398. The Prom; movie review

 

 

THE PROM

Cert 12A

90 mins

BBFC advice: moderate sex references, language, discrimination

Crikey. Is The Prom really being mentioned in Oscar chatter? It must have been a hell of a bad year.

I thought I better catch up with Variety's tips for the Academy Awards before the ghastly 2020 is out so we turned to Netflix over Christmas.

But what I thought was going to be a musical as good as Hairspray turned out to be worse than Mama Mia 2.

The suggestion that Meryl Streep could be in line for a best actress nomination is a combination of bizarre and a bit shameful.

Streep stars as a veteran star of theatre who has just had the ignominy of a first-night closure of a musical in which she had been cast alongside another narcissist (James Corden).

The two full-of-themselves luvvies are left bereft and mull over their futures with down-on-his-luck former TV star (Andrew Rannells) and a long-time understudy (Nicole Kidman).

They want to find a way back into favourable limelight when they come across the story from Indiana of a prom which has been cancelled in a row over gay rights.

It transpires that a lass called Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman) has caused a ruckus because she wants to take her girlfriend instead of the traditional fella.

Apparently, gay rights haven't reached Indiana so, despite support for Emma from her headteacher (Keegan-Michael Key), the PTA and its leader (Kerry Washington) are rock-solid in opposition.

Thus, the Broadway thesps barge in with a hamfisted attempt to help.

Let's be clear, I accept that Ryan Murphy's film has its heart in the right place. Bigotry should be highlighted and reduced wherever possible.

However, The Prom is a cackhanded way of going about it.

For starters, there is Corden's character - a gay stereotype played by a straight man. Did nobody pick up even a shred of irony here?

Then there is Streep. A wonderful character actress who has consistently acted her age... until now. Why, at 71, she demeaned herself by playing a lovelorn has-been who throws herself at a younger man is beyond me.

We asked ourselves a similar question over Nicole Kidman, an A-list actress who has the most secondary of parts.

Anyway, the plot is weak, its ending is ridiculously twee and the songs are unmemorable.

Steer clear of The Prom. It is awful.

Reasons to watch: Its equality message is certainly worthy

Reasons to avoid: Ham acting and forgettable tunes

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 3.5/10

Did you know? Even though Hollywood appears obsessed with it, the latest research from YouGov shows that most Americans (53%) didn't actually attend prom and among those that did barely half (51%) went with a date. Overall, this means that only 24% of Americans had the 'typical' experience of attending prom with their high school sweetheart.

The final word. Jo Ellen Pellman: "I saw the show on Broadway with my mom and it’s so personal to me because I’m queer, and I also came out in high school in the Midwest. It’s a wild experience, so being able to tell this story with this cast is my dream come true.” Shock Ya

 

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