Graduation is not the end of a difficult journey. It's the beginning of something beautiful.
The best recipe for beauty is to be yourself.
The Prom.
The original Broadway musical "Graduation Night" was a success, so it is natural that its story was transferred to the world of cinema. The actors who played in it, very much dreamed of playing their roles in the film and transferring their play from the theater to the big movie. Director Ryan Murphy, taking up the film adaptation, had a different opinion, and decided to give the main roles to popular Hollywood stars that the film had greater success and attention.
Actually, Ryan Murphy is a director with a rod. He worked on really good series, and was in the team of directors of such TV projects as Body Parts, Glee, American Horror Story, Feud, Ratched. Murphy’s films are not as successful as TV series, and I have always been neutral towards them.
The film adaptation of "Prom night" was an ambitious project and seemingly at first glance with a hundred percent success. But something went wrong. The movie is specific. Some of them liked it and others didn’t.
A story that took place in Indiana (by the way, the director of the film is from there). A teenage girl is not allowed to come with her girlfriend for her high school prom, and a conservative school does not accept her lesbian relationship. This will find out on the Internet former popular Broadway stars. They decide to help this girl, and at the same time regain attention and fame. The stars travel to her provincial town to take over the unfair situation surrounding the prom. . .
Personally, I have spent many years battling myself, trying to become someone else, battling my nervous, excitable temperament, always getting a little angry at myself and trying to change. The turning point came when I was able to accept myself as I am.
It seems that the story of the film is touching and soulful. This musical has the genre of tragicomedy. Everyone turned away from the girl as if she was a nasty duckling, and the long-awaited evening turns into a real test. By the way, the girl was wonderfully played by young Joe Ellen Pellman: very believable, clean, and she is good.
Broadway stars were played by Meryl Streep, Andrew Rannells, Nicole Kidman and James Corden (the latter was nominated for a Golden Globe for this role).
Of course, it was nice to see Streep and Kidman. They are always cool and play wonderfully. The images are bright, and two respected actresses played with hurrah. They're playing the same project again. Most recently we saw them in the second season of Big Little Lies and a long time ago in the drama The Clock.
Actors draw this film to the attention of the viewer, although there are questions about the film itself. The story is interesting and deserves attention. The script is not bad, and you could make a movie on it. I didn't like the direction. Murphy couldn't make a candy out of this twisted story. The picture was unfinished. Something was missing all the time.
I think this Broadway musical deserves another film adaptation in the future. Kerry Washington didn’t like this movie. That was not her role.
A controversial film that leaves behind an incomprehensible aftertaste. Netflix rushed with the film adaptation in the cinema, it was necessary to dive deeper into this story and revise the director’s view. Of course, the film is bright with a lot of performances, songs, tinsels, but in general it turned out to be porridge. I wanted more vision from the director.
Graduation is an American musical in the genre of drama and comedy in 2020. The bottom line is a purely controversial movie that I personally feel neutral about somewhere between yes and no. Thank you very much.
The path is not just a destination, baby. The path is who you are and who you aspire to be.
In 2010, an incident occurred in the Mississippi County of Itauamba, which caused a lot of controversy. Then student Constance McMillen was forbidden to take his girlfriend to the prom. Many celebrities, having learned about the incident, came to the defense of McMillen, reminding everyone about the rights and freedoms of US citizens, including the right not to hide their sexual orientation. One of the main celebrities who supported Constance was Ellen DeGeneres - a famous host of her own talk show, as well as a feminist and activist for the rights of the LGBTQ community. The Itauamba case attracted the general public, which eventually led to its display in various art forms. Bob Martin and Chad Begelin’s book “Promise” was published, for which the original concept based on real events was created by Jack Wirtel. And the book itself was based on the musical of the same name (in the original 'The Prom') to the music of Matthew Sklar. And in 2020, the streaming service Netflix made an order for an artistic adaptation of the “Promise” and in December of the same year it was released on screens.
Netflix commissioned director Ryan Murphy and his own film studio Ryan Murphy Productions. Murphy is known for the feature-length dramas On the Sharp Edge (2006) and Eat, Pray, Love (2010), as well as the television drama The Ordinary Heart (2014), which addressed the topic of homosexuality and the emergence of a hitherto unknown deadly disease within their community. And probably Ryan Murphy is familiar with this problem, because he is gay. And in the asset of the director there is a multifunctional work on the series “Glee” (was held for six seasons in the period from 2009 to 2015), which included the genres of the musical, drama and comedy, that is, all that was included in the actual adaptation of “Prom”. The choice of Ryan Murphy as the main director is justified. But the main roles were selected at first by the participants of the original Broadway production of “Promise”, but Murphy still leaned towards the star cast of the film, inviting Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, as well as Kerry Washington, Keegan-Michael Key, Joe Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBos.
