The Prom

"First of all, I had a great time at the show. I thought it was funny and stylish and it felt like a relief in the middle of a very dark time in our country. I also loved that when I looked around, there were families there. There were parents with their kids. There were gay people there. There were straight women there who had come in groups. It played for everybody. I just loved that people were laughing and crying. There was a great humanity and spirit to it." - Ryan Murphy

It took two years after its Broadway premiere to discover the adaptation of one of the best musicals. After the complete failure of the Cats movie that was released a year ago, we were really starting to despair to discover an excellent movie adaptation and we must admit that The Prom is not only an excellent movie but also managed to fully grasp the essence of what a musical should be. Musical numbers all as perfect as each other, the songs so much appreciated in this musical perfectly interpreted and above all a permanent search to forget the static side of a Broadway musical to offer a real film that fits perfectly with our current events and shows that you must know how to accept people whatever their orientation and especially know how to listen to your heart. It is easy to imagine that the rather simplistic subject of organizing a ball open to all and in which one can be oneself is above all a way to bring about the opening of consciences.

The film therefore features a group of self-obsessed musical comedy stars going to a small conservative town in Indiana to support a high school student who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom. Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep), Barry Glickman (James Corden), Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman) and Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells), whose careers in New York City have lost some of their prestige, decide to restore their image and fight alongside Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) to make her high school and her town open their minds and, above all, be more tolerant of her.

The creator of numerous series that have become cult series such as Nip/tuck (2003), Glee (2009), American Horror Story (2011), Ryan Murphy directs his third film after Running with Scissors (2006) and Eat Pray Love (2010). His inspired direction is not only based on the excellent screenplay by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, but above all shows a true sense of rhythm and the perfect approach to bring a great musical to life before our eyes. It must be said that its main cast Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells give the film a very special aura and its actors seem to take real pleasure in singing and dancing and bringing their characters to life. In the same way, the presence of the young actress Jo Ellen Pellman in her first big role is just perfect and brings to her character her fragility, her strength of character and above all captures our attention at every moment. The casting of the second roles is just as successful with notably Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington and Tracey Ullman.

The twenty or so songs in the film, including those composed by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin, touch us because they show the importance of music in passing on strong messages and above all show that one should never back down in the face of difficulties and believe in oneself. We can only applaud and be carried away by these inspired choreographies and by his songs that still remain in our memory after discovering this film (we regret that the music for the film is not yet available except for the catchy titles Tonight Belongs to You and Wear Your Crown). Impossible not to remember the pleasure taken in front of the High School musical saga but also Glee.

We have known for several films that Meryl Streep knew how to be perfect in each of her movies and also did well in musicals but in the role of Dee Dee Allen she shows that she has nothing to envy the current singers and the pleasure she takes to make her character endearing makes us totally adhere to this universe. In the same way we knew since Moulin Rouge (2001) that Nicole Kidman was doing just as well as a singer but she delivers in this film simply one of her best roles, her musical number on the song Zazz overflows with a perfect energy and synergy almost making us want to stand up, dance and applaud her irresistible show.

The prom easily establishes itself as one of the best films of this end of the year but above all as the best musical of this year. Having seen this feel good movie you will only want to listen to its music again and above all discover the musical on stage. We can only advise you to discover this movie from December 11th on Netflix.

The Prom
Directed by Ryan Murphy
Produced by Adam Anders, Dori Berinstein, Chad Beguelin, Bill Damaschke, Bob Martin, Ryan Murphy, Scott Robertson, Matthew Sklar, Alexis Martin Woodall
Screenplay by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin
Based on The Prom by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, Matthew Sklar
Starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington, Jo Ellen Pellman
Music by Matthew Sklar
Cinematography : Matthew Libatique
Edited by Peggy Tachdjian, Danielle Wang
Production company : Ryan Murphy Productions
Distributed by Netflix
Release date: December 11, 2020
Running time: 131 minutes

Viewed on December 2, 2020 (Netflix press access)

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