Yes No Maybe So: "The Prom"
Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 8:42PM 
Where's the zazz baby?
The zazz is right there in The Prom trailer, Nicole. Why do you ask?
What is going on? Who are you people?
That's a good question Kerry. And a great set up to a trailer, so we shall answer the question since the trailer actually didn't. For those of you who don't follow Broadway, The Prom is a completely wonderful Tony-nominated musical. It's now been transferred to film (with not a single surviving cast member from the stage, despite all those Tony nominations!) so we can't vouch for whether or not it's still wonderful. But here's how it goes...
It's about two tremendously vain Broadway stars, the legendary DeeDee (Meryl Streep) and frequent co-star Barry (James Corden) and their chorus hoofer friends (Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells) who are licking their wounds from a face-plant flop musical about Eleanor Roosevelt. To reenergize their careers they decide they need to be seen as charitable rather than self-involved and they chance upon a story about a young lesbian who isn't allowed to go to her prom. They swoop into the unsuspecting small town -- who don't know from Broadway -- and attempt to right this social wrong.
Chaos, comedy, and lots of big musical numbers follow.
Surely you know who I am?
Yes, Meryl Streep! We do. If we here at TFE had been in charge of this transfer and we knew Meryl Streep was cast we would have 100% had her pull three Tonys out of her bag in this big clip joke... to coincide with the meta joke of Meryl Streep playing her. (Meryl has zero Tonys, though she was Tony-nominated in 1976, but she does have three Oscars)
OKAY THAT TRAILER
YES
• Meryl, Nicole, and Andrew look like they're having a lot of fun and that is often contagious as an audience
• The thought of Keegan Michael Key obsessing over Meryl is promising (he's the principal of the school and a huge Dee Dee fan)
• Jo Ellen Pellman has a radiant smile though we don't get much of her performance in these clips.
NO
• James Corden. Please make it stop. Can't we have one musical without him? He's not some undeniable musical performer. There are so many talented actors who can sing and dance. Tituss Burgess would have slayed this role, for instance.
• Ryan Murphy. Listen. Yes, it's wonderful that he has put so much GAY into the world. But he is really burnt himself out releasing so many projects every year. Each project feels more garish and messy than the last even though the ideas behind them are often promising.
MAYBE SO
• The trailer sure looks gaudy. But on the other hand at least it's very colorful. So many movies err on the side of sedate that we'll take too much ZAZZ, please
• How are the musical numbers? We only get the big showstopper finale number here. But DeeDee has a phenomenal solo (in the stage musical) and the young girl has a beautiful solo too (pictured above).
• One of the delightful things about this musical on stage was that it was an equal opportunity offender. Like on the surface it sounds like conservatives would absolutely feel attacked by it but the stage version had so much fun, even more fun actually, lampooning the self-important moral righteousness of liberals. So against all odds it felt like good natured ribbing all around with a beautiful central message of just shut up and let kids have their prom and a chance at love! This seems like a line that the movie is not going to be able to walk as well, especially with a sledgehammer messenger like Ryan Murphy behind the megaphone.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS TRAILER?
Reader Comments (43)
I was very excited to see Patti LuPone in the first group pic. Then I realized it was Meryl PLAYING Patti LuPone in one of Patti's wigs. Still excited...but less so.
I, too, am a NO on James Corden. I'm a NO on Rannells as an actor as well, but at least he's hot.
i'm annoyed they didn't take anyone from the broadway cast and replacing brooks ashmanskas with james corden is particularly galling - they don't all need to be headliners
but yes, i'll be watching it
I am a Yes leaning more to Maybe So. Ryan Murphy, like everybody has been saying since 2016, is VERY hit or miss (with WAAAY more misses then hits) but his hits are/were hits for a reason. Hopefully, the fact that this is a movie will help tone down some of his....less then desirable traits. But, the again, Running With Scissors and Eat, Pray, Love exist.
Other random thots:
- I am here for Meryl hamming it up. And in a questionable wig? Fabulous.
- Nicole doesn't seem like she's got a wig, but she does have a sparkly green dress, and a sensible suit and hat! Which is the next best thing!
- The overall musical is very sweet and charming, which is welcoming in this age of infuriating cynicism.
- That gag with Meryl and the Tonys! I giggled.
- It's a damn shame James Cordon's general insufferable-ness and slightly smug self-satisfactory acting style is involved.
- Everything looks simultaneously bright and muted and also GLOSSY.
- Jo Ellen Pellman is adorable. And Ariana DeBose looks good, too!
I wanted to hate this, but Meryl in a red wig hamming it up and Nicole in a MUSICAL... I can't. I'm still gay.
That said, James Corden please fuck no. This is the miscast of the decade.
