Netflix's THE PROM Reviews & Reactions — Page 11

I saw the show on Broadway too and while it wouldn't be up there alongside my favorite musicals I still found it a fun evening out at the theater.

I enjoyed the Netflix feature as well, though I will always much prefer the stage productions of any musical.

Sure the sets and the realistic nature put into a film will give it way more dimension. That goes without saying. But the simplicity of what a set can be on a stage can really make the story stand out. And I do tend to be a little bit of a theater snob anyway when it comes to preferring live theater to movies.

As for the performances, the young woman who played Emma was good, but I preferred her Broadway counterpart. It seemed like the movie Emma is doing a lot of grinning through the earlier parts of the story which didn't feel natural to the situation. I seem to remember Caitlin playing it more pensively. But I could be wrong. It's been a while now.

I also preferred Beth to Meryl. Meryl is a great actress but I much preferred her earlier movies because I could still lose her in the character. I can't really do that anymore. It's just Meryl Streep playing a character named Dee Dee or Julia Child, or whoever. Furthermore, I just didn't find her portrayal of Dee Dee all that likable. She just basically hammed it up from start to finish. Beth played up the narcissism, but she also hit on the self-reflection better in my opinion. You really felt that she had learned something about herself by the end of the show, and while maybe she wouldn't be perfect, she would try. Streep played it more like, 'Well, I'll try, but whatever.'

Corden paled in comparison to Brooks.

I agree that the role of Angie isn't real deep but I remember the role being played better on Broadway. The movie was more like let's just throw a famous, tall blonde actress in the role and let her slink around a bit. I remember Angie Schworer really making something out of role that wasn't really that much. She was clearly a dancer and I enjoyed her performance.

Ariana Debose did a good job, but I even remember that role in the stage musical taking a backseat to Emma's role. It's obviously supposed to add important dramatic tension that becomes central to the show, but her character was just kind of there. I know you can only do so much within the confines of a two+ hour stage production, but I felt the character could have been fleshed out a bit more.

Which leads me to a standout question I had with the plot, and this could certainly translate to the stage production as well. But Alyssa has been dating Emma for a year and a half, and it's only right before the prom that people take notice? I might have missed something but that didn't seem real believable. Thinking back to high school, I'm not sure being that popular I would have been able to hide my boyfriend from the rest of the school. Especially if I was Mr. Popularity. I guess that's just the license a story will have to take. Though they could have made the relationship a little more recent in time span.

Updated On: 12/14/20 at 10:54 PM

Well I watched it and I liked it. I thought it was a cute adaptation of an essentially mediocre musical. A few things were unbelievable -- hard to believe Nicole Kidman could be stuck in the chorus for years. And the high school was filled with really good-looking adults as "kids." But whatever. It was enjoyable. I thought Meryl and Andrew Rannells were both hilarious.

I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it as much had there not been the worst pandemic ever. I just streamed four different productions of Nutcracker, so I obviously need a high diet of sugar in my entertainment now.

I'm glad that Meryl added more dimension to the role of Dee Dee Allen. I was concerned that she might return to the ultra egotism of Madeline Ashton and give Dee Dee's "Eleanor" a bit of "Songbird!" (you know, the musical version of "Sweet Bird of Youth". I laughed at some of the new lines that weren't in the original show, especially her apparently going off about someone's cellphone ringing then realizing that it was her own phone in her wig.

I think "The Prom" movie also set a record as perhaps the quickest stage musical to get a film version. It opened on Broadway just two years ago. I can't think of any other show made into a musical that fast outside of "Kismet" (Broadway, 1953, film, 1955) or the partial sound version of "Show Boat" that had the music in the background. (I haven't seen that version yet, so I'm not sure how close it is to the 1927 original.

Owen22 said: "An interesting (queer) reaction and comparison of the show to the Netflix film:

https://www.vulture.com/2020/12/the-prom-isnt-the-gift-to-queer-teens-it-thinks-it-is.html"

Interesting, yes. Thanks for sharing. Confirms what I was thinking. Couldn’t get past the the lead’s grinning at the beginning of the movie either. It didn’t seem to sync with the circumstances she was in. She didn’t come off as a teen who is all that troubled by what was going on around her.

“ That really bothered me too in "Love Thy Neighbor". ”



That was particularly the scene I was thinking of, yes. Especially since it started BEFORE the singing even began. And it was throughout the rest of the film as well. Murphy couldn’t let the camera just rest on people.

