THE PROM: 3 STARS
Director Ryan Murphy returns to familiar territory with 鈥淭he Prom,鈥� a high school musical adapted from a Broadway show now streaming on Netflix. The creator of the pop culture juggernaut 鈥淕lee鈥� throws subtlety out the window and ups the ante with an all-star cast to bring the all-singing-all-dancing story of inclusivity to glittery life.
The action begins on the opening night of a Broadway show, a musical about Eleanor Roosevelt starring two self-involved stage icons, Dee Dee Allen (Meryl Streep) and Barry Glickman (James Corden).
When terrible reviews force the show to close on opening night, taking their dreams of Tony Award glory with it, they fear they鈥檒l never work again. Joining in on the pity part are Trent (Andrew Rannells), a Juilliard grad waiting on his big break by bartending at Sardi鈥檚 restaurant and Angie Dickinson (Nicole Kidman), a 鈥淐hicago鈥� chorus girl who has spent twenty years for her chance of playing Roxie.
At the same time across the country in small-town Indiana controversy is brewing. Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington), head of the local PTA, has announced that to preserve community standards, gay high school student Emma Nolan (Jo Ellen Pellman) will be banned from attending the prom with her girlfriend.
Cut to New York where the four actors hatch a plan to find a cause they can support to boost their dented public images. When they hear about Emma鈥檚 plight, the self-proclaimed 鈥渓iberals from Broadway鈥� hop on a bus for Indiana to bring their self-styled (and self-serving) activism to the Midwest.
High jinks and high stepping result.
鈥淭he Prom鈥� is a feel-good movie that not only celebrates inclusivity, but also the form of the musical. It鈥檚 an ode to Broadway and, in these isolated times, the importance of entertaining people.
When Dee Dee tells high school principal Tom Hawkins (Keegan-Michael Key) she鈥檚 planning to quit the business, he says, earnestly, 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 quit because I need you to do what you do.鈥�
It鈥檚 a lovely sentiment but it makes the clumsy handling of many of the musical numbers somewhat mystifying. If this form is so important, why are the big dance sequences such a mish mash of frenetic camera work, candy colours and flailing choreography? There is a difference between dazzling and dizzying and Murphy errs on the side of the latter too often.
Other than that, 鈥淭he Prom鈥� fits alongside pop musicals like 鈥淏ye Bye Birdie,鈥� another show about actors trying to wring some publicity out of a small town. It鈥檚 peppy with a game cast.
Streep, Rannells and Kidman have fun in big performances and Corden goes for it, but made me wonder if Nathan Lane, who would have been terrific, or Brooks Ashmanskas, who played Glickman on Broadway, were otherwise engaged while the movie was being shot.
The film鈥檚 heart and soul, however, is Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma, the gay high school senior who displays resilience and courage in the face of prejudice. She鈥檚 terrific in a role that requires her to sing, dance while pulling on your heartstrings.
If you are someone who has the release date of 鈥淲est Side Story,鈥� which features Pellman鈥檚 co-star Ariana DeBose as Anita, marked on your calendar, or if the words 鈥淢eryl Streep raps鈥� grab your attention, then you鈥檒l want to put 鈥淭he Prom鈥� in your Netflix queue.
It aims to please fans of the genre and delivers a blast of feel-good vibes but probably won鈥檛 win over people who don鈥檛 like it when actors suddenly burst into song.
I鈥橫 YOUR WOMAN: 3 ½ STARS
There are loads of crime dramas about bad guys on the run, but 鈥淚鈥檓 Your Woman,鈥� a new thriller starring 鈥淭he Marvelous Mrs. Maisel鈥檚鈥� Rachel Brosnahan and now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, tells the story from a different perspective, the bad guy鈥檚 wife.
The action begins when Jean鈥檚 (Brosnahan) husband Eddie (Bill Heck) comes home with a baby. We later learn she鈥檚 unable to conceive and because of his criminal record they can鈥檛 adopt, so Eddie 鈥渇inds鈥� a baby and now they鈥檙e a family of three. That night Jean is woken up by loud bangs on the door.
Eddie has disappeared and now she has to flee in the company of one of her husband鈥檚 associates, a kindhearted killer named Cal (Arinze Kene). She doesn鈥檛 know where Eddie is or why he disappeared, but there is an urgency to the situation. On the road, hop scotching from seedy motels and safe houses to remote cabins, the pair try and stay one step ahead of the baddies who hunt them in their search for the elusive Eddie.
鈥淚鈥檓 Your Woman鈥� is a quiet movie. The stillness only broken up by the occasional door knock or gunshot. It鈥檚 the story of a woman trapped in a situation not of her making, who must shape her own destiny.
It draws on 1970s crime dramas and even borrows its title from a line in Michael Mann鈥檚 1981 鈥淭hief,鈥濃�擨鈥檓 your woman,鈥� Tuesday Weld tells James Caan, 鈥渁nd you鈥檙e my man.鈥濃�攂ut make no mistake, this isn鈥檛 simply a film that flips the genders of the protagonists. The movies that inspired it may have starred men but this is a different story, it鈥檚 a look at what happens when the men aren鈥檛 around.