Oh sure, it's a yes. Some weird choices but it looks fun and well-intended. Plus the turnaround time way so quick they can't have rewritten much.
I’m going to try mentally swapping Titus Burgess In for James Corden whenever I come across him. Thanks for the inspiration.
Yes for Meryl, Nicole, Keegan, and Kerry.
But a hell no for James Corden. Sorry, I'm allergic to him.
I’m honestly in the mood for a more means more style musical so I’m definitely a yes. I love how over the top it seems to come across. Do I hope it’s actually wonderful? Yes. Will I take a fun guilty pleasure over actually quality? Yes.
NO:
- Meryl Streep/Nicole Kidman/James Corden in a musical.
- It looks pretty bad.
- The dancing from the main cast looks beyond cringey but Andrew Rannells with that head movement takes the cake.
- Looks really cheap (and probably had a gigantic budget)
- Ryan Murphy directing
Maybe so:
?
Yes:
???
It looks fun to me, but based on the cast I was already in. Still, we could use more upbeat movies around now.
Uh... FUCK NO!!!! Ryan Murphy is a fucking hack that needs to go. The next time he tries to pick a fight with someone like Slash and Dave Grohl. Bitch's going to need a body bag.
James Corden equals automatic no
Bah humbug! Lighten up people. Looks equal parts gaudy, ridiculous, and sweet. Seems like a nice confection for the holidays, and I'm here for it.
The James Corden role could’ve been such a lovely role for Nathan Lane - I miss seeing him with meaty screen roles and he always seems to deliver when asked. Camp, narcissist Broadway performer? Would’ve been a match made in heaven. Who do they reel in with James Corden? What market is crying out for more of him in their content?
Give me Meryl and Nicole and I'm on board. Where's Julianne Moore?
Covering up the lesbian subplot in the trailer (the entire reason behind the musical) makes this cut practically nonsensical, and if not for the onscreen talent and visual garishness would get an unqualified NO from most of the uninitiated. I'll say maybe so. How can I not see Meryl in this crazy red wig and camp event? Thanks for playing, comedy Globe actress also-rans, b/c you're losing now lol. Kidman and Rannells look like they're having a blast. Corden, jesus. Wasn't "Cats" enough to cancel him for the next five to ten years or something? But straight white men get absolutely everything in this world, so why am I not surprised? Tituss would have absolutely killed it in this role! Fully correct there! Hope Murphy surprises us and delivers. Pretty shady that not a single Broadway transfer made it in the film.
No from me. What is with the lighting? And it all looks like it's taking itself very seriously, while the original show was much lighter in its messaging. Was anyone from the original production even allowed to participate in this? This all feels like Cats to me and I suspect it turns out much the same way.
Looks a fun flick plus it's Meryl,can't see Oscar going for this,i'lI just skip Corden's bits,does anyone really like him the media seem to think audiences do,shouldn't he stay away from film after Cats.
I don't think I knew that people reacted so strongly to Corden. "Gavin & Stacey" was lovely, talk shows are easy to ignore, and both "Cats" and "Into the Woods" weren't great but he wasn't the main problem with either.
James Corden? Computer says NO.
I’ve let already let good marketing lure me into too many awful Ryan Murphy shows. Pass.
Hard pass for me :(
Looks like a terror movie.
It is a YES... looks like fun, needing that now
Ryan Murphy has been pretty bad lately though!
Yes! Will be a much needed fun movie this holiday season.
Ryan Murphy, James Corden, Andrew Rannells. Three strikes, you’re out. No, thanks.
The Hillbilly Elegy of trailers for musicals.
I have no problem with James Corden. Sorry everyone. I will see this for sure. I'm not expecting anything great, so it only needs to be better than Mamma Mia 1 for me. And if it's worse? Well then I'll be happy that Meryl has an embarrassing musical flop to her name.
Ryan Murphy really needs to just stop, but I blame Netlix. They want to get their money from that gargantuan deal they made with him, so the show must go on I guess.
Mamma mia, there she goes again...
Although I didn't technically get to see this on Broadway (ok, I saw a bootleg recording on YouTube...shhh, don't tell anyone), I am a big old gay YES to this! The story is a charming one that we desperately need right now in the world. AND, even though the story of these Broadway actors going to a small town to help a young lesbian in her very simple request to attend her high school prom with her girlfriend may seem to only poke fun at conservatives, I can say that having seen it, it also pokes great fun at liberals.
And YES, as a big Broadway musical fan, I would've loved to see some of those awesome performers (especially the incandescent Beth Leavel) get their chance to shine in a film. But those are decisions that were made by others and I have to judge the cast that we have.