So I wasn't familiar with the Broadway version other than the Tonys performance. I really liked the parts of the story with Emma, Alyssa, and the high school, but I found the parts with the older "celebrities" completely obnoxious. I'm not sure how much of that was the role and writing themselves vs. my hatred of James Corden, but the satire just felt soooo heavyhanded. It felt like they were constantly winking at me. And I didn't care at all about their emotional journeys as a result.

The score is pretty fun and I've found myself repeatedly listening to some of the OBCR songs, but unfortunately the more I listen the more I find myself thinking that the lyrics just are often not very good.

I for one think this worked better as a film than a stage musical. It still has problems but overall, what an amazingly successful transformation into a film/tv musical!!!

Meryl was wonderful and as good as Beth Leavel! James Corden was fine but I did miss the ridiculous campiness of Brooks as Barry. I thought James toned down the gayness that Brooks so flaunted on stage. Nicole and Andrew did very well. It was enjoyable.

It does does lose steam half way through -- the film and the show both-- so that is a built in problem. Really? a Second prom to make up for the first? This defies credibility.

As others have said the lead character (Emily is it?) didn't seem that bothered and smiled her way through the early scenes of people not accepting gays in Indiana. . This was done better on stage. And I did miss "Let's help that poor dyke." from Barry's mouth But these are minor quibbles!!!

If we had A Man of La Mancha film or A Chorus Line film or a Mame Film.. this good of a transition from stage to screen.. we would be dancing with glee!!!

Beautiful job by Ryan Murphy, Casey Nicholaw and the entire production team and cast! A great transition and we should be very grateful for it.

Well that was a very boring 2 hours of a fairy floss, no substance, movie musical.

Wish Kidman was Dee Dee and Streep the chorus girl[never seen her look so haggard[thin] and visually unattractive. Was it her wig/clothes? Kidman shone brightly whenever she was given a little screen time.

Corden faking gay was cringeworthy[I thought he was] and Rannells wasn't ????

What year was this set in as those costumes[clothes?] were all hideous especially at the final Prom and the pale blue 'suit' with string bow tie-really!!-yea! pick the male in that duo and Washington? that sparkly drag queen number that she just happened to have in her closet to show up every other person there???

Streep and her love interest[why was he made out to be so gay[and young?]--those scenes of him watching Streep on stage were cringe-worthy] had not one moment of belief--that was such bad casting.

I did see it to the end, eventually, and can say I am so pleased it cost me nothing to watch it. It was a fairy floss movie with the most dis-jointed combination of casting/performances/direction/costuming/musical direction/Miming etc. I liked 'Nine' better as there were at least some good things amongst that mess.

and at the final Prom? Where did all that diverse group of 'extras' come from? That's when the whole thing really collapsed for me. It was all Alice in Wonderland at the Mad Hatters tea party.

This was awful and predictable and predictably awful.

Well in another 'connotation', a dear friend who is a very precious elderly gay gentleman says, his wind never smells as he 'farts fairy floss'.

Why anyone would care about my review weeks after the premiere, I'll never know, but--

I'm frankly astonished by the parade of raves here on BWW. Well okay, I can stand alone here. I found the film nearly unwatchably bad. An endless stream of cliches about Broadway immediately followed by an endless stream of cliches about the Midwest. Dreadfully clunky lines spoken by appalling versions of Broadway grotesques or Indianan bigots. By my count, Andrew Ranells was the ONLY adult who could actually sing a song. And funny how they had to delete all of DeeDee's lines about belting since obviously Meryl sure couldn't.

Thank goodness for the kids-- Jo Ellen Pellman really is a star and every minute with her onscreen was a show I wanted to Iive in. The high school kids could really sing and dance -- but Lordy, what lousy songs they were forced to sing. The staging was as witless as an episode of Glee and the design --hoo boy-- maybe the design was the very worst thing about this lousy package. Eye-searing colors emanating from every wall, outfit or lighting fixture completely destroyed the production designer's one explicit task, to make a distinction between the world of Broadway and the world of the Midwest. Here everything was AMBER! CYAN!! PURPLE!!! in a grotesque anti-rainbow that made the screen endlessly unwatchable.

Worst of all, here was our chance to prove to all of America that a true original Broadway musical wasn't a joke, or an embarrassment, or a waste of time, but rather a thing of beauty and value and grace. And boy did we blow it big time.

Updated On: 12/28/20 at 11:46 AM