Here’s a stereotypical movie critic line to describe Joyful Noise:
Despite all the tremendous singing, when the music stops, this 118 minute flick hits a lot of sour notes.
(Please, hold your applause)
Actually, the only time you will be applauding is at the end, when the entire cast belts out a powerful inspired musical number that showcases solid filmmaking along with a nugget of substance to latch onto. Everything else, well, was sent down from the movie review gods; as they provided amazing fodder for what will hopefully be an entertaining review.
Which will be the only funny element attached to this flick by the way. The movie tries to deliver an abundance of one-liners, yet only 10% of them strike a chord. But don’t get me wrong, there will be the Dolly Parton loyalists that think she is just too cute and laugh at every sarcastic line and/or metaphor that falls out of her plastic face. Seriously, she looks like a ventriloquist puppet. Aside from her physical features – that at one point used to fascinate this guy – to those mentioned loyalists, her comedic delivery is similar to her ripping a fart and giving a little giggle after it happens. Oh, we just have to smile right?
Wrong. The same delivery technique is bestowed upon Queen Latifah; who fortunately has enough talent to take the under-developed one-liners and turn them into almost chuckle worthy. Again though, these jokes only hit one out of ten times. If the filmmakers actually geared the script toward what the official plot synopsis states: Two church choir members have differing opinions on how to win the national choir competition; then perhaps this could have been entertaining, seeing those two polar-opposites bicker with each other. Instead, after digesting this directionless piece, one has to question if there was ever a complete written script in the first place.
And the mechanics are atrocious; especially in the cinematography department. There are two types of shots here (save for the ending sequence)….standard and close-up. It seems that the entire screenplay is comprised of two actors in each scene except for the obvious choir performances (a mixture of gospel and R&B hits). While they’re engaged in dialogue, I invite you to play this game: count how many words are said before the camera goes in for the tight shot. Over/under is set at eleven. Not only does this predictable execution derail the storytelling - which is in a terrible rush for some reason - but you really cannot get emotionally involved with the characters or buy into their relationships. There was better camerawork on display in Wayne’s World when Mike Myers was doing his “camera one, camera two” shenanigans on the bed with Tia Carrere.
The only character that deserves any sort of lauds here is Dexter Darden, playing Queen Latifah’s teenage son, who has trouble dealing with Asperger’s syndrome. He shows a ton of potential with his acting chops in a supporting role. It’s a shame the story couldn’t find the tone they did within this subplot with regards to all the other misguided and hurried storylines they attempted to jam in. And the only other moment that stood out is when Latifah is allowed to have an extended scene as she has an uneasy conversation with her rebellious 16 year-old daughter (Keke Palmer), as they constantly argue over the choir and her relationship with Parton’s troublesome grandson (Jeremy Jordan) – who really didn’t seem all that troublesome.
All that said, the story just didn’t have a purpose. And if the purpose was to be a cinematic musical, it really missed that mark as well. Plus, who is this movie for? The religious bunch? If so, the filmmakers didn’t have a clue on how to properly deliver, or sell, that theme either. But you have to give credit to the cast; they could all carry a tune. Yet none of them could have carried this flick to mediocrity.
Overall, the best way to sum up Joyful Noise to single out a somber piano number’s chorus that Queen Latifah sings about halfway through: “Fix me, fix me Jesus.” Yeah, that prayer wasn’t answered. And if you’re still wondering what this is about, think of something along the lines of the recent Footloose remake, sans the talent behind the lens.
The Lord did not have any mercy on the audience.
Joyful Noise is rated PG-13 and opens in the Tampa Bay market on Friday.
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