User reviews

Since then, all the movies featuring Amy Adams were nice, from Enchanted to her two Streep's films (doubt and Julia). And no doubt that she is an attractive actress, quite sweet and above all, healthy. Also, her singing is outstanding. She ought to be successful among the other stars in Hollywood.

However, no matter how magnificent she can be, as long as she appears in a movie, she needs a script to interpret. A script with a plot. Sadly, this Moonlight serenade seems to fail without one.

Adams' role Chloe is a mysterious girl, sharing some elements with Maeterlinck's Mélisande: from an unknown somewhere, bouncing forth and back between her two lovers, coming and going without any reasons. And Nate, acting at whim. Besides, the plot is pale. I couldn't help myself from being distracted now and then. So many unnecessary people were just moving around to attract my attention. Even the singing part wasn't exciting either, failing to rival the songs in Adams' Enchanted.

Hope Amy's will have something more to show in the future.

Amy Adams' exceptional singing voice is just about the only thing that Moonlight Serenade has to sell. I would never expect greatness from a 90 minute, indie flick that did not get commercial release, but this one left me disappointed. Amy Adams is not exactly a cheap b-movie star. If I had managed to cast her, I would make sure I gave her a script that was worth her time. I would not be so lazy as to resort to a recycled formula, which this is. The story is also sappy, superficial and it feels over rushed. Even the music numbers are too short. If Enchanted was too sappy for you, I hate to say it, but you won't get any luckier here.

This is a small scale romance between two musicians who lead different lives. The two are not so much victims of circumstance but rather of coincidence (and not the good kind). The story doesn't even attempt to go into depth with them, preferring to offer a couple of lame time-lapse montage from which we are meant to assume that they are making progress in their relationship. But as a lawyer will tell ya, nothing is true without the facts, and we cannot believe it till we see it. There are also a few show stopping numbers, which take place outside the context of the story. Seeing as this is not a musical nor a fairy tale, it feels equally lame (As if people break out into song in real life).

All that Moonlight Serenade has to offer are a few segments of Jazz tunes (and maybe one complete tune), scattered throughout a feeble love story, which has been done before (and I have a feeling it will be done again for years to come)

I love Amy Adams, I love to hear her sing. Scott Anderson also has a good voice...but...OMG, he can't act. I just didn't believe anything about his character. He was as stiff as a board, even when he was singing. He needs to take a clue from great actors, and show some emotion on his face.

I did enjoy the supporting actress; she's been in a lot of other movies, but I never knew she could sing. A really nice song and the director put in some very nice cut-aways during her song.

I just don't think Amy Adams can do a bad movie. I just love watching her in everything she does.

I watched this film because I thought it would be a classic Amy Adams movie. Wow, this movie is so bad on so many levels it staggers the imagination. It is poorly constructed for one, also the script and the acting is just awful. But hey even Johnny Depp has a slew of bad films under his belt. The upside of this movie would be Amy singing, and even on that score I believe better songs could have been chosen. Amy is of course beautiful to see and if you are a die-hard fan of hers you will probably watch this title no matter what, just don't expect too much. I wish I could have found more to like but it was just painful to watch. I recommend Sunshine Cleaning or Doubt.

Having endured this film last night, I turned off the DVD player with a sense of deserving a medal for having the stamina to see it through to the end. Throughout the film I felt that I was watching the storyline fillers that you get in a high budget porn movie. the acting was stiff and taut, camera work appalling, and the locations and sets were so poor it felt like they had borrowed them from the local High School "Amateur Dramatic's Society".

The only saving grace for this movie was that it had Amy Adams and Harriet Sansom Harris in its credits, other than that it was pure dribble.

I am a huge Amy Adams fan and have been for many years. I am also a big fan of musicals. With that said this is not a good movie on any level. It is quite dull and the acting overall is very very poor. Amy Adams is awkward to watch act with Scott G. Anderson due to the fact that she is in another league when it comes to acting. All the performances come off as very amateur. The music performances are pleasant, but nothing special.

Scott G. Anderson is just an bad actor! I assumed he was put in this movie because he has a great voice, but it's just not the case. He has an average voice and sings on key, but that's about it.

I guess I can see why Amy Adams did this movie with the singing element I just wish she had not. I could rant about other poor elements of this movie, but I'll leave it at that.

I think this film deserves a positive response. It's a small romantic jazz musical, fairly low-produced, I guess shot in HD and in short time, with slow rhythm, editing not always smooth and seamless, but with solid performances and altogether a rewarding story.

