Freeze Frame: “The Prom” (PG-13), “Let Them All Talk” (R), “Wander Darkly” (R), “I’m Your Woman” (R), “The Stand-In” (R), “Wild Mountain Thyme” (PG-13), “Safety” (PG)

Meryl Streep, James Cordon and Nicole Kidman headline Ryan Murphy’s energetic adaptation of the wacky Broadway musical, “The Prom.” They play narcissistic theater folk who decide to take up the cause of a small-town lesbian teenager for the sake of publicity. It’s overlong and it’s message as subtle as a sledgehammer, but a great cast makes this frantic prom worth attending.

 

Streep appears once again as a self-absorbed author on an ocean voyage with estranged friends Candice Bergen and Dianne Wiest in Steven Soderberg’s astute comic drama, “Let Them All Talk.” It’s an easy-going tale that unfolds as leisurely as a senior cruise.

 

Sienna Miller and Diego Luna are excellent in the imaginative and aptly titled, “Wander Darkly,” the tale of a woman in a state of confusion after suffering head trauma in a car wreck. It takes viewers to intriguing, unexpected places.

 

Rachel Brosnahan gives a sharp performance in the ‘70s era crime drama, “I’m Your Woman.” She plays a naïve twenty-something who goes into hiding with her adopted son when her gangster husband goes missing. It’s an involving and disturbing thriller.

 

Drew Barrymore plays dual roles as a petulant movie star and her manipulative stand-in who attempts to take over the star’s career…in the raunchy comedy, “The Stand-In.” Drew is appealing, but the jokes in this showbiz farce miss more often than they hit.

 

There’s an excessive amount of blarney in John Patrick Shanley’s rural Irish romance, “Wild Mountain Thyme.” Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan are appealing as the emotionally conflicted leads, but the movie’s attempts at homespun charm seem strained.

 

“Safety” is an inspirational Disney+ sports drama based on the true story of Ray Ray McElrathbey, a Clemson football player who hid is little brother in his dorm while their mom battled addiction. “Safety” is sweet and utterly predictable.

 

Your local art house theaters are offering online viewing options for a number of  intriguing movie titles. More information is available at nelson-atkins.org, Screenland.com, fineartsgroup.com and drafthouse.com.


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