It's time for shopping, list-making, tree mounting, menorah lighting and more shopping. The fact that you might be completing most of these agenda items from the comfort of your home does not make this holiday season any less hectic.
Andrew Rannells, Kerry Washington, Meryl Streep, Jo Ellen Pellman, James Corden - Courtesy Netflix
That goes double for movie reviewers, especially those of us who are currently cramming in as many year-end contenders as possible before we vote in our respective critics groups' awards. Planning a Netflix-and-chill night in or venturing out to an open multiplex near you might not be at the top of your to-do list at the moment, but allow me to turn your attention to a trend that, at least in theory, is helping make the current glut of crowd-pleasers and Oscar hopefuls a little merrier and considerably more diverse. The spotlight shines, as brightly as I've seen it, on a generous helping of LGBTQ titles currently available to stream or, in a few cases, at the movies.
James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep. Keegan-Michael Key - Courtesy Netflix
I say in theory because, while I'm heartened by the plethora of rainbow-hued mainstream (and mainstream-adjacent) cinema jostling for your attention, it pains me to report that not all of it is good. Some of it is not good in the least.
Okay, there's no way around it: “The Prom” is really bad.
The buzzed-about, highly anticipated screen adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical boasts a seemingly ironclad cast, headlined by Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells. Its acclaimed source material made for some enjoyable moments during the 2019 Tonys telecast, so bringing this PFLAG-friendly story to the top of your Netflix dashboard sure seemed like a sure thing. The tale of four self-absorbed song-and-dance thesps, who descend on a small Midwestern town to help a lesbian high schooler locked in a staring contest with the local PTA, has all the earmarks of a win-win proposition, poised to draw multiple demographics like a magnet.
James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Meryl Streep - Courtesy Netflix
Only the darn thing is terrible. The pits. Unwatchable. Awful.Awful.Awful. It makes “Glee,” even at its weakest, play like Sondheim in his prime. I stared at my laptop screen, stupefied and slack-jawed, suffering through the inane, clod-footed results. How could something that felt so right in concept go so disastrously awry in execution? A lighthearted lark doesn't have to be “good” to pass muster, you say? Poppycock. Featherweight concoctions have the power to resurrect the dead if done well. Alas, one poor decision after another conspire to turn this astonishingly vacant call for acceptance into a splashy debacle that sucks out every ounce of joy with the unremitting drive of a brain-eating amoeba.
The film initially centers on Dee Dee Allen (Streep), grande dame of the Great White Way, on the opening night of her latest production, a musical about Eleanor Roosevelt. The show is oh so T-A-C-K-Y, director Ryan Murphy underlines in ways that, much like the rest of what follows, is broad while remaining devoid of laughs. That first-night euphoria quickly gives way to dismay for the belle of the ball when she learns almost every theater critic in town has pilloried her misbegotten slice of Americana.
Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman - Courtesy Netflix
Dee Dee, her misery underscored by rather extreme eye shadow, commiserates at Sardi's with her onstage FDR, openly gay actor Barry Glickman (Corden, amping the camp to 11) and perennial chorus girl Angie Dickinson (Kidman, get it, get it?). Joining them is Juilliard grad turned bartender Trent Oliver (Rannells). The sad-sack quartet brainstorms a way for Dee Dee to bounce back from her latest flop. A cursory look at Twitter yields a news story with the promise of redemption and flattering press: the PTA in Edgewater, Indiana, has opted to cancel the senior prom at James Madison High rather than allow out-and-proud Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) attend with her girlfriend. A PR godsend is waiting for them in the wings, the actors conclude, so off they go, righteous and clueless, into the heartland.
“The Prom” gets off to an obnoxious start, thanks to slipshod staging, cringe-inducing dialogue and inelegant lensing that pummels you with a succession of garishly lit eyesores. As it turns out, this self-satisfied dud is just getting warmed up. Once she makes it to Edgewater, Dee Dee hopes to wow the PTA crowd, led by conservative ringleader Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington, trying to find her bearings) with some razzle dazzle. A non-starter, of course, surprising no one but the out-of-towners.
Nicole Kidman, Jo Ellen Pellman - Courtesy Netflix
A competent crew would have at least attempted to convey a visual contrast between the city slickers and their more modest, laid-back new setting, but cinematographer Matthew Libatique, whose body of work runs the gamut between the entrancing (“Black Swan”) and the butt-ugly (“Venom”), sticks to Day Glo-colored excess. He takes a cue from Murphy's lack of modulation. Emma is all gentle smiles and earnest resolve, but she and her special someone (no spoilers here) are not given room to breathe. Their relationship is too often tossed to the side, then sloppily pushed back to center stage when it suits screenwriters Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin. The teens are relegated to bit players in their own story, all to secure screen time for their bigger co-stars.
Rising above this dumpster fire, albeit fleetingly, is Kidman, who uses her character's relative irrelevancy to her advantage. Angie's mostly just tagging along, but when it comes down to her to give Emma a confidence boost, she turns a li'l ditty about Bob Fosse's stage advice into a pleasant diversion, achieving the lightness of touch that eludes Murphy elsewhere. As Jefferson High's fair-minded principal, Keegan-Michael Key hangs on to decency for dear life, but other than an improbable addiction to musicals, there isn't much to the character beyond serving as the voice of reason and a love interest for one of the leads.
James Corden, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman - Courtesy Netflix
On top of everything else, the film's politics are conspicuously outdated, especially when delving into Barry's unresolved issues with his parents. But Martin and Beguelin, who struggle to find levity or nuance in the movie incarnation of their stage work, keep the character's internal conflict woefully underdeveloped and one-note. What does end up sticking out is the way other characters are able to find romantic fulfillment while he remains celibate and sexless. In a film that's all about celebrating queerness, turning Barry into a chaste foil for Dee Dee's diva schtick is perhaps the most painful creative lapse. The Twitterverse's outrage over a star who identifies as straight clinging to swishy stereotype overlooks that the bulk of the blame ought to be directed to those behind the camera.
And where's the outrage for Streep? Considering the nature of the character she's playing, there's no reason for her to hold back. And yet, she is usually able to find layers in the most cartoonish role, a valuable gift that is nowhere in sight here. The Oscar winner leans into Dee Dee's vanity, and what emerges is an entitled gargoyle. She sucks up all the oxygen in the room until all that's left is unmoored ego gnashing its teeth. Any redemption the movie has in store for her feels utterly false and unearned.
Miamiartzine film critic Ruben Rosario after finishing "The Prom."
“The Prom” is a preening peacock with molted feathers, always angling for its close-up. As it plods along toward an inevitable group number that makes the “High School Musical” movies feel like Alan Parker's “Fame,” very little rings true. And yet the movie begs viewers to please, please be its friend. It plays like an extended “South Park” episode that has been leeched of wit and verve, one that, at 132 minutes, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, even to show tune nuts like yours truly. It's a prefabricated suburban home during the holidays: all blinking lights and manufactured cheer. All that's missing is spontaneity, humility and a soul. Once the jazz hands subside, there is no there there.
Ryan Murphy's “The Prom” is now streaming on Netflix. It is also showing at the Silverspot Cinema in Downtown Miami, The Landmark at Merrick Park in Coral Gables and the Cinemark Paradise in Davie.