There鈥檚 more than that, however. 鈥淚鈥檓 Your Woman鈥� is a much more human story than the paranoid thrillers that informed it are not. Here Jean isn鈥檛 fighting against a machine or the government, but against the imbalance of power in a personal situation. It changes the dynamic of the storytelling and puts the focus on the person doing the fighting, Jean, and not some monolithic organization.
Brosnahan is in almost every frame of 鈥淚鈥檓 Your Woman鈥� and yet there isn鈥檛 a trace of Mrs. Maisel to be found. In a terrific performance she allows Jean to uncork survival skills she didn鈥檛 realize she had. But, just as this isn鈥檛 鈥淭he Friends of Eddie Coyle,鈥� it also isn鈥檛 鈥淎tomic Blonde.鈥� It鈥檚 a movie that guides us through Jean鈥檚 journey step by step, without flashy action or a big body count.
As a result, 鈥淚鈥檓 Your Woman鈥� does away with the nihilism of many thrillers to offer something rare for the genre, and that鈥檚 hope for the future.
SONGBIRD: 1 ½ STARS
鈥淪ongbird,鈥� a new film produced by Michael Bay and now on premium VOD, feels ripped from the headlines.
Like, today鈥檚 headlines.
The first film to shoot in Los Angeles during the lockdown details life during COVID.
Set in 2024, during the fourth year of pandemic, COVID has mutated, leaving the United States under martial law where infected citizens are forcibly removed from their homes. Treated like walking, talking biohazards they are housed in concentration camps called Q-Zones.
Meanwhile, motorcycle courier Nico (K.J. Apa) is immune. A recovered COVID patient, he has the antibodies to fight off the disease. When his locked-down girlfriend Sarah (Sofia Carson) is suspected of contracting the virus, Nico springs into action to save her from being taken away.
There are side characters galore, like Bradley Whitford鈥檚 sex-crazed record producer, a lovelorn veteran played by Paul Walter Hauser, Demi Moore鈥檚 protective mom and an over-the-top Peter Stormare as the evil head of the Los Angeles' "sanitation" department--but most of them exist only to heighten the grim desperation of the situation.
鈥淪ongbird鈥� isn鈥檛 a politicized screed about masks or the virus鈥� origin. Instead, it鈥檚 a star-crossed style romance鈥�"You鈥檝e never been in the same room,鈥� says Sara鈥檚 mother, 鈥渂ut he loves you.鈥濃�攕et against the backdrop of the worst world event in decades.
It would be one thing if 鈥淪ongbird鈥� had something to add the conversation about COVID, but it doesn鈥檛. Instead, it plays off our worst collective fears in clumsy and exploitative ways.
It鈥檚 likely to appeal to conspiracy enthusiasts who may finger their tinfoil hats in excitement at the mention of bracelets for 鈥渕unies鈥濃�攖he immune鈥攁n unchecked department of sanitation who arrest at will, apps that will report you if your temperature is above normal and ever-present surveillance.
For those not inclined toward dystopian extremes, 鈥淪ongbird鈥� is a crass reminder of the real-life death, sickness, unemployment and heartache COVID has wrought. It feels tone deaf, and worse, it鈥檚 a bad movie.
YES, GOD, YES: 3 ½ STARS
Based on director Karen Maine鈥檚 own experiences as a Catholic high schooler 鈥淵es, God, Yes,鈥� now on VOD and Blu Ray, is a look at a young woman鈥檚 sexual awakening as she grapples with the taboos that surround her faith.
Set in the early 2000s, 鈥淵es, God, Yes鈥� stars Natalia Dyer as Alice, a sheltered sixteen-year-old who accidentally stumbles into a racy AOL chatroom. The lewd photographs and provocative conversation are unlike anything she鈥檚 ever seen or heard and it sets her on a journey of self-discovery.
At a brisk 77-minutes (including credits) 鈥淵es, God, Yes鈥� is a breezy and often insightful coming-of-age story. The push and pull Alice feels between her faith and her burgeoning sexuality is sensitively handled by Maine and delicately portrayed by Dyer. Stuck between naiveté and some rather adult thoughts, she is at the cusp of great change, feeling her way through her awkward formative years. The film gives her space to do so, and each low-key revelation feels authentic.
This isn鈥檛 a movie with big moments, just a series of occasionally frank but often sweet set pieces. From Alice鈥檚 self-conscious confessions to an excruciating rendition of Peter Gabriel鈥檚 鈥淚n Your Eyes鈥� to pretending every roasted marshmallow is a mortal sin before holding it to the fire, 鈥淵es, God, Yes鈥� is finely and respectfully observed. In Alice the movie finds an everyperson character, an adolescent working her way through feelings of confusion and shame in pursuit of her own pleasure.
鈥淵es, God, Yes鈥� doesn鈥檛 judge its characters, even when they are too chipper to be believed or preaching abstinence-led sex education. Instead, it paints a picture of a time and place and allows the characters to inhabit it.
