The great Ryan Murphy, creator of many popular and great productions, such as Glee, American Horror Story, Eat, Pray, Love, Hollywood, A Secret Love, and so many others, wraps up this long year with an enthusiastic musical movie full of lights, songs and important messages. 

The movie revolves around the story of four Broadway stars (starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells) who jump on a trip to Indiana to help out a high school girl, Emma (played by Jo Ellen Pellman), who has been banned from her school’s prom by the PTA, led by Mrs. Greene (played by Kerry Washington), for wanting to take her girlfriend as her plus one.

The intentions of the quartet were mainly to earn good publicity for their recent bad reviews, but through some fun musical numbers and their progressive closeness to Emma, they all learn some important lessons (Emma and Mrs. Greene included). The Prom was directed by Ryan Murphy and is an adaptation from composer Matthew Sklar’s Tony-nominated 2018 musical.

Besides its terrific plot and necessary lessons, you will enjoy this movie for its colourful and glowy art direction, the musical sequences and choreographies, the cinematographic scenes, its emotional makeup and of course, performances worth watching, just like Hollywood’s queen Meryl Streep’s.

But be warned… if you are not into musicals and a hooray-for-everything vibe, it may not be your favourite, but it will definitely remind you of other great and fun movie musicals such as Mamma Mia!

Now, most of us have asked… is the movie based on a true story? It may seem so realistic due to its controversial events regarding LGBTQ+ rights, leading one to believe that it may have happened. The answer is yes, partly. 

One of the Broadway 2018 musical co-writers and lyricist, Chad Beguelin said back in 2018 that its conception was inspired by the similar stories that producer Jack Viertel found in headlines. The writer shared that they kept receiving news of several instances where same-sex couples were banned from their prom. A sad thing to learn nowadays.

And precisely this was one of Murphy’s inspirations for sharing this story on the small screen. “I wish I had a movie like THE PROM when I was growing up” – he stated on his Instagram. “All I wanted was to be embraced for who I was, and to love whomever I wanted”. 

The director extends an invitation to watch this movie to everyone who has felt like an outsider and wants to be their authentic self, “… which I think is a universal conceit. The love story (…) I longed to see as a young person. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so alone” – he wrote.

But The Prom is much more. Netflix announced a live streaming event “The Prom: Tonight Belongs to You”, a virtual prom one week after the movie’s premiere on Netflix, hosted by Jonathan Van Ness, star from Queer Eye, with (literally) all The Prom stars, and musical performances by Janelle Monáe and Galantis.

“EVERYONE deserves to be celebrated, loved and appreciated! So, come join us and bring your Unruly Heart, and definitely your ZAZZ hands!” said Van Ness in a statement.

Also, Pellman and Ariana DeBose (who interprets Alyssa Greene, Emma’s girlfriend) founded The Unruly Heart Initiative, which helps connect people with organizations to provide them resources like housing insecurity solutions, mentorship, professional development and mental health aid to the LGBTQ+ community and youth.

“I love Jo and Ariana’s dedication to the idea that The Prom can be something more than a movie,” Murphy stated on Instagram. “It can be a movement and a path forward for so many kids around the world who need to be supported loved and seen.”

A perfect all-in-one project that will give us good hopes and a nice wrap for the year. Enjoy it with family and friends! The Prom premiered on December 11th on Netflix and The Prom: Tonight Belongs to You on December 19th through Netflix’s YouTube Channel.