Amy Adams is of course the big name here and she is lovely and interesting as usual, but the main actor is Scott G. Anderson. Sort of a momentous Matt Damon with a face not at all unlike Willem Dafoe, especially when laughing. You know, that kind of a devilish laugh with lips high into the cheeks.

I enjoyed the music and the story morale. Nothing grand, an okay treat nevertheless.

I confess I found this film irresistible. It's primarily a vehicle for a terrific score, consisting almost entirely of the superb performances and arrangements of Joey DeFrancesco (Frank D). What a pleasant showcase for classics from sorely missed show tunes and jazz of the 40's and 50's, all capably rendered by Amy Adams and Scott G. Anderson. DeFrancesco, incidentally, not only plays the Hammond B, but also piano and trumpet in the movie score (though his Frank D is seen performing only on the Hammond B in the film itself). The film seems to have been somewhat inspired by Steve Koves' Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), though it's not up to the outstanding production values of that film, or the first-rate performances of Jeff and Beau Bridges and (especially) Michelle Pfeiffer, who received an Academy Award nomination. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Moonlight Serenade for ALL the reasons that others who posted here have already pointed out. It was great to hear these wonderful, time-tested classical popular and jazz compositions again. I own the film and would love to find the sound track, but no luck so far.

I would say this is a background movie. Play it the background as your tending to busy work (laundry, checking email, etc). I thought this was a film that was done before Amy Adams became successful after Enchanted. Wrong! It was done in 2009! The screenplay/script is pretty awful. I love musicals but the singing is just average and doesn't move the plot along. Ughh. It almost seems like it's a made for TV movie based on the cinematography. Am I watching a TV show?

Even the secretary breaks out into song. What the f@#$ is going on?! Actually she seemed to have the best voice. Amy Adams was so great in Enchanted. Lead actor is average. Disappointed for sure. This movie would have been good for lifetime, but that's about it. :(

Since being a big fan of Amy Adams I just watched this one without knowing anything about it and was pleasantly surprised. I normally don't like movies with this kind of musical theme. I like that they keep the script simple and realistic and most characters felt genuinely real.

A different approach was also the use of the songs in the film. They weren't set up like individual numbers like in most musicals, instead they came on and of without warning and in a somewhat repetitive way but it really gave another depth to the mood of the film.

The only thing seem a little lowbudget was the camera-work (mostly tripod shots) and the office sets who were very studio looking in a bad way.

Finally Amy Adams shines like always and really show how versatile she is as an actress being able to play both drama and comedy.

I can't not not like this movie! The story is old Hollywood love story musical told in a 21st century setting.

This flick has a unique 'look' and 'style' which I personally enjoyed watching. And the plot/story is straight out of the studio days of Hollywood in the 1930's. In my opinion the director pulled it all together and created a highly individualized movie.

Yes it is slow at times but the charm keeps your attention and interest. And at the end you feel entertained and that you have seen something that is not your usual mass audience movie.

I gave 7 stars because some scenes are just too involved and lengthy - example - when Nate becomes depressed and self destructive - it's a bit overdone.

I truly like Amy Adams, I think she is a dynamic and versatile actress - but I'm not so sure who told her she could sing! In Enchanted her singing was tolerable because her character needed to have a child like innocence to her voice - so letting go of a note here & there was totally fitting.

However she is no where near talented enough as a vocalist to pull off a character who is supposed to be believed as a legitimate Jazz singer! Who ever the casting director - and producers were must have all been tone deaf! The story and use of the music in the movie was unique - however the casting was so pour, that even the fact that it was low budget would have been OK if better actors had of been cast!

I rented this movie because it supposedly takes place in a jazz club -- you know, those hip, cool places you might stumble upon late on a Saturday night. Well, there's not one ounce of "cool" in this ridiculous movie. The score is goofy, the original songs are awful, both lead actors' singing is continually off-key (to be kind) and unprofessional at best, the plot is no more complex than "boy meets girl," the acting is laughable, and the only decent cinematic moments are the stock footage scenes. The jazz club scenes feature sophomoric dialog smothered by overly-busy organ music. This Joey de Francesco should keep his day job (unless his day job is helping with movie scores). Is it possible to not only get my four dollars back, but have my therapy sessions paid for as well? This movie, interestingly enough, is so bad, you might want to watch it. Sort of like driving by a bad accident -- you just have to look at least once. Just get the ear plugs ready!

