The Prom Review

The onslaught of glitz and glamour throughout the musical comedy film The Prom can at times be troublingly inconsistent. Formulaic setups can sometimes plague the entertaining musical numbers; the vivid and dramatic performances from its star-studded cast erratically bounce between charismatic quips and generic monologues in ways the lack natural flow. At the same time, the story itself suffers from an incredibly swollen third-act. Still, the creativity in the cinematography, production design, and direction helps establish a solid foundation that forgives the film of many of its more unnecessary songs and scenes of excess. It's challenging not to fall for the positivity and energy present in The Prom's narrative, despite the films' lousy habit of getting distracted while telling it.

The Prom follows Dee Dee Allen and Barry Glickman, two New York City stage stars suffering from their new Broadway show becoming a significant failure. Meanwhile, in Indiana, high school student Emma is experiencing a very different kind of heartbreak. Despite the support of the high school principal, the school board's head has banned her from attending the prom because she's gay. When Dee Dee and Barry catch wind of Emma's predicament, they agree that it's the perfect cause to help resurrect their public images, hitting the roads in hopes of getting morally rewarded.

The Prom harnesses energy comparable to that of a Broadway show. Those suffering from the current lack of stage plays and musicals will be the most rewarded from the films traditional essences. Director Ryan Murphy achieves an enjoyable balance of cinematic grandeur between serviceable scenes of plot progression that exude the fierce comedic delivery and over-the-top emotions more commonly seen with on-stage productions.

Though the energy that The Prom embeds within many of its elements emulates its Broadway counterpart, it can sometimes go overboard, stretching its various musical sequences to the point of obnoxiousness. Unfortunately, The Prom shows a consistent lack of optimization, producing scenes that can feel inefficient. This issue results in much of the film's final hour feeling unnecessarily long.

Despite the films tumefied third-act, the abundance of simplistically bubbly themes, great performances and excellent musical elements helps The Prom achieve an infectiously charming and optimistically joyous film. Though the film may not be on par with the equally high-energy stage version, the spontaneity and aesthetics realized will entertain many music-theatre lovers.

The unrelenting enthusiasm and extravagant performances throughout The Prom help distract from its bloated runtime.

Produced By: Netflix
Runtime: 133 minutes
Rating: PG