Overkill On Steroids

 

If there is such a thing as the title suggests, "The Prom" would be it.   Six bottles of champagne shoved into a bag that should only hold three.   You know the bottom is going to break before you get home.

Here's another movie released during the pandemic that would have been a hoot to see on a big screen.   Instead, it rolls out on Netflix and there is Oscar buzz for whenever that ceremony will occur.

I wanted to like it.  I really, really did, Sally Field.  But, instead...

Truth be told, I wish I had seen "The Prom" on Broadway where it belongs.   I had heard good things from friends.   It was written, produced, and staged by people who did "The Drowsy Chaperone," a musical I truly adored.   And, from my research, the stage production had employed a lot of musical theater veterans who normally toil in supporting roles.   "The Prom" on Broadway gave these folks a chance to be out front and I would have loved that.

Somewhere between Broadway and Hollywood, "The Prom" had its wheel axle destroyed by a major pot hole.   And that accident was caused by the film's director, Ryan Murphy.

I'll preface this even further.   I am not a fan of his work.   First off, it is legend that Ryan pretty much doesn't have an original thought in his head.   He essentially picks through the bones of stories already developed like the feud between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, along with the dreadful mini-series "Hollywood."   Well, now he has finger prints all over "The Prom" and basically shits the bed all over again.

Because Ryan Murphy is as narcissistic as some of the Broadway has-been characters he works with in "The Prom," he populates the cast with major stars like Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, and Kerry Washington.   It totally detracts from the story and the whole production could have used a cast downgrade.

Meryl is being talked up for an Oscar as she plays a cartoon version of Patti LuPone if you can believe such a thing.  At this juncture, I am actually tiring of the sight of Ms. Streep in every single film now made.   Time to rest, Meryl.   And, in "The Prom," she is romantically paired with Keegan-Michael Key!   The age difference is 22 years!  Hello!

Nicole Kidman is another now showing up for any film production as long as there are Twizzlers on the Craft Services table.  In this, she plays a Broadway dancer named...wait for it...Angie Dickinson.   Again, star power is not needed and Nicole should simply sit home and let Keith Urban sing to her.

I am also not a fan of James Corden.  Here he plays a gay Broadway actor and actually falls over the thin line of mincing and prancing around the set.   Indeed, we could have done better with countless other actors...even ones who are actually gay.

The story of "The Prom" is an enjoyable yet predictable one.  Sort of a cross between "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Footloose."  Young girl wants to take her closeted girlfriend to the prom.   The Indiana PTA won't allow it.   In steps Broadway actors to make it happen.

Done.

Again, I enjoyed the production numbers even though some of the songs sounded alike.   If Ryan Murphy had chosen to use a pastry brush, this would have worked nicely.   But, the only directing and producing mode he knows requires a sledge hammer.   

I hear there might be a national tour of the stage production as soon as theaters re-open to us inmates.    I might be inclined to revisit "The Prom" that way.  But, on film???

Um, no.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover Chinese food.