The Prom is a lot of things. It’s charming, it’s sweet, it’s condescending, it’s assured, it’s witty, it’s mean, it’s judgmental, it’s fabulous, it’s over-the-top, it’s a little long, it’s well-meaning, it’s confused, it’s assured, and its a little important (and a little self-important too).

The prom is a about an Indiana town where the parents call off the prom instead of allowing a gay girl bring her date. And it’s about a cadre of self-absorbed narcissists from Broadway who descend upon the town to finger-wave at the rubes (and bring attention to the girls’ plight using their star-power). It’s a musical directed by Ryan Murphy so if you think Glee with its own original songs, then you’re on the right path.

The flick has a great cast of adults with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Cordon, Keegan Michael Key, Kerry Washington. They are joined by a host of young, fresh-faced actors lead by Jo Ellen Pellman who has charm and brightness to spare.

It’s a goofy, overboard musical with a variety of pretty good, hummable Broadway songs. I think maybe a handful too many but I’m sure someone who lives and breaths musical theater would disagree. And chuck a pie in my face for saying so. This is hardly my area of expertise but that didn’t stop my toe from tapping, my eyes from rolling, the melodies humming…

But also the movie is really kind of maddeningly confused and judgey. At first, the egotistical Broadway stars are set up as ridiculous and silly… almost as much as the homophobic townsfolk from Indiana. But the stars gets to grow and still judge and change minds through song in a way that just doesn’t (sadly) happen in real life. I don’t know – there’s a lot of well-meaning honest desire for inclusion and change in the film – that’s its whole point – but there’s something a little cringe in the way it does it.

And then they burst out into a gloriously silly and over-the-top song and you forget about how it delivers its message for a few minutes. And Jo Ellen Pellman performs and smiles with such self-assurance, and Nicole Kidman hoofs it with her long legs, and Meryl Streep belts out a song, and so on and so on.

Hey, the movie has its heart in the right place and might be a little tone-deaf and it might break a finger wagging it so hard, but it’s still charming and sweet and fun and, yeah, a little important. These things need to be said though they might have used a touch more sensitivity to the side that isn’t promoting itself as the cure to societal ills. And if the idea of a Netflix movie called The Prom directed by Ryan Murphy based on a stage musical makes your toes start tapping, you don’t need me to tell you if it’s good or not. This was made for you, jazz hands and all.

Score: 85