Duets

I like Duets very much because I think the screenplay is fairly original. After all, karaoke is a new phenomenon on it's own. It is about people who are travelling across the country to sing songs in karaoke bars in the hopes of making it to Omaha where the grand prize is. Characters are kind of people who has not found the peace in themselves yet. They are looking for that peace and finding it where they step on the stage and sing their hearts out. I loved it because that is the way I feel about music; it can completely change my mood from sad to glad or vice versa. Music is such a powerful tool that touches us all very deeply. I think that idea was depicted in the movie very effectively. Songs were very good (I simply fell in love with Maria Bello when she sang "Sweet Dreams..." and "I can't make you love me".) They all sing incredibly well; I was surprised by Gwyneth Paltrow's voice....man she really can sing! I listened to the soundtrack cd and I think it is amazing, probably one of the best soundtracks after "The Bodyguard". The only thing that I dislike about the movie was to see Huey Lewis looking quite old. His band used to be one of my most favourite music groups.

I say this is a very good movie and one of the 5 must see movies of the year so far (after The Gladiator, The Mission Impossible II, High Fidelity and Almost Famous).

I discovered this movie a couple of years ago and was charmed by its fragile characters and beautiful soundtrack that seems to create character depth that the script doesn't. Huey Lewis (Ricky Dean) was, surprisingly, very strong in his role as a reluctant father to Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Liv. While I found some of the acting to be wooden, and the direction was often predictable, there is something that appealed to me - I feel that the characters spoke through the music rather than the narrative, thus lifting the movie to a higher level. A mention also has to go to Braugher and Giamatti who are a delightful combination right up to the heartbreaking climax.

This film brings some great things to it, actually 3 things- Paul Giamatti's performance, Huey Lewis's performance and every good singing person who (besides Lewis) surprised me with they're talents. Overall, the karaoke scenes overshadow the dramatic trio of tales (except for the free bird story with Giamatti and Andre Braugher) which is unfair because the talent on stage is somewhat better than the acting (Maria Bello is pretty damn sexy though). Overall, it's fair, more of a chick flick to say. B

I admit it -- I'm a total sucker for this movie for all of the right reasons, and some of the wrong ones (like, it's very touching to me that Bruce Paltrow made this movie with his daughter Gwyneth and died a year or so later). Having Huey Lewis in the movie and singing a few of his monster hits is a plus all by itself, and it turns out he can actually act decently. The Paul Giamatti - Andre Braugher duo, both in terms of plot, their excellent acting, and their blow-you-away singing performance, is something I never tire of seeing, and I've watched this movie five times and have it on disk. The plot is superficially pedestrian but actually very engaging and psychologically legitimate despite the displays of craziness by the characters. People do get crazy and do that kind of stuff. As for Gwyneth Paltrow, there seems to be no role she can't get into and occupy with beautiful effect.

This was never intended to be a Great Movie. It was a nice little story, made into a very fine, charming, stick-to-your memory movie with talent oozing out the corners. People who rate it mediocre are just not seeing the pearl for the oyster.

If you missed "Duets" when it hit the theaters 4 years ago, this is a movie worth renting. This ensemble cast was great. They were all paired up and the chemistry was great. They all came from different backgrounds and my perception was, everyone except Paltrow were running away from something; Huey Lewis (his past), Andre Braugher (the law), Maria Bello (herself), Scott Speedman (His wife and business partner) and Paul Giamatti (his humdrum life and self-absorbed family), but karaoke will bring them all together.

Paul Giamatti and Andre Braugher were the best in this movie. Giamatti was funny, had that strange grin that tells you he's up to something or he's quickly scheming something. My favorite scenes with them were the shootout scene in the convenience store, Todd (Giamatti) teaching Reggie (Braugher) how to drive and their version of "Try a Little Tenderness" was fantastic.

Just as good was Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow's version of Smokey Robinson's "Crusin'".

I liked the movie and bought the DVD.

Trivia; The convenience store where Giamatti and Braugher got into a shootout with the clerk is located in Surrey, B.C. Canada. it's called the Campbell River Store. To get there, if you get off of I-5 North and take the Carson Truck Boarder exit, headed into Canada; It's about 1/2 mile or so north of the boarder.