On the cast, I'm an across the board yes. Primarily because it truly looks in the trailer like they are all having as much fun and are as in love with the source material as many of us are! The Meryl bit with the Tonys is one for the ages - particularly for the irony that a Tony is the one award that has actually eluded her in real life! And I have to say....what is with the HUGE hatred for James Corden. Is it because he's a Tony winner himself? Is it because he's a big FAN of Broadway and uses every occasion to celebrate it? Is it because he was one of the best in show for me in Into the Woods. YES, I SAID IT! And I was fully prepared to hate anyone that took on that role because it's one of my favorite roles that I have ever played. But I thought he brought such sensitivity to the role that I was angry that they didn't even let him sing "No More" (the absolute best thing the Baker does in the show. I did not see Cats the movie because....well...because of everything, but I can't imagine he was a primary cause for its awfulness.
Anyway, those of you who are hard "No"s on this are missing out on a lovely story, with a witty script and supremely charming songs. I don't think even Ryan Murphy can screw that up!
Whatever The Prom is, it is definitely "a lot"
Yes: It's a musical. Of course, I'll watch it.
Maybe: IMO the best tunes in the show involve the Emma and Alyssa characters (especially Unruly Heart which makes me cry every time) though these characters are BARELY in the trailer.
Meryl Streep is a beautiful lady in real life, but some of these hammy parts she's taken on recently make her look ghastly. In one shot here, she looks like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, and I can't un-see it.
I'm more excited to see the OTHER film musical about a gay teen and the prom.
Not a fan of Meryl Streep in comedy. She always leans too hard on the pedal - vibrating with that "look at me - aren't I funny?" thing that actors usually say should be avoided. I often like Kidman but comedy isn't usually her strong suit either. I know it was only a minor blip in her career but I can't quite forget that egg she laid some years back n "Just Go With It". Still, I'm usually down with musicals. Although this one looks as if it takes broad aim at some very safe and predictable targets.
No.
100% yes.
I don't like James Corden, but my objection to him being cast for this role has nothing to do with how I feel about him personally. In fact he was quite good in INTO THE WOODS and he was clearly NOT the main problem of CATS. And he's EXCELLENT in his Tony-award winning role in "One Man, Two Guvnors".
BUT... this role is for an older jaded gay man who could be extremely flamboyant, but also get in touch with what it means to come out when young. I'm all about "actors just playing roles" so I didn't NEED this role to go to a gay actor. But James Corden? REALLY? They went younger AND straight, which is just... offensive? Someone suggested Nathan Lane and UGH perfection.
This ones got all the Oscar buzz for the highly competitive “best supporting wig” category.
(Or would it be best adapted wig? Due to being a broadway musical?)
This probably gonna sound as a blasfemy for this page but I'm not a fan of Meryl Streep or Nicole Kidman. But my answer is YES to this.
I've been waiting a musical with REAL choreographies were you can visualize the entire bodies of the dancers and it looks gonna be like that.
And the bit parts of Keegan Michael Key looks promising, I hope he can play a character as memorable as Coach Hines.
I love Meryl so much but I wish she would stop with the musicals (or music themed roles), especially if they are directed by mediocre people. I'm a big fan of hers but musicals are not really her strong point. And on a different note, can Murphy like... not? I'm so tired of him, especially of his fetish with making older actresses play weird, cartoonish characters.
This looks fun. And tbh that's what I want right now from as Meryl Streep musical.
Well, it simply feels like my movie of the year and Meryl looking like Mirana Priestly's foxy twin sister is always a YES anyway.
Bonus point for a happy ending for a lesbian couple too.
BTW
Everyone who saw the broadway show the role of DeeDee Allen is the definition of delicous ham.
Loud, diva and everything.
So ham is on the card, ham will be served. Ryan Murphy didn't have to write that.
And I'm also okay with Corden. *shrug*
UGH on James Corden, 100% agree. We all have certain celebs who we just can't abide, and he's high on that list for me (along with such luminaries as Mel Gibson, Kanye West, and Tom Cruise).
Also: Ryan Murphy! Take a year off, howabout?
That said, I'll watch this. It could be a lot of fun. And my spouse is into musicals like I'm into horror, so I'll definitely join him.
MAYBE SO. Meryl in a musical makes me very nervous. She was horrid in that idiotic Mamma Mia, and then compounded the mistake by doing Part 2 or whatever it was called. But on the other hand she was good in Into the Woods and wonderful in Florence Foster Jenkins.
I agree with the majority on James Corden, and nice to know I'm not alone.
Andrew Rannels came into my world through the remake of Boys in the Band, and I thought he was very good. So it'll be very interesting to see him in a musical.
And I adore Keegan Michael Key. Don't understand how I missed him but Key and Peele is my new find.