve their public image. So, they find a cause to help with to earn some good press. They choose the story of an Indiana town where the school board refuses to allow a gay couple to attend. The performers descend on this town to enlighten the small-minded townsfolk. Of course, this group of vain performers is full of people who have lived in their liberal bubble too long and have no idea how to talk to "regular people". And, I guess, comedy ensues from this contrast until everyone can get on the same page.
I realize that some of the fun of Broadway musicals is the heightened nature of them. In a world where people break into song to make their points, one has the paint in broad strokes. Even still, I couldn't believe the "coastal" vs. "heartland" discourse of this movie. It's ironic that the movie is about hapless "coastal saviors" coming to educate some midwestern simpletons, and the movie itself is actually made by "coastal saviors" trying to educate midwestern simpletons. I mean, there's a song in this that's all about pointing out inconsistencies in the Bible. How is that still a thing? Aren't we decades past the idea that the reason some religious folks are against gay people is because they don't realize the Bible is inconsistent? While they're at it, they might as well say that bullies are only picking on someone because they are jealous. I was flabbergasted that the movie didn't end with someone in PTA opposition didn't come out as closeted (because, you know, all people who dislike gay people are secretly gay themselves).
There are so many story beats like that in this. I could ignore one individually, but collectively they were so unbelievable that I could never get around to connecting with the message of the movie. You know, even in the Midwest, there are gay communities. Big ones. Vibrant ones. Vocal ones. Tolerant allies too. I think this movie really needs to hear that. The idea that Emma (Jo Ellen Pellmen) is a local pariah in her moderately-sized town is laughable. When the entire school keeps her in the dark about this alternate prom, my response wasn't, "oh no, that's awful". No, I just thought "bullshit". For that to happen, I'm supposed to believe she has no friends and no allies in that entire town. And it's not like the town is some Bible-thumping Footloose town. Emma's grandmother accepts her. The principal (Keegan-Michael Key) is able to keep his job despite siding with Emma.
Look, I really hate when people talk about "coastal elites" or "flyover states" as derogative. It's a foolish and false dichotomy that creates a really dumb "us vs. them" mentality. There are really progressive people in the South and Midwest. There are really conservative people on the coast, in the biggest cities. This kind of movie pisses me off because it makes the broad assumption that New York people are more enlightened than people in Indiana. In fact, I'm really tired of Indiana being the only Midwestern state that writers seem to know about. Seriously, why does it always have to be Indiana? How about setting something in Iowa or non-Chicago Illinois?
OK, I'm getting on a rant that moves beyond the movie now. Needless to say, the premise and execution of the story in The Prom are unbelievable to the point of negating any connection I had to the characters or message. The central quartet of Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, and Andrew Rannells are decent and have fun playing a heightened Broadway type that they are familiar with. There's a lot of good inside-Broadway humor that I think would've played amazingly on stage. Jo Ellen Pellman is pretty great in her movie debut. I don't love any of the music. It's fine, but it's not a sound track I need to hear again. The dance numbers play more like a really impressive Glee routine than a showstopping routine from a classic musical. I do think this movie highlights how important the fact that Glee was a series was to its success. By spending more than two hours with the characters, there's time to add nuance to the cartoonish setting. I can't believe I'm saying this but, skip The Prom. Just watch Glee instead.
Verdict: Strongly Don't Recommend
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