Sometimes, you come across a film that just baffles you as to how it got made without anyone realising how much of a mess it was. This is one of those films. I wouldn't say it's so bad it's good, it's just ... odd. There are some plot points that don't make sense, characters that act insane, it feels edited to hell, and, the biggest crime, Jesse L. Martin is in this and he DOESN'T HAVE A SONG!!! Did I also mention this film is frustrating as hell?
So, in a small American town the church choir is run by two incredibly strong-minded women, G.G (Dolly Parton) and Vi Rose (Queen Latifah), after the old choir master Bernard (Kris Kristofferson) dies unexpectedly. The choir hopes to win the "Joyful Noise" choir competition in order to bring some much needed hope to a town that is quickly dying. However, Vi Rose wants to stick to the old traditional gospel songs that the choir has been doing forever, while G.G feels that it's time for a change. Throw in the fact that Vi Rose's daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer) is falling for G.G's bad-boy grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan), which causes friction between mother and daughter, and coincidentally, the choir.
Okay, so to be honest, I was probably not this movies demographic. This is a very Christian film, which isn't a bad thing, but when I watch a movie I don't really want to be preached to. And this film can get quite preachy at times. It does try to address the big issues, mainly with the character of Walter, Vi Rose's son who has aspergers. There is one scene where he a crisis of faith, and questions his mother about why God made him the way he is, and that maybe God isn't as perfect as people make out. This would've been the best scene in the film, if Vi Rose's response had been anything other than "Don't question your creator, He is perfect and amazing," or something along those lines. The film does this a lot, bringing up issues and then resolving them in the most half-hearted way or not in any way at all. But that's not my biggest complaint.
No, my biggest complaint is this. When you have a movie about a choir, you expect the choir to actually be in it. Most of the plot revolves around the melodramas of Vi Rose's family rather than the dynamics in the choir, which is what it should be focusing on! The choir is hardly in it! We get a couple of subplots about a few of the choir members, but they're more played for laughs than for actual character development. And for a musical, it lacks a lot of musical numbers. Both Latifah and Parton have a solo song each, because they are the big stars. But it means that there is less time for the choir.
And let's get to the music. It's okay. The singing is excellent, and I'm fairly sure there might be some original songs (I could be wrong... I probably am), but like I said, this movie was not made for a non-Christian. What I mean by repeating that is it really rubs me the wrong way when someone takes an excellent song and changes the words to suit their own agenda. And good god do some of these covers make me cringe. How's this for a bizarre idea? A Christian reworking of Usher's "Yeah". It's as stupid as it sounds.
So is this film mediocre? Yes, but mainly because it is such a mess. It doesn't know what it wants to be. It's advertised as a light comedy, and yet apart from a few scenes, plays out like a drama. The dialogue is either cheesey or weird, with inspirational speeches alongside such brilliant one liners like "You will respect my snoring!" and "Your daughter is looking at Randy the same way I look at cake." Would I recommend it? No, not unless you are a really big fan of any of the stars. Otherwise, there are some much better choir movies, like Sister Act and Pitch Perfect, which coincidentally came out the same year. Like I said earlier, this is just average bad, so I'd steer clear of it, or watch it by some more dubious methods.
Well, I'm sick at the moment, so hopefully I will have another one of these up shortly. Or a list, I dunno yet. Until next time, readers.
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