The Prom
Cast: Jo Ellen Pellman, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Andrew Rannels, Kerry Washington
Director: Ryan Murphy
What’s better than watching Meryl Streep act? Streep dancing and singing at the top of her lungs in sparkly dresses and atop a disco ball! The Prom is just that, and Streep is probably the second best thing about the film.
When the trailer of The Prom dropped, people were shocked to see that Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Kerry Washington and James Corden were going to be in a coming-of-age musical about a high-school prom. It was probably a clear reminder for cinema elitists to chill a little bit. For the rest of us, it was a reminder to not judge a book by its cover.
The Prom, for starters, is so much more than the eponymous high-school dance where American teenagers take their dates to, and Indian teenagers wish they had an event like that in the country. The film, which is based on a Broadway production of the same name, is a wonderful story of acceptance and allyship.
A teenage lesbian in a small town in Indiana wants to take her girlfriend to the prom but the ‘Parents and Teachers Association’ is hell bent against that. They cancel prom altogether. On the other side of the country, in New York, a bunch of forgotten Broadway stars decide to help her for some good publicity.
The Prom from the very beginning has the potential to melt your heart. From the extravagant song and dance sequences to heartfelt declarations of love, it is for people who love a happy film. Everyone in the film is great, everybody hits the right notes. Meryl Streep, who very early on declares how ‘it is not about her’, attracts all the attention. When she is on the screen you only see her. Jo Ellen Pellman, who plays Emma, is a nice discovery and will surely be seen in many more movies now.
Nicole Kidman’s role is quite demure, except one sequence where she describes Broadway Legend Bob Fosse’s production Chicago. When she sings ‘All That Jazz’ to describe how one shy girl rose to the occasion to play Roxie Hart, she has your heart. There’s also this scene where her character says, “I’m a chorus girl, they don’t thank me. They don’t even see me,” which is absolutely devastating. However, Kidman is at the background mostly throughout the film.
However, the performer that takes you by surprise is James Corden. He is instantly the person you adore the most out of everybody. He is so sassy and so vulnerable when he needs to be. It is so great to have seen him in a different avatar than his talk-show persona.
The Prom is a film that will make you cry tears of joy. If that isn’t what we need to say goodbye to the horrible 2020, I don’t know what is!
Rating: 3/5
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