Movies

I went with friends to see JOYFUL NOISE, the film starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. What can I say about it?Predictable? Yep.Formulaic? For the most part.Manipulative? Definitely! One particular segment had me sobbing in my seat.But the music rocked. The film also had unexpected flashes of humor that were laugh-out-loud funny. Though it wasn't a masterpiece (for one thing, editing was sloppy in places), I enjoyed it and thought it was well worth seeing.

Just watched this movie with my movie theatre-working friend. This is a musical drama with the leads of Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in conflict over the budding romance of Latifah's teenage daughter and Parton's just-arrived troubled similar-aged grandson. Well, actually there's also the matter of the just deceased choir master played briefly by Kris Kristofferson and Latifah replacing him...I'll just say that while the story and characterizations are just devices to hang musical numbers into, they're enjoyably slight enough that one does feel some connections to them when they're showcased. All I'll say now is I had a pretty good time watching Joyful Noise especially when the Big Final Number came on. So, yeah, that's a recommendation.

Yes, the script was mighty thin in places and tried to tackle way too many subjects in too short a period of time (the poor economy, marriage struggles, death, teenage angst/rebellion, teenage love, etc., etc.), but despite its flaws this movie provided some fine musical entertainment, and pretty much delivered on its goal of being an uplifting movie-going experience.I attended this movie with my senior citizen mom and my tween daughter, and all of us found some things to enjoy about this flick. There were some laughs, some moving plot points, some great musical numbers, and some fine performances, particularly on the part of the younger cast members. Some days you are just looking for some softball, "feel good" entertainment rather than a darker or more weighty film. This movie fits the bill if you're in the mood for some harmless, mostly mindless, fluffy entertainment.