The Prom review, Culture Whisper
It’s an understated value in movies: to change a viewer’s mind about a genre they previously had little time for. On paper, The Prom is like a checklist of potential annoyances. It’s a musical, and a richly cheesy one at that. Ryan Murphy (Ratched, The Politician) is producing and directing, which means turning the budget and the campness up to 11. And then there’s the concept of ‘the prom’, drearily immortalised in American culture and weakly imitated over here.
Around halfway through the film, after a musical number, a high-school principal (Keegan-Michael Key) says, ‘OK, that one got to me.’ Awkwardly, this critic thought the same – only much earlier, and more frequently. Murphy’s innate OTT flair, the accelerated screenplay, the infectious and hilarious original songs, and the powerful, inclusive themes: they all sing together in a colourful chorus of escapism.
