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This is How Movies Should Be Made

Admirable film.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I think this is a better movie than it's giving credit for. There are several different themes here, at least one of which (Aspergers) is rarely tackled in movies.The story revolves around Christian music competitions. I guess I've lost track of what is happening in Christian music nowadays! And there are certainly some toe tapping performances here! The principal character here is a mother -- nicely played by Queen Lastifah, who is very protective of her maturing daughter (played nicely by Keke Palmer) and teenage son who has Aspergers (also well played by Dexter Darden). Along comes Jeremy Jordan who befriends the son and falls in love with the daughter. He's a positive presence, though mom is not at all sure of his trustworthiness.Meanwhile, the choir director (very briefly played by Kris Kristofferson) has a heart attack, and Queen Latifah takes over the role...although there is some bitterness with the other major participant in the church choir -- Dolly Parton (Parton doesn't seem real anymore...too many plastic surgeries have flowed under bridge...she's just "okay" here).Courtney B. Vance has gotten so old looking that I honestly didn't recognize him. There's also an interesting sub plot with the somewhat unattractive Angela Grovy, whose first sexual encounter in the film ends up in a heart attack and death for the man, but who finds true love later.Each of the four principals -- Latifah, Palmer, Darden, and Jordan) are very engaging here, and I hope to see more of all of them in other films. Darden's performance, in particular, as the Aspergers inflicted son) is quite touching.At certain places, particularly in the performance competition near the end of the film, things seems a little unrealistic, but that's okay, overall the film goes down pretty comfortably and is fairly entertaining. No, it's not one of those films that will be remembered for years, but Queen Latifah is a multi-talented star and she shines in placers in this film. And, Jeremy Jordan may very well be a star in the making. And, this film is uplifting.

Joyful Noise (2012): Dir: Todd Graff / Cast: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson: The joyful noise in question is not the sound of a great movie, but the sound of viewers snoring through one as mediocre as this one. It regards the uniting of talents and abilities as a Church choir competes in an annual contest but the pastor suddenly dies in the opening practice. Then we are left with two women bickering back and forth while their children unite in a petty romance. The story here is thin, formula and predictable with high end musical numbers that seem to celebrate the pop charts of yesterday as oppose to praising God. It is great to see Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton share the same space especially since their music genres are complete opposites. Latifah is left as choir director, a position that Parton felt that she should be given. Latifah is old school while Parton is open minded even when it comes to insults regarding plastic surgery. Jeremy Jordan plays Parton's grandson who lands on her door step after some apparent trouble back home. Keke Palmer plays Latifah's daughter who desires adulthood and will be romanced by Jordan. Their romance has all the quality of snoring during a Church sermon and viewers likely could care less. Kris Kristofferson appears in the flashbacks as Parton's late husband. We understand through its two talented leads that merging talents and personalities results in a choir pleasing to God, but despite its uplifting qualities, the only joyful noise I heard was the hurried rush of footsteps towards the theatre exit. Score: 5 / 10

Joyful Noise is one of those movies you should dismiss as feel-good corn, but because of the great music and endearing performances of the leads you end up enjoying.Vi-Rose (Queen Latifah) becomes the new leader of a gospel choir when GG's (Dolly Parton) husband dies. The rivalry between the two women forms the main storyline. Vi's daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer) falls in love with GG's wayward grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan.) All of them are involved in the choir and must work together if they are to win a major choral competition and bolster the morale of their small town, a community hit by the economic meltdown.Sound predictable? It is. But it's also a lot of fun. Queen Latifah is authentic and believable as a single mother trying to hold it together. Parton delivers some killer lines ("God didn't make plastic surgeons so they could starve"). Palmer gives a resonant performance of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, and Jordan is likable, handsome and has a strong voice.

One of the many good things about this film was that the race card was totally eliminated. It dealt with a rural choir in Georgia made up of all groups. Yes, the Queen Latifah role and Dolly Parton counter-part don't like each other, but race isn't the culprit here.This is basically the story of interpersonal relationships among the people in the choir. We have an assortment of characters we can all identify with- Parton's grandson, constantly in trouble, rebellious and yet having a good heart. Latifah, the strict mother covering the fact that her husband reenlisted in the army so as to get away from her, her rebellious, precocious daughter, who wants to set her mother straight. The scene where mom and daughter have it out was memorable.We have the general competition among choir groups for an award out in Los Angeles.The singing is great, the characters are lively and we can identify with what we're seeing. A beautiful film.