JOYFUL NOISE (2012)

Genre: Musical/Comedy
Director: Todd Graff
Cast: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Courtney B. Vance, Dexter Darden, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson, Angela Grovey, Paul Woolfolk, Jesse L. Martin.
RunTime: 1 hr 58 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By:  Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.joyfulnoisethemovie.com

Opening Day: 15 March 2012

Synopsis: The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old. Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G.’s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose’s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks between the two teenagers are causing even more friction between G.G. and Vi Rose. If these two strong-willed women can put aside their differences for the good of the people in their town, they—and their choir—may make the most joyful noise of all.

Movie Review:

Musical films are what this reviewer regards as the ultimate guilty pleasures in cinemas. The screenplay can be Razzie worthy, but as long as the movie serves up an infectious platter of show and dance sequences, you can bet this reviewer will be bought. Yes, as much as his self respecting columnists do not think much of the High School Musical franchise, he feels that they do have an important place in popular culture. So here we have yet another musical film that does not offer anything new, except that it boasts of gospel infused music by Mervyn Warren, a five time Grammy Award nominee who is known in the industry for his talent for composing, producing, conducting, writing and arranging.

How is then, that this movie garnered a miserable below average rating in the United States?

The story is alright, by this reviewer’s standards: A small town choir is going all out to win a national competition despite overwhelming odds. It is up to the choir leaders to elevate their members’ faith and determination, so that they can win God’s praise and make their fellow townsfolk proud by bringing home the grand prize. The problem is, the two divas do not exactly see eye to eye (hands up, those who think the pairing of the larger than life Queen Latifah and the very successful country singer songwriter Dolly Parton is pitch perfect), and to add to the drama, romance is blossoming between a white boy and a black girl.

Again, what’s there not to like about a feel good story like this? Granted there aren’t too many surprises in this formulaic drama, it still serves as a positively enthusiastic movie that manages to entertain and to a certain extent, inspire.

Director Todd Graff also happens to be the guy responsible for 2009’s Bandslam, a surprisingly affecting hit starring Aly Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens and Gaelan Connell. Here, he has a better known cast. Latifah (Chicago, Hairspray) and Parton (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias) are wonderful on screen as they belt out tune after tune which you’ll find yourself tapping your feet to. The young lovers are played by Keke Palmer (Barbership 2: Back in Business, Akeelah and the Bee) and Broadway performer Jeremy Jordan. While the two could have done with a little more on screen chemistry, they still deliver decent performances as fellow choir members whose mother and grandmother are loggerheads at each other.

And then there is the music. While Palmer performs Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” with gusto, Latifah and Parton each have solos performing tunes like “Not Enough”, “From Here to the Moon and Back” and “Fix Me Jesus”. The veterans’ show what they’ve got in their showcases, but what’s truly entertainingly entertaining are the big numbers. Watch out for the finale “Higher Medley” where you wish the entire theatre would stand up and boogie with the cast on screen.

While there are some awkward moments in the 118 minute movie (the strangest being the death of a choir member after a, well, vigorous lovemaking session), it is still a crowd pleaser which easily sits in this reviewer’s definition of a guilty pleasure.

Movie Rating:  

(If solidly entertaining musical sequences are your thing, then go all out and enjoy this)

Review by John Li