Out of Sync

That's about the only good thing I can say about this sapball, cornfest. One thing of interest, seeing as this is supposed to be a feel-good movie in the end, is that it's actually a very mean-spirited movie...

I was disappointed how Kari Wuhrer (did I mention she was babelicious, as she always is?) was treated in the end, when she did nothing to deserve the treatment she got, when in fact all hurt feelings and snickering should have went towards the record industry, instead of her. But I digress.

This is TV movie of the week stuff, with bad acting, bad plot and an unbelievable Hollywood ending. No points to VH1 for this one, folks. It's pretty lame.

See it only for Kari, who I'd chop off my middle finger to be with (if you know what I mean)... Otherwise, avoid.

In a world of music, losing control is part of being on top. The story propels you forward into a world that few make it in, and very few make Celebrity status. As if being a star isn't enough, in music, you want to be a Celebrity! Especially if you want to be around for a while, it's the ultimate challenge. Newcomers have it tough going through their neophyte or fledging stages. Cheating isn't easy with a public that is sophisticated, demanding, and skeptical. The story lets us view the world from the artist that is climbing socially, politically, and financially. The real shame is the lack of preparation on her part, and naivete to fake it... But as always, the truth comes out.

Because I knew this was a VH1 Original, I knew not to expect much of the movie. I was right. This movie tells the story of washed-up record producer, Deacon. Deacon's jet plane back to the glamour he once knew arrives in the form of Sunni, the new "it" girl of Golden Records with the body of a goddess and voice comparable to nails on a chalkboard. Deacon takes on the project of producing Sunni's record, convinced he can make her voice sound reasonable using studio magic. This plan fails to work. Enter Maggie Stanley, a housewife blessed with a beautiful singing voice while cursed with a severe case of stage fright. Deacon decides to replace Sunni's voice with Maggie's, and chaos ensues from there when Sunni's career rises farther than Deacon ever wanted to. Realizing he is in love with the very married Maggie, Deacon's conscience takes hold of him, instructing him to tell the truth about Sunni, much to the chagrin of Lowell, a record exec at Golden who wants to keep this secret under lock and key.

Peter Outerbridge, an actor I had previously never heard of, shines as Deacon, a down-on-his-luck, believable, and very lovable character, who, despite having experienced the highs of fame and fortune and the lows of bankruptcy and flops on Billboard, still manages to find a kindred soul in the stage fright-stricken Maggie. Kari Wuhrer, as Sunni, brings an extremely annoying sense of innocence to her character, who is supposed to come off as a shrewd businesswoman in a Barbie doll package. Gail O'Grady gives a so-so performance. She has delivered a better performance because she been given better scripts to work with. The whole thing movie is lacking in its sense of direction, especially with the romantic "quadrangle" involving Sidney Golden, Sunni, Deacon, Maggie, and Stan, Maggie's husband. So much more could have been explored between Deacon and Maggie. Perhaps the writer took the route he did to keep Deacon's "good guy" image.

If you happen to catch this movie between back-to-back Behind the Movie marathons (isn't that what they ALWAYS air on VH1?...), go ahead and kill some time, but don't make a point of watching it.

This movie is an embarrassment to film-making. I can't believe it was even listed as a comedy - not funny. Not only was the script atrocious, but the casting people should be shot. Gail O'Grady is just a great actress, but beyond that... %99 of the rest of the cast...ouch. Pretty much everyone else...wow it is hard to even...wow. Here is the number one rule about comedy "DON'T TRY TO BE FUNNY". There are a lot of very talented actors in Canada who can do drama and comedy - none of them were used in this film. Canadian nepotism and casting directors are helping to perpetuate bad film-making in Canada. I realize this is technically a "US" film, but look at the director, actors, location, etc. I just saw this on Bravo - they should be ashamed that they bought the rights to show this film. Again, there are a lot of great films out there that can't get airtime and they show this crap.

I didn't know what to expect from a VH1 "Movie That Rocks", but considering I had a headache when I saw it I thought it was pretty good. Gail O'Grady has a perfect look of vengeance when she finds out her voice was being used, not to mention the stunning vocals. Kari Wuhrer is great at acting horrible. The tracks from the movie weren't too bad either. All in all, I enjoyed it a lot and will try to catch it again the next time it airs.