This Weekend We Will Hear A Little "Joyful Noise"

Joyful Noise (2012)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan

Directed by Todd Graff

The Story:

A small town church choir wants to attend a national competition, but year after year, they get sent home early.  Now with Vi (Latifah) instituted as the new choir master at the helm, there's a chance for a change.  Yet even with her daughter Olivia's (Palmer) beautiful voice, it seems like the choir is stuck in the same old rut.  However, a rebel (Jordan) rolls into town, related to town matriarch G.G. Sparrow (Parton) and he begins to shake things up, and suddenly, the choir may have the spark they've been missing.  Will the seize the day, and glorify the Lord with their songs, or will everything settle back to the way it's always been?

This movie had sure fire hit on it when the trailer rolled.

Great music. Funny. Emotional conflicts.

So what went wrong?

The movie did provide all of that, and then some.

And perhaps, that was the problem. 

Let's Pray This Review Isn't Too Harsh

This was another case of a movie that had TOO MUCH story that it decided it wanted to tell, and it ballooned to 2 hours to try and tell it all.

Let's count the things they are trying to get across:

Conservative Music Approach Versus Contemporary.
Mother vs. Daughter Coming of Age Tale.
Good Girl meets Bad Boy.
Good Girl wants to see Father That Left Them.
Brother Has Disability...Hates God.
Bad Boy Disliked By Everyone.
Choir Master vs. Choir Master.
Single Mom Making It Happen.

Uh Oh... It Sounds Like We're Getting A Lousy Grade...

I'm sure I'm missing a few things, and that's just the main stars.  There's a few tidbits thrown to the supporting characters as well.

Drop 30 minutes, and half the subplots, this movie would have been killer.

As it is, it's not terrible.

How's that for barely praise?

:)

The movie is carried mostly on Latifah's shoulders, and she is used to trying to carry all of her movies as best she can.  Luckily, she's a likable actress and that helps win an audience over.

The singing is beautiful, and that's half the battle, that is why the called the movie Joyful Noise after all. ;)

Final Grade: C+/B- range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  I've seen it twice now, and while I've enjoyed it, I am not in any hurry to rush out and pick this one up.

Leave the Meter Running... "Taxi"

The Fast and the Furious sequel everyone forgets about...


The Story:

Belle (Queen Latifah) is a New York City taxi driver who aspires to be a race car driver.  In fact, she's souped up her taxi quite a bit.  Perhaps a bit too much as she winds up crossing paths with a cop (Jimmy Fallon) and the two become partners trying to solve a series of bank robberies.  Naturally, the two have a lot to teach one another.  Well okay, basically Belle has a whole lot to teach Washburn...

:)

This movie is closing in on a decade old.  That's about the last time I saw it, and I found it fun(ny) back then.

Watched it again recently, and it was still a pretty good film.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's nothing earth-shattering, but it's not that bad.

Why?

Again, much like yesterday's film, Queen Latifah has a personality that just transcends film and makes her instantly likeable.

She takes a heist film (one of my favorite genres!) originally scripted by the great Luc Besson, and elevates the material with her delivery and charisma.

This is Jimmy Fallon's first foray as a leading man after years of working the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchor desk.

He plays a bumbling noob, and he does it really well. :)

Finally, director Tim Story does a great job with his first action flick.  His first feature (that I saw/know of) Barbershop, was a really good movie, and Story branched out into action comedy with this one.  His next film would be The Fantastic Four, and yes, I know a lot of people hated it, but he got The Thing and Human Torch correct, so that film (and its sequel) will always get a pass with me.

: )

Final Grade: C+/B- ish...

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  I meant to buy this one within the last decade.  Perhaps the upcoming decade I will finally get around to it?

Live Every Day Like it is Your "Last Holiday"

Get busy living...

The Story:

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) works for a department store in Louisiana.  When she goes to the doctor to see why she's been feeling ill lately, her diagnosis is terminal.  So she cashes in her savings and heads to Europe to the finest hotel in the land.  There a case of mistaken identity will allow Georgia to hobnob with some bigwigs, where Georgia will hopefully impart some life lessons on everyone before she passes.

This is a fun little movie that gets played at least once a year.  Everyone enjoys it, and it's just a lot of fun onscreen.

Queen Latifah has a blast as the dying woman who decides to try and live before it's too late.  She has personality and charm to spare, and it seems to permeate through the screen in just about any performance she has done in the movies.

She is surrounded by a great cast, including Timothy Hutton, who isn't really known for comedy, but hams it up greatly as the villain of the movie.

L.L. Cool J. is the boyfriend from afar, as both he and Latifah are too shy to express their feelings to one another until it may be simply too late.

Naturally, there's a lesson or two tucked under the overt comedy of the story.

Don't wait to follow your dreams until it is too late.  Every day you delay is too late.

Good advice.
Good movie.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+... My honey said I should bump this up... so... A! :)

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: We watch it quite a bit, and do already own it.  Netflix will simply save the disc from wearing out. ;)