Face the Music

I had no idea this movie was supposed to take place in France until a character mentioned going to the Eiffel Tower. I figured this was a bad sign of things to come. There were several instances when the background music almost drowned out the dialogue.

The disorientation continues throughout. The editing of this film felt disjointed. There were multiple instances of cutting between two scenes in a way that felt unnecessary and jarring. It interrupted the pacing of a scene.

The most impressive part of this film is how many scenes there are of Molly Ringwald wearing just a towel in public spaces. It's a surprisingly high number and there seems to be no reason for it, unless there's some symbolism totally lost on me.

OK, the story is fairly predictable, and the music is hardly great, though I've heard much worse singers than Molly Ringwald in my time. But I enjoyed this film, which is full of quirky characters and situations. The movie producer's nephew Donny steals quite a few scenes, and there's a very odd workman whose scenes give the impression that possibly some subplot involving him has been cut. That's not to say the two leads do a bad job, and I enjoyed watching both Molly Ringwald as Lisa (lyrics) and Patrick Dempsey as Charlie (composer). Lysette Anthony does her best with her role as the new woman in Charlie's life though the script perhaps could have been a bit more subtle where she's concerned.

I can imagine this film as a thirties screwball comedy, or perhaps as a stage farce, and it might have been funnier and better directed in either case, but I still find it oddly enjoyable.

This isn't a film that takes itself too seriously, and if you come to it willing to be entertained rather than looking to rip it to shreds you probably won't be as disappointed as the 1/10 reviews suggest.

This movie is very underrated. I believe that the people who rated it didn't really give it a chance.

The chemistry between Lisa and Charlie, played by Molly Ringwald and Patrick Dempsey, seems legitimate. The only thing I wish were different would be Julie and Daniel admitting each other's feelings for one another. Other than that, it was a pleasant and enjoyable film overall.

As a general rule, I love crappy 90s movies starring 80s has-beens, so I had particularly high hopes for Face The Music. It has a dream cast with Molly Ringwald, the 80s poster child herself, and Patrick "I expose my buttocks a lot" Dempsey. It is a musical drama, a genre always loaded with cult potential. It even has a bloated Molly Ringwald lying around on a piano, miming to bad country music. And yet, Face The Music is still a pretty dismal affair.

The story is ridiculous. Molly plays Lisa, a singer/songwriter working in a Parisian club. Patrick is Charlie, a songwriter who discovers Lisa. After re-writing one of Lisa's terrible songs, Lisa is an overnight success and Charlie asks her to marry him at an awards ceremony. They live happily on a boat until Charlie sends a song to a rival singer. The film picks up three years later when Lisa's manager brings them together to write a song for a movie despite the fact that Charlie is about to get married to Julie, another familiar 80s face Lysette Anthony.

The film really goes down hill when Lisa moves into Julie's farmhouse to write with Charlie. Lisa and Julie take turns acting like a shrew, while Charlie keeps mumbling about "feeling the music". The assistant Donnie, who I assume was intended to be comedic relief, wanders around the farm like an idiot. Even the music contained in the film is bad, the song they come up with about catching rainbows is unspeakably horrendous.

Face The Music is a disappointment but not a complete waste of time. It's always fun to watch Molly, even if she does spend most of the film walking around in a very unflattering bath towel. Patrick Dempsey looks a bit bored but shows some of the appeal that has kept him working in films for the past 20 years without a starring role in a box office hit to his credit.

This movie is incredibly mediocre but it could have been worse. It could have been "Glitter". Fans of Molly and Patrick will find something to enjoy here.

To the other people who have evaluated this film: I have seen a lot worse.

The story centers around a young couple who write and win an award for the best song in a film. While on the dais, the guy (Patrick Dempsey), proposes marriage. You would think this would be the perfect ending. Rather, it's an imperfect beginning to a rather fair film.

The couple soon divorce due to a misunderstanding and go their separate ways. Fast forward to several years later, where Dempsey, now in real-estate and engaged to wed his partner, meets up with his ex-wife. (Molly Ringwald They are given the opportunity to write a song for Moishe, yes I mean Moishe, who is now happily wed to his wife Christine. Moishe and Christine? Lord bless those inter-faith marriages!

This highly predictable film is noteworthy for its light comedy. Will they write the hit song? How will they be drawn back into love? It's highly predictable but somewhat amusing.

You can face this music.