Unfortunately, this concept isn\u2019t something that Ryan Murphy\u2019s screen adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom<\/em> quite grasps. It\u2019s easy to see why this was a success onstage; the script and songs contain sharp, self-aware sarcasm, sweetened with genuine sincerity. Murphy\u2019s film translation, however, lacks the flare and emphasis that obviously play like gangbusters onstage. It feels disappointingly flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Prom<\/em> follows fading Broadway stars Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden), perpetual chorus girl Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman) and fame-hungry Juilliard grad Trent Oliver (Andrew Rannells). When the group learns about the plight of gay Indiana teen Emma (newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman), who\u2019s being barred by the PTA from attending her school\u2019s prom, they see an opportunity for an altruistic headline-grab. The Broadway crew\u2019s advocacy ends up doing more harm than good, complicating matters for Emma and her sympathetic principal Mr. Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The script contains plenty of appeal for devoted theater fans, with self-deprecating acknowledgment of the way liberal-minded celebs pour themselves into causes beyond their ken, as well as the particular joys and escapism that musical theater can bring. The songs are similarly playful and bright. One of the musical\u2019s co-writers, Bob Martin, was part of the team behind the delightfully meta Broadway hit The Drowsy Chaperone<\/em>, and tonally The Prom<\/em> contains a similar balance of razor wit, musical fan service and heartfelt sweetness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s missing, unfortunately, is that stagey magic. There\u2019s nothing special or interesting about the way Murphy frames his characters or sets–though there is one baffling number, in which Streep\u2019s Dee Dee performs for Key\u2019s Mr. Hawkins, where Murphy and cinematographer Matthew Libatique insist on only shooting Streep from the waist up, keeping us from seeing her choreography. Another scene where Streep and Corden have a serious conversation in their hotel room, shot handheld until it\u2019s time for a dramatic tracking shot, feels like it belongs in a totally different movie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Given that Murphy\u2019s uninspired directing feels like we might as well be watching an episode of Glee<\/em>, that leaves only the performances to carry us through. Pellman is sweet as Emma, but of the rest of the main cast, only Key and Rannells seem to understand what kind of movie they\u2019re actually in. Corden is a little too earnest, and Kidman doesn\u2019t get much time to actually develop. Streep occasionally lets loose, but for the most part feels uncommitted, giving us a warmed-over version of the kind of performance she\u2019s become more closely associated with since The Devil Wears Prada<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, The Prom<\/em> is a frustrating viewing experience. The qualities of the musical are obvious, and it\u2019s hard not to wish while you\u2019re watching it that you were seeing the actual stage production rather than what amounts to a poor facsimile in film form. It feels like a wasted opportunity for something that could have potentially had oodles of charm, but settles instead for \u201cfine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Prom” streams on Netflix<\/a> starting Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/The-Prom2-1024x547.png\")
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