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Based upon the Broadway musical of the same name, The Prom follows four Broadway actors who decide to help Emma Nolan, a teenage lesbian whose request to take another girl to prom causes the PTA to completely cancel it rather than banning her (due to fears of legal action).
As a big fan of the theatre, I went in with an open mind, but it was difficult to do knowing that James Corden would be playing Barry Glickman, one of the four Broadway actors who travel to Emma’s Indiana home town to voice his opinion on the prom controversy. Barry also happens to be openly gay, and while I usually have little problems with straight actors playing gay roles I was afraid that Corden would just play a gay stereotype… and my fears were realised.
It feels like Corden’s only exposure to gay people was by watching Cam from Modern Family (another gay role played by a straight actor), but he even goes further by adding the dreaded “limp wrist” and an oddly selective “gay lisp.” His whole performance is not only awful but borderline offensive, and that’s when he’s not singing. Corden is a passable singer for someone at home, but how he has now made several movie-musicals (and another one coming next year) boggles the mind.
When Ryan Murphy was announced to direct, I knew I would be let down by the cast somewhere considering that he is known for his majority white male casts, usually made up of the same identical actors, but casting Corden and allowing him to flounce around like the way he does was something I was not expecting even Murphy, a fellow member of the LGBTQ community, to allow.
Honestly, Corden is the only actor who gives a bad performance, while everyone else is fine. Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, doing her best with the mediocre writing she’s given and still manages to create a great performance. Kerry Washington gives her all as Mrs. Greene, the devious head of the PTA, and Andrew Rannells and Nicole Kidman almost have too little to do but make the most of what they have.
The real stars are Ariana DeBose (Alyssa Greene) and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman (Emma Nolan), who play the lesbian teenagers at the centre of the story, but who have both been oddly absent in most of the film’s marketing. They are the driving forces for this film as well as the most realistic and relatable throughout. DeBose and Pellman give the best performances in the entire film – I would even go as far as to say that they outshine Academy Award-winners Streep and Kidman.
Now, the music and the songs are okay, but I thought they were only okay back when The Prom was just a stage show, so I have nothing much to say about the songs themselves other than the orchestra behind the new movie version of the soundtrack does a great job of amping up the energy.
My biggest issue came with the choreography because with the exception of a few musical numbers, I found that they were just boring to watch. The music is so energetic, loud, and exciting, so why are the characters sitting down or walking around? The most egregious example of this is during the number, “Tonight Belongs to You,” when we follow Barry taking Emma to the mall in preparation for the prom. Most of this number is the two of them walking around the mall until it cuts to two young antagonists who are also preparing back at home, for most of their section of the song they are either sat down or just lazily bouncing in front of a mirror.
I understand that this is a slight replication of the Broadway show’s choreography, but there are so many ways that this number could have been improved, especially since the music is so lively in comparison – it just doesn’t blend well together which is such a shame considering this song (and it’s reprise) serves as the Act I finale in the musical.
The ending is just another aspect that I took issue with because they allowed the school bullies a redemption arc. They’ve been bullying Emma all the way through the movie and after just one song by Rannells about how the Bible is full of contradictions suddenly their minds are changed. Considering that The Prom is inspired by the true story of Constance McMillen who, like Emma, inadvertently caused her prom to be cancelled after requesting to take her girlfriend, and then was lied to by the whole school and sent to an “all-inclusive” prom with only a tiny handful of people in attendance. Unlike her prom counter-part, McMillen had to change schools due to the sheer amount of bullying that she faced. I just found it insulting that these antagonists would be given the time of day in such a rushed fashion and would even be allowed to attend the final LGBTQ friendly prom.
That’s my two-cents on The Prom.
I’ve seen people on Twitter state that it shouldn’t be getting any negative press because it features LGBTQ characters and plot, but I couldn’t disagree more. Speaking as a member of the LGBTQ community, we shouldn’t be forced to support movies just because it’s is centred around us, especially when it’s a movie with straight actors giving outright offensive performances.
The Prom could have been so much more and so much better but unfortunately, it was given to the wrong hands and Corden’s performance only helps bring it down further.
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