Carry On Doctor (1972)

I will be the first to admit that I am a creature of comfort who doesn't understand fashion, let alone haute couture. But that doesn’t mean I did not like The Devil Wears Prada when it first came out, back in 2006. I even bought and read the book, despite it being about a world I had and still have zero interest in.

Like everyone else who liked the original and understood its lasting popularity throughout the years, I was eager to see the sequel. Even if, to be completely honest, I didn't see why it needed one. The first movie gave everyone their perfect "happily ever after". Miranda Priestly remained the iconic, untouchable editor-in-chief of Runway, Andy Sachs landed her dream job as a serious journalist, and Emily finally secured her place as Miranda's assistant.

The absence of live theatre this year has left a gaping, red-curtain-sized hole in my heart. Now that I’m desperately missing one of my favorite things, I rely on film adaptations of musicals to supplement those long-missing endorphins and make that magic more accessible.

New to Netflix, The Prom seemed like it could be the answer to my prayers. The glitz, glam, and star-power definitely acted as a draw, but my hopefulness almost immediately soured upon starting the film. With the perfect formula to succeed, how did this film not only fall flat but become hard to sit through? Too many ill-fitted choices add up to an off-putting and distracting experience.

In this film, four has-beens of the Broadway community (played by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, and Andrew Rannells) attempt to boost their image by becoming the faces of a small-scale social justice movement. They come across the story of Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman), a teen in Indiana whose wish to take her girlfriend to Prom develops into a major source of contention in her community, canceling the event altogether.

Acknowledging that this film draws deeply from the source material, I can’t help but notice that, in true Ryan Murphy fashion, this narrative is packed with dramatic tricks that don’t know when to quit, and barely enough laugh-out-loud one-liners for me to count on one hand. As the group of thespians tries to persuade the town to be more inclusive, what could have been a heartwarming tale descents into cliches and problematic undoings. Most concerning of all, Emma is cast aside and wholly invalidated when she truly deserves to be the heroine of this story.