2024 Entry #43 04-15-24 “The Prom” is a 2020 American musical comedy film directed by out creative Ryan Murphy from a screenplay by out writer Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, based on the 2018 Broadway musical of the same name by Martin, Beguelin, and Matthew Sklar. The film stars Meryl Streep (“Silkwood”, “Angels in America”, “The Hours”, “Evening”, “Mamma Mia!” / “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”), James Corden (“The History Boys”, “Lesbian Vampire Killers”, “Doctor Who”), Nicole Kidman (“The Hours”, “The Stepford Wives”, “Boy Erased”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Modern Family”, Schmigadoon!”), out actor Andrew Rannells (“Sex and the City 2”, “The New Normal”, “Will & Grace”, “Big Mouth”, RuPaul’s Drag Race”, “The Boys in the Band”, “Our Son”), openly queer Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”, “Schmigadoon!”), Tracey Ullman (“Ally McBeal”, “Will & Grace”), openly gay Kevin Chamberlin (“In & Out”, “Trick”, “Queer Duck: The Movie”, “Taking Woodstock”, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, “Nip/Tuck”, “Modern Family”), Mary Kay Place (“All in the Family”, “MAS*H”, “Thirtysomething”, “Tales of the City”, “My So-Called Life”, “Further Tales of the City”, “Being John Malkovich”, “Latter Days”, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, “Jack & Bobby”, “Pushing Daisies”, “Looking”, “Grace & Frankie”, “Shameless”), and Kerry Washington (“She Hate Me”, “Scandal”, “How to Get Away with Murder”), openly queer Nico Greetham (“Glee”, “American Horror Story: Double Feature”, “Love, Victor”), and introduces openly queer Jo Ellen Pellman in her film debut as Emma Nolan.
I saw the musical on Broadway and didn’t think much of it. It was cute but felt like it didn’t quite hit the mark. One of my friends left during the intermission because they didn’t enjoy it. I listened to the soundtrack for maybe a week? When the movie was released I thought it was too soon for me to dive in, which was my reaction again when it popped up in my queue, only then I realized it’s been out for 4 years and I gave it a watch. Through the first half I felt like I’d given it a bad wrap, but I could also see how it was working better as a film than a stage show in countless ways! However, the latter half of the movie did seem to drag quite a bit. And like the Broadway production, there were times when it didn’t quite hit as well as I felt it should, but in the end, it’s pretty entertaining. It will never be a favorite of mine but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just a bit of fluff. Gay fluff. And sometimes that’s what you need.