Jordan Webb

Watchable, but.. well there’s some buts. The story is important in that ALL these things actually happened to a girl in Fulton, Mississippi in 2010. So the Hoosier bashing (set in Edgewater, Indiana) has to come from Mike Pence’s time as Governor where he and the local GOP continually looked for ways to legislate out the LGBTQ community - usually using Christianity as their sword. So getting past the reminder that a good chuck of middle America are incredibly bigoted and horrible people, The Prom is a “blah” musical. The songs all sound the same and not one is truly rememberable. I found myself thinking, yeah, this SOUNDS LIKE a musical, but I won’t be buying (or even pirating) the soundtrack (maybe that one about what Jesus said?... nah, my boat is staying docked). The story plays out pretty straightforward but not as linear as you might like. The focus on the actors turned activists tends to distract from the core message, and I sometimes wonder what they’re driving at from scene to scene. It feels like they needed someone to punch up the script to give these characters more depth or meaning behind their actions. Otherwise, you start to feel like you’re watching a movie more about celebrities sticking their noses where they don’t belong instead of a way more important story about mis-directed religion, elitism in rural communities, bigotry and gay rights. Overall, at 2 hours, it was just a bit too long and some of these celebrity-focused scenes probably should’ve been cut. The last knock I’ll say is that none of the scenery felt like “middle of nowhere” Indiana. Unless they were taking trips to high society Chicago, then yeah, that’s not any school or mall in the Hoosier state. Now, the cast, holy hell! This is one of the times where throwing money at a project works. I don’t see myself finishing this movie without their impact on the multitude of roles being filled by top tier talent. Everyone buys in and sells out to do their best. If you told me this came from a Broadway show that lasted 5 years and not 1, I’d believe you. Jo Ellen Pellman (say that 3 times fast) deserves a Disney contract on the spot as she gives the performance of her lifetime (check out her IMDB, last known role was as “Girl #3”), and her singing is on point (despite, of course, being recorded). James Corden, as always for some reason, shines as elder gay male struggling with his estrangement from his family. I teared up a couple times and had to find sneaky ways to wipe my eyes. NO! I’m NOT crying! And is that Tracy Ullman?! Yep, that was Tracy Ullman in what could honestly be described as the smallest role in the whole show. So think about how much Netflix wanted this to win. The Prom is a dead-on 3 star. NOT 4, and NOT 2... 3. If you find yourself sitting around the house (HA, just kidding, I know you are) and you need a musical in your life, turn this one on. If nothing else, it counts as a watch in Netflix’s algorithms and they’ll keep trying to bring us all the good-good down the road.