In the center of the plot are four Broadway stars, each of whom is not happy with their current state of affairs. For example, the owner of two statuettes Tony Dee Allen (Streep) did not get the coveted role to which she went all her life, and Barry Glickman (Corden) received along with Allen received devastating criticism for their latest Broadway production. After they are joined by ex-choirist Angie Dickinson (Kidman) and ex-star of the sitcom Trent Oliver (Rannells). In order to regain their former greatness and draw attention to their people, they decide to commit some act, after which everyone will talk about them. And after a brief argument, they stop at the conviction of schoolgirl Emma Nolan (Pelman), who did not hide her homosexuality and decided to go to the prom with her lover. But this causes rejection and prohibition of local government led by an active Mrs. Green (Washington), although the headmaster (Kee) sees nothing reprehensible in Emma's desire. So Broadway stars are in a provincial town supposedly to support a young student to be who she is. . .
Against the backdrop of the booming movement in support of the LGBTQ community, it is not surprising that films touching on the topic of homosexuality more and more. However, the opposite effect is immediately manifested - people with a traditional sexual orientation gradually get tired of kissing two guys or girls on the screen. And yet, gay empathy is trending now, so you just have to watch the changes in cinema. But personally, I am still driven not by my own attitude to these changes, but the resulting effect from the “Promise”. And he, alas, is far from positive. Honestly, first of all annoyed the game of the great Streep and Kidman. At some point, I thought they might be contenders for the Golden Raspberry Award. Streep’s heroine annoyed with narcissism, which was often inappropriate. Kidman looked static at all. Only a few scenes with them gave a positive emotional background, which is completely uncharacteristic for Streep and Kidman. And many other characters were completely stereotypical, and from this there was no living interest in their personas.
James Corden is a handsome fat man who contracted 'star disease', but in fact he has a very vulnerable soul, and as a child he suffered a heart wound when his parents did not accept his homosexuality. Mrs. Green, played by Kerry Washington, is a typical activist who for some reason no one is in a hurry to besiege, although she is already quite tired of everything. Keegan-Michael Key is a good-natured and open-minded person, but many people hurt him because of this. Joe Ellen Pellman's character is an ordinary school "gray mouse" who was boycotted because of her homosexuality, which is unacceptable in those parts. In general, the template characters in the “Prom” are more than necessary, which excludes any interest in what is happening on the screen. Only occasionally, dramatic events that lead to philosophical conclusions about our existence, somewhat revive interest in "Graduation". And, probably, only the hero of Andrew Rannells (who in life is openly gay) on the background of all the other participants of the action does not look like furniture on stage. And, most offensively, not a single song, not a single choreographic number was not to taste (but this, of course, more subjective opinion).
4 out of 10
Oh, Broadway. This place attracted thousands of fans of the theater. The best of the best performed there. And even these days, a Broadway musical is a mark of quality. But not so long ago, there was a pandemic: no one else performs, everyone is isolated, everyone is behind the scenes. What is the time to make another Broadway hit?
Premiere ' Graduation' as a performance took place recently, in 2016. This is the story of a lesbian who canceled her graduation. Just played the most unsuccessful performance in his career stars (Corden Streep, Kidman), decide to help the girl and go to Indiana - a place where prejudice and stupid stereotypes reign.
' Graduation & #39; reminiscent of the golden era of Broadway, and never tires of making hints towards classics. This is deliberately old-fashioned musical content, and the lyrics of some songs. At the same time, the musical is very bright, in special times - too much.
Despite my disliked theme, 'Prom ' is a quality show, wonderfully staged. It may remind you of the third part of the musical ', but do not worry: there is no plagiarism here. At least because the songs here are a head taller than the brainchild of Kenny Ortega.
Ryan Murphy is obviously very creative and very caring. His latest project was “Graduation” – an energetic, but still awkward and uneven musical. It is not clear how it relates to it: it is clear that the budget of “Vyvny” was limited, therefore, the quality of the project causes joy. The musical is quite competent even compared to other, more impressive productions. The material, however, is unremarkable and in places looks even tortured. In other words, “Graduation” is a strange film-musical, which stands out as mistakes and few strong elements.
