Variety

By Owen Gleiberman

CRITIC’ PICK! “The Prom is a musical that has its Hollywood nobility and eats it, too, and has its high camp and eats it, too. That makes for one silly but zesty-tasting dessert…

Love thy neighbor. That’s a thought from a long time ago that America needs to hear again, and “The Prom” is an effusive, fast-gliding, purple-spangled delivery system for it. The movie has a universalist spirit that’s wired into its very form. It turns doing the right thing into a fizzy and elating high-camp showbiz high.”

The Washington Post

By Peter Marks

 “The Prom — a movie that is not merely a valentine to musical theater but also a sparkly gift wrapped in a Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa-appropriate bow of undying devotion to Tony nights and Playbill collections — is reserved for the die-hard keepers of the show tune flame among you.

Why? Because “The Prom” is a campy, sentimental slab of Broadway cake, with an order of jazz hands and high kicks on the side. It comes complete with a Dance at the Gym — and if you don’t know the historic significance of that allusion, well, I’m just sorry for your loss. It also features: Nicole Kidman as a leggy chorus girl with a heart of Fosse-engraved gold; James Corden, playing a Broadway veteran fluttering about in a silver tux with the panache of a middle-aged Liberace; Keegan-Michael Key, as principal of a Midwest high school and (straight) musicals superfan . . . and — ta-da! — Meryl Streep in the hog-the-spotlight role of a scenery-chewing stage star who never met a fawning admirer she didn’t desperately need.

Me? I wept at regular intervals.”

CNN

by Brian Lowry

"‘The Prom’ is indeed a demonstration of star power at work, but it's mostly a valentine to theater -- at a time when theaters are closed -- coupled with an overt message about LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion. All of that comes wrapped in a big neon bow, a joyous holiday gift for fans of musical theater, made by people who love the medium every bit as much as they do.”

Deadline

By Pete Hammond

“During dark times, this kind of entertainment is probably more welcome than ever, and The Prom is a cause for celebration — a return to musicals the way Hollywood used to regularly turn them out in its golden era but one with real relevance for today. This is something that will light up your spirits in these gloomy times and put a smile and a little hope in our hearts just when we need it the most. I found it to be in a league with Broadway faves including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and especially Bye Bye Birdie, the latter about some uptown showbiz types invading small-town America for their own PR purposes.”

US Weekly

By Mara Reinstein

“How amazing that a movie so lively and jubilant and LOL-funny as The Prom can land with such emotional impact. When the entire ensemble — all clad in sparkling tuxes and dresses, of course — gathers in the gym for the grand finale number, “It’s Time to Dance,” it’s almost impossible to both not be moved and want to move right along with them. Now that’s a crowning achievement.”

USA Today

By Brian Pruitt

“After the year we’ve all had, Netflix’s glorious musical comedy “The Prom” couldn’t have come at a better time, with its monster-truck rallies, narcissistic A-listers, young lesbian protagonists and inclusiveness that will make any Grinch’s heart grow three sizes.

The joyous adaptation (★★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; streaming Dec. 11) of the Tony-nominated Broadway production lets Meryl Streep, James Corden and Nicole Kidman loose on catchy songs and sneakily complex characters. And in centering the emotional core on fresh faces like Ariana DeBose and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman, director Ryan Murphy again finds the underdog vibe of “Glee” that captured pop culture’s imagination.

Instead of being preachy about acceptance and loving each other no matter our differences – though it does boast of one foot-stomping gospel hoedown in a mall – “The Prom” lets its infectious jubilance and lovable irreverence do the job.”