This film disappoints in every aspect. The acting is middling (even the almost always wonderful Amy Adams and sadly-underused Harriet Sansom Harris), the script is ridden with clichés, the production values are amateurish, and the plot is terribly predictable. It is a credit to Ms. Adams that her screen presence alone kept me watching until the end even though she is rarely given anything to do in this film (besides exhibiting a fine singing voice) that would merit such dedication. Without her, I probably would not have made it past the first 20 minutes.

The only positive thing going for this movie is the fine selection of American standards sung throughout which could easily be otherwise obtained from other artists and various other sources.

It is easy to see why the studio sat on this film for more than 4 years before finally releasing as direct-to-DVD once Amy Adams had become a rising star.

Not a film I imagine Amy Adams puts too highly on her CV (it's probably right next to 'Serving Sara', but she is the best thing about this low budget and rather cheap looking film.

All her natural charm and warmth comes through, but she's let down by a fairly ploddy and 'seen it all before' script.

A shame.

Despite this film having a release date of 2009 (well after Amy Adams had become a star), it was actually made a few years earlier--and this shows. It's a relatively low-budget indie film--one that is a bit rough and difficult to love.

It all begins with a VERY broody guy. It's obvious the guy has been hurt--and there's no subtlety at all here. He barely talks and shows no emotion and he's the ultimate tortured soul. Unfortunately, he doesn't really seem to have any personality--and the writer and director didn't give the guy anything with which to work. As for Adams, she comes off a bit better but other than being nice and having a lovely singing voice, there just isn't much to her either. Add to that occasionally odd camera-work (it almost gave me motion sickness) and strange music (when the leading man plays his piano in his apartment, a strong bass backup occurs and when Adams sings in this apartment, it sounds like she's on a sound stage--complete with an orchestra and echo!). I wanted to like this one but just felt bored. If you want to hear Adams sing, it's worth seeing--otherwise, it's just not all that engaging.

Looks like the whole thing was filmed on a mobile phone with its skewed images making most scenes look like they're filmed in a broom cupboard.

The budget does look very low the acting is 50/50 as is the songs.

The whole thing has not a Saturday night feel more a Tuesday afternoon dullness.

Golly gee, I enjoyed this movie for what it was: a light romantic movie full of songs from the great American songbook, sung completely and pretty good by the actual actors, with the greatest jazz music around. I liked the cast and thought they were all excellent (guess that shows how much I know about acting). And, I would not be nervous in watching the movie with my children!!! Oh how wonderful to hear great American classic songs again! Harriet Sansom Harris was a delight---the screen lighted up with her. Oh, yeah, I thought Alec Newman did an exceptional job. And then, there was Amy Adams---what do you say other than, "Oh, my aching heart!!" I bought her as an aspiring jazz singer. Not last or least, the great Joey DeFrancesco!!!!

With all the violence, sex and murder films plus the giant screen spectacles, it is refreshing to find this small miracle of a film. I guess I must be the only one to like this, reading the other critics. I found this by accident and am glad I did. I became involved with the characters and their lives. Okay, they seemed small according to turmoils in today's films, but how nice to see a happy ending. And to hear pleasant music without the rock sounds. A very sophisticated movie with fine acting by all. Superb directing from Giancarlo Tallarico who also wrote the book of which Jonathan Abrahams brilliantly turned into a screenplay.

Amy Adams was perfectly cast as the pretty young girl in search of a singing career. Scott G. Anderson was the perfect match for her as a young financial adviser with his own torments. Togehter they brought genuine emotions to the screen. Adams said more with her eyes than any words could express and Anderson's breakdown scene at his mother's piano was honest and heartbreaking. Bravo to each of them. JB Blanc brought the tension as the boss of the finance company and Harriet Sansom Harris was thoroughly delightful in the role of Anderson's assistant who brought some fine acting moments as well as a fine singing voice to the fold.

This was an excellent film and I commend the producers, director and writers as well as all the cast for treating us to this delightful little valentine of a movie. Thank you.

Interesting as a modern day musical – which scores by Benny Goodman et al. Amy and Alec have good chemistry and their voices harmonize well. Characters walk down the street singing which is something one doesn't often see.. While the acting and character portrayal is solid, the script, editing and directing lack polish. It feels decidedly amateurish and I cringe for Amy and Alec. Surprisingly good performance by little known Harriet Harris. This was definitely a low budget production as even the sets seem cheesy. I would opt to see Mrs.. Pettigrew instead – Amy plays a similar character and the film is well produced.