Joyful Noise - Armonie del cuore

My review of the Joyful Noise Movie: Every single solitary, gimmicky, tired, old, wore-out, overdone movie cliché that's ever been used in any contrived, family-targeted movie in the history of cinema... and yet, the music was solid, the characters given some genuinely funny material to work with, and therefore there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes of your life. It was fantastic to hear new material from one of my favorite vocalists and lyricists, Dolly Parton... but it was worth the ticket price alone, to see Dolly "poppin' and lockin' for Jesus!"

...and I am personally convinced, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that Dolly Parton was manufactured by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

~ <3

Ok, so my biases out the way: I'm not into Christian films per se, but I love Queen Latifah in most of her films. She doesn't fail to disappoint, being charismatic and larger than life whilst still being humble. Her daughter in the film has a great voice (is a singer herself in real life) with a Michael Jackson cover that brought tears to my eyes.

The love interest aspect is fun and sweet, there's a sub plot about love and loss, and just some great modern Christian singing and performance. I'm sure Christians will get more out of this, but anyone will feel sympathetic for this group of personalities on their musical journey.

This film really stuck in my head, and left me with a great positive vibe. It was well filmed and executed. Look - it's no subtle or complex bit of social commentary or story telling, but yet it's not the bland rubbish like Mama Mia. One of those films which I can watch again and again, and that's very rare for me.

I originally had no interest in seeing it. The reviews were bad, the trailer looked just 'ok'. But a friend of mine wanted to see it and asked me to come along. Why not?

I'm glad I went. It was very enjoyable. It's not a masterpiece, but is a light hearted feel good movie featuring some very talented singers. Although the plot was relatively simple, it worked well and was easy to follow. The relationship with Queen Latifah's character and her family was touching and emotional. I found myself tapping my feet to the music and wiping away tears at the end.

So when I looked it up on IMDb and saw a 3.4, I was quite confused. I thought it would be in the 6,7 range. I don't understand.

If your looking for a fun enjoyable movie, see this. Ignore the rating and reviews. Guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face.

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.

Excellent Gospel music, and top shelf humor. A script of depth too, touching on the human condition and the pitfalls of being young, nice to see a film where the main characters are talented woman.