The Prom (2020)

[Evan C]

I really enjoyed The Prom. It's got a lot of little flaws, but most of it is so good, that those hardly amount to anything significant in my book.

I threw up some first impressions on Letterboxd.

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I did not see The Prom on Broadway. I remember it being advertised as a brand new show, but I was seeing some older shows before they closed. Ryan Murphy's film adaptation makes it pretty easy to imagine how it would play on stage while simultaneously taking advantage of the cinematic medium by staging each song as a music video. That alone makes it a success. Better camera placement and less frequent editing would have highlighted the choreography more, but what we do see is dazzling.

As to the musical itself, it's a charming story about acceptance and the transcendent power of theater. Act II flounders a little, becoming overly heavy with plot points spacing out the songs too much, although I understand some of those scenes were added for the film. Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin's score has an infections energy, which easily carries the musical.

 

[kenmorefield]

Absolutely lovely in all the best ways. a true "feel good" movie that earns every tear as well as every smile. Really pleasurable. And "Love Your Neighbor Trumps Them All" I guess positions it for Ecumenical Jury, no?