STREAMING CINEMA
More Gloss, Less Heart
Netfl ix fi lm “The Prom” gets Ryan Murphy glitz treatment
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
A couple of months back,
Netfl ix wowed critics
and viewers alike with
its stage-to-screen adaptation
of “The Boys in the Band.”
The landmark queer-centric drama,
which won the 2019 Tony for
Best Revival of a Play, was produced
by Ryan Murphy, directed
by Joe Mantello, and boasted a
stellar ensemble of nine out-andproud
gay men, all of whom reprised
their roles from the Broadway
production.
And now Netfl ix and Murphy
have found another LGBTQthemed
Broadway hit titled “The
Prom” — this one a heartwarming,
fi zzy musical comedy — and
revamped it for the screen. Choreographer
Casey Nicholaw directed
the stage version, and its themes of
acceptance and resilience struck a
chord with theatergoers. The New
York Times anointed it a “Critic’s
Pick,” proclaiming it a “joyful hoot.”
You may also recall that girl-on-girl
smooch heard round the world,
when the climactic musical number
was showcased in the 2018
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
telecast.
The screen adaptation, however,
is a mixed bag under Murphy’s obsessive
guidance. It’s still an amusing
romp, and the queer-inclusive
message resonates stronger than
ever. Yet while Murphy’s trademark
glossy, high-octane conceit
is a feast for the eyes, the heart
often goes hungry. Some of the humanity
has been shellacked over,
blunting the emotional impact.
The talented original Broadway
cast was unceremoniously jettisoned
in favor of more bankable
stars. Instead of Brooks Ashmanskas,
Beth Leavel, Christopher
Sieber, Angie Schworer, Michael
Potts, and Courtenay Collins we
have James Corden, Meryl Streep,
Andrew Rannells, Nicole Kidman,
Keegan Michael Key, and Kerry
Washington, respectively. Other
familiar names include Mary Kay
Place, Kevin Chamberlin, and
Tracey Ullman.
Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana Debose in Netfl ix’s screen adaptation of “The Prom,” directed by Ryan
Murphy.
Nicole Kidman and Jo Ellen Pellman in “The Prom.”
With a screenplay by Bob Martin
and Chad Beguelin (the creative
team behind the stage version,
which also included Matthew
Sklar), the madcap plot feels even
more farfetched on the screen. In
a Podunk town somewhere in Indiana,
Emma Nolan is devastated
when the PTA forbids her to bring
girlfriend Alyssa to the high school
prom. To complicate matters, Alyssa
is deep in the closet and her
mom is the bigoted head of the
PTA. The plan is to come out blazing
on the night of the prom, which
gets canceled, sort of.
After the story makes national
headlines, a band of cynical Broadway
NETFLIX/ MELINDA SUE GORDON
NETFLIX/ MELINDA SUE GORDON
has-beens decides to swoop
in and “rescue” Emma. Initially
they’re in it solely for the PR that
might jumpstart their stalled careers.
But when their egomaniacal
activism backfi res, they are forced
to take a hard look in the mirror.
Can they redeem themselves and
give Emma the chance to celebrate
her truth?
Murphy’s knack for amping up
the visual voltage is on full display
here. He favors candy-colored
lighting, sequined costumes, and
swirling camera shots that would
make Baz Lurhmann’s head spin.
The opening musical number, set
mostly in Sardi’s and on West 44th
Street (meticulously recreated in a
Los Angeles backlot) is overinfl ated
with a cast of hundreds, complete
with snappy waiters dancing on
tabletops. Since we are not yet invested
in the story or the characters,
the spectacle comes across as
unearned and hollow.
By contrast, another musical
montage, set at the prom, is a
stunner. It features a vast, magical
space fi lled with scores of tuxedoed
and gowned students busting
out Nicholaw’s hard-edged dance
moves.
The performances are generally
strong yet uneven. Murphy struck
gold with Jo Ellen Pellman as
Emma and Ariana DeBose as her
love interest, Alyssa. Their chemistry
is palpable; their eyes sparkle
during their duets together. Pellman’s
voice is appealing, and she
grounds the movie with her nonchalant,
clear-eyed confi dence.
At fi rst, Streep’s Dee Dee Allen is
a caricature of a hardened Broadway
diva, carping and preening.
But once she learns Emma was
disowned by her parents after coming
out as gay, like the Grinch her
heart suddenly grows three sizes
that day. Dee Dee becomes vulnerable,
more relatable.
Corden, as Dee Dee’s former costar
Barry Glickman, is miscast.
The popular talk show host, who
happens to be straight, lacks the
acting chops to pull off the demanding
role of a gay Broadway
star trying to resurrect his career
while coming to terms with rejection
by his parents.
The screenplay pulses with clever
zingers (“This is our moment to
change the world, one lesbian at
a time”). Yet Corden’s delivery of
the potentially comic line “If they
don’t have gay people here, why is
my Scruff going crazy right now?”
lands with a thud.
If “The Prom” is an ode to queer
acceptance, it’s also about the
fraught business of Broadway,
skewering and embracing it at the
same time. Each of the interlopers
from the big bad city has their mo-
➤ PROM, continued on p.25
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