The Prom

'The Prom' could have been something special like the show was on Broadway, but instead of listening to the message the show has about negative effect star-power and acceptance, the movie actively dodges those themes. Removing Corden doesn't fix this mess, but it would have been a start. I can't say I don't recommend it; these are great songs and sung well here. I would catch myself smiling at the musical numbers, and I haven't stopped listening to the soundtrack. The film's opening credits are just the actor's names in the logo font, and I got chills with the score and seeing that on the big screen, with Rannells and Kidman reason alone to watch, along with newcomer Pellman. I love musicals - they have an energy no other genre has, but the lesson from 'The Prom' is the same as 'Cats': make something that's not for the masses, but true to the story.

Also, the movie gets Streep to rap in the credit's song, and that's honestly amazing.

• Chris dos Santos

Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-prom-the-good-the-bad-and-the-james-corden

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I really love musicals, but Netflix's attempt at a cheerful, joyful, colorful, and culturally significant film turns out to be one of the most cringe-worthy, awfully stereotypical, ridiculously exaggerated movies of the year. From the astoundingly over-the-top (and honestly, somewhat insulting) performance from James Corden and Jo Ellen Pellman's one-dimensional debut to the contradictory narrative, Ryan Murphy's first feature film since 2010's Eat, Pray, Love is a massive disappointment.

The Prom is supposed to celebrate equality by supporting an inclusive prom where everyone can go and feel comfortable being themselves. However, it restrains itself from showing a homosexual kiss or really any sort of intimacy, leaving that to the very last second of the movie, but it doesn't have any problems in fully developing a heterosexual relationship meanwhile. The breaking out into songs (which are a bit too many) mostly feels incredibly forced, making the whole film look more like a collection of sketches than an actual movie.

A few excellent performances (Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Keegan-Michael Key), a couple of quite entertaining musical numbers, some nice choreography and camera work (Matthew Libatique), and an admittedly ambitious production design save this film from being a complete trainwreck, but it's still a disaster.

Rating: D+