The plot tells about Broadway stars, whose fame has long passed and they, unfortunately, lost the coveted status of "celebrity". Diva Dee Allen and cunning Barry Glickman failed in the musical Eleanor!, so teaming up with other losers in the face of dancer Angie and actor Trent, they go to the American outback. The artists read that there, they say, the parent committee of one of the schools forbids to attend the prom of a girl of non-traditional sexual orientation, who wants to bring her girlfriend to the ball. The team of New York liberals, as they call themselves, see this situation as an opportunity to improve their reputation, including acting, posing as such opportunistic activists.
Ryan Murphy tries to play with the tone of "Prom," hesitantly moving from comedy to melodrama. The early scenes are so strange, especially in the context of the whole story, that it makes one wonder: was “Prom” conceived as a satire or, in a broad sense, as a parody of musicals? The narration comes to an end in some matters: for example, ridiculing the social activism of Hollywood celebrities to protect the gray and squalid. At some point, however, the script backs away from these ideas, as if deciding that this is the wrong path for the plot. As a result, “Prom” becomes uncomfortable in both satirical and serious elements: the only characters who feel alive are, oddly enough, it is a lesbian girl Emma and her secret lover. All the rest are either too vague or, as in the case of Dee Dee, very specific.
As for acting, the advertising obviously bet on Meryl Streep. Suddenly, the role in “Prom” was almost the worst in her abundant filmography. Egocentric Dee Dee is an interesting character, but curious precisely in its imperfection. With a light hand Murphy heroine dramatically changes character somewhere in the middle of the film, apparently because of the desire to humanize her and evoke the sympathy of the public. It’s a pity because Dee Dee would have come out as a good antagonist (or antihero), and instead she’s given a subplot of atonement and an unsuccessfully written love line. Unsurprisingly, Streep looks baffled by her character’s peculiarities: sometimes she copies herself from The Devil Wears Prada, but in most scenes the actress is lost.
The other actors don't shine either. James Corden plays some kind of stereotype: the image of his hero was quite common in films of the 1980s – 1990s. Nicole Kidman and her character strangely fade into the background.
Probably, when watching “Prom” you should leave the spectator’s cynicism aside and look at the tape with a more romantic look, like a fairy tale. The rather undemanding spectacle was created more for entertainment than trying to insert a couple of comments about the annoying problems of LGBT people. Inspiring musical numbers are imbued with energy, although it is difficult to take them seriously. On the other hand, in cases where the characters sing and dance, it is easy to forget about the pile of conceptual-ideological problems of “Prom”. The ending is too sweet and tries to please the notorious minorities, but by the time the catharsis occurs, it is clear that the creators did not intend to do anything bold or clever, as it may seem when viewing the early scenes.
P.S. There is something ironic in the fact that on the fifth anniversary of my regular publications, a film with the title “Promise” was reviewed. “Promise” is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I think this is the case with reviews as well. Thank you all!
The first bells started in the fourth minute!! To be honest, I wanted to turn this musical off because of the disgusting playfulness of everyone in it. However, I realized that it was all for the sake of the image and after the film I realized that it was not necessary to burn so much because of just one scene, because I did not see the main character. That feeling when the tree plays better. This character is so past, because neither in the songs (about them later), nor in dance, nor in acting she can not. I'm sorry, but why did you call her? As for the songs, there will be a lot, a lot, so much that it will get boring in the first fifteen minutes, and the film runs for 2 hours. Two hours!!! Yes, they called the stars, but except for Corden, everything is so far away that it would be better not to call them. That doesn't mean they played badly. That means they just don't quite fit in in terms of role. They're not really annoying, but I just had a question: ' Why are you here?' Well, the cherry on the cake is just a stupid plot. This is not about LGBT protest, but rather the absurdity of the situation, the dialogue and the motivation. After all, here the topic of homophobia is only one of the options, it is a very broad topic and you can open it from any side, but the key word ' REVEAL', which the authors did not bother to do. Of the pluses, I, perhaps, will highlight a good camera job and a good job of a dance director, because, together with the camera work, you get really beautiful and dynamic shots, but even this director could not make the main character a little more plastic, so that the final dance she was not so log.
What's the bottom line? 'Prom ' is one of the worst movies of 2020. It is hard to watch and painful to listen to. Is it worth watching? Nope. It is not recommended from the word at all.