Duets: Vem Cantar Comigo

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.

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.

I often wonder why I watch so many movies, and why I love them so. It isn't because they often explore new territory or challenge my intellect, but then there's a whole public library and a Barnes and Noble in every strip mall for that. No, I think it must be the escapist delight of allowing myself to be absorbed for a couple of hours in a well-crafted imaginary world where unbelievable things happen to unrealistic people. It's a guilty pleasure, but hey, sometimes I eat my dessert first. I can handle the guilt.

With that said, as guilty pleasures go, this dessert is a banana split for two with extra nuts and cherries. And one spoon. Huey Lewis and the incomparable Gwyneth Paltrow are a father daughter team trying to get acquainted on the karaoke circuit. He's a karaoke hustler (who knew) and she's a third generation Las Vegas showgirl who is at once worldly and naive.

Paul Giamatti is a shocker. He's amazing as the frustrated salesman who's out "for a pack of cigarette." Along the way, he encounters Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher) a convict on the lam whose quiet desperation is a stark contrast to Giamatti's wanton abandon.

Maria Bello is hilarious as the resourceful bohemeian chasing a dream of big money. Angie Dickenson graces the scene with a tasty cameo. And then there's the singing. OK, Todd Rundgren isn't worried about Giamatti's rendition of the classic "Hello it's Me", and Andre used a voiceover, but Gwyneth can really sing, and her duet with Babyface in the closing credits is a chart-topper in anybody's book.

Directed by Gwyneth's dad Bruce, in his first feature since graduating from the small screen, the word "Duets" describes this enjoyable film in more ways than one. But in the end, the duet that matters is just you and this wonderful little film.

Director and Star have the same last name; hmmm is this a Paltrow family project or what? The recurring thought I had after watching this was: "How old is the little girl Ms. Paltrow is supposed to be playing?" She does well with the on-screen dad and even her on-screen grandma (played by Angie Dickinson) but much about this movie stymies my comprehension of the fantasy of a plot. If you like guys doing duets after sharing road-movie buddying up, then you'll love Paul Giamatti singing with Andre Braugher (however Mr. Braugher lip-synches for both of his on-screen karaoke performances). Mr. Giamatti has to carry the story-line's major dramatic development; the running gag of the Frequent Flyer Miles for redemption seems to be an "inside" joke of the Writer/Director/Dialogue editor. The movie does have a direction (give it some credit) but the title seems to have been junked at some point as only one of the final performances is a duet (and that one seemed almost to have been impromptu). I expected some sort of re-arrangement of the singing partners but it would never have occurred to me that one of the six major characters would never even have a microphone thrust in his direction. Didn't these film makers and writers see the hilarious section in "MY BEST FRIEND's WEDDING" where Cameron Diaz' character does such a bad job at Karaoke that it's memorable??? I wondered several times -- Did Brad Pitt have the non-singer role when he was first slated to join in this family "project"? Where was the Duet between the female leads? Where was the live concert possibility version? In its favor, Mr. Giamatti does convey well the manic aspects of the karaoke adulation but cutting away with music still playing is a sign that the director was non-committal. As far as advice to Director Paltrow might be apropos -- much about this film reminded me of a TV perspective and some glib observances about unhappy Americans: a couple of drifters, a suburban salesman who can't connect with family, a philosophical, non-threatening ex-prisoner, also an underachiever. If you have a sequel in mind, go with lots of undiscovered singers whose connection to a song leads to even more electrifying performances. You did get some great song-singer connections but try to let those come to a fuller "bloom!" Any IMDB readers seeking an unqualified recommendation for this rental must be diehard Paul Giamatti fans to reach fullest satisfaction // I've never heard of equally watchable Maria Bello before this film and her "energy" is another attraction for a "cult-film following." Many of the songs are great covers / re-treads !!! (Notice I said many, not ALL). I give it a 7 / 10 *s for its soundtrack appeal and its under-achieved possibility.