Cinema #82: Prom
Hey There!
I know I am super late to the party, but I finally got around to watching Netflix’s Prom. I hadn’t heard any of the music, just that it wasn’t very good, and I just never really looked into it and then I forgot about it until the last couple of days ago. I had fallen a musical theater rabbit hole on YouTube.
I have always been a huge fan of Musical theater, and I don’t really have a connection to it since I’m out of college and only get the chance to see a show every now and again, so YouTube lets me know about new shows coming and music I may have missed out.
I found the full version of Price to Perfection, which I had heard about on tiktok, and I was hooked. In the comments, I found other recommendations such as Little Miss Perfect and Alyssa Greene, which brought me to Prom.
Although the glitter and lights of Broadway can definitely be a bit overwhelming, I liked the humanization of the celebrities in this film. It all begins when the main Character Emma, is having an issue taking her girlfriend to Prom. Being in a small town in Indiana, it is less than welcoming to those who are different. Because they do not want to have any homosexuals as their prom, they cancel it rather than giving in.
Thanks to a very progressive and heartwarming Principal, her case gets picked up by Twitter, and the attorney general showing that the school is practicing discrimination. Her story makes it all way to New York, where Broadway stars who are feeling less than decide that they need a cause to bolster their popularity for new shows. Although the movie begins from a selfish place in their heart, they do eventually come around.
One of the most interesting things for me was Kerry Washington’s acting. She was so believable as a bigot. Which is so odd to me in the writing of this film, no one considered that making the only black woman in charge the bad guy might not be a good idea. Not to say that people of color, especially Black women shouldn’t be villains, because I would love to see it, I just think it is very interesting that there appears to be no problem with not only having a black woman the villain, but for her evil to be purely discriminatory in nature, even though her entire life she would have dealt with the same issues, and therefore, generally wouldn’t prop up such as system. To each their own I suppose.
I liked a good portion of the music, but I do think, Alyssa Greene was the best song on the track list. It being a feel-good movie, it did its job, even while exploring the unfairness the gay community has to deal with, especially in small towns where small-mindedness runs rampant.
All in All I enjoyed the film. I’m glad that it had a semi-happy ending. A feel good film that people could have used during the beginning of the Pandemic.
What did you think of Prom?
