Movie Review: Joyful Noise

If you look at the picture for this 2012 movie alone you can already see the amount of talent in this musical comedy. Admittedly the script kinda feels all over the place at times, but the performances of the cast and music more than make-up for it. Joyful Noise will be leaving Netflix on September 1st so if you haven’t watched it I would recommend you do before that date. Spoilers ahead as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) a no nonsense controlling mother of two takes over the church choir of a small church in Pacashau, GA after the passing of the original director Bernie (Kris Kristofferson). Bernie’s widow G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton) felt like the role should have been passed to her as she is the main benefactor so she and Vi Rose clash multiple times (each more hilarious than the last). Vi Rose uses traditional Gospel songs approved by Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance) for the Joyful Noise competition, where church choirs go head to head but have yet to capture first place. Pacashau has been hit hard by the economy; many of the members of the choir forced to close their businesses so Vi Rose is determined to win this year. G.G’s grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) comes to live with her after his parents kick him out and, after hearing the choir sing, joins in and convinces choir members, Earla (Angela Grovey), Caleb (Andy Karl), Devonne (Dequina Moore) and Vi Rose’s teenage daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer), to use more contemporary pop songs for their numbers (obviously tweaking it for church). Vi Rose and Pastor Dale don’t approve the plan, nor does Vi Rose approve Randy getting close to her family; Randy befriends her son Walter (Dexter Darden) who has Asperger syndrome while he falls in love with Olivia despite competition from Manny (Paul Woolfolk) who only sees the “church girl” as a challenge. Vi Rose and Olivia’s relationship starts to crumble because of how she feels for Randy, in addition to the absence of Vi Rose’s husband, Olivia and Walter’s father, Marcus (Jesse L. Martin) because of his army duties. I can’t say anymore without spoiling the rest of the movie.

As i said earlier the amount of talent in this movie can been seen on the poster, and even if you had no clue you learned fast. While I admit I’ve seen the four main stars (Latifah, Parton, Jordan and Palmer) in better works, their performance still shined. The amount of sass between Parton and Latifah is an absolute joy to watch; there is a scene in a dinner that had me in stitches. Their individual performances were also fantastic. Latifah has scenes were she is the only reasonable one in the room and goes into fantastic speeches. Parton can be sweet one minute, sassy the next and funny the last. Palmer and Jordan are two very talented young people and their chemistry was great. I’ve been a fan of Palmer for years and was glad to hear her sing; I think she is one of the most powerful young singers I’ve heard. If you read my review of Newsies (if not you can click the title) you might remember I said that I thought Jordan looked familiar; when he began singing I realized I saw him in a production of West Side Story. Without question Jordan is one of the most talent, and handsome, men I have ever seen in film, TV or Broadway; anytime I hear him sing I feel goosebumps up and down my arm. Taking nothing away from the rest of the cast Grovey, Moore and Karl are also very good singers; Karl has been on Broadway multiple times including Legally Blonde the Musical, Groundhog Day, Wicked, Rocky The Musical (yep you read that correctly) and most recently Pretty Woman The Musical and has been nominated for three Tonys. Finally it was nice to see Jesse L. Martin for a few moments in the movie, but it would have been so much better if he sang for a little bit; the man’s voice is like velvet. While the performances were pretty good, I kinda felt like the writing and editing was all over the place; one minute we’re doing something with Vi Rose and Olivia and then Olivia is with Randy.

The soundtrack is pretty good with songs performed by individually by Latifah, Parton, Palmer, Jordan and a couple songs by the choir. Latifah has a number called “Fix Me Jesus” on the piano, Parton wrote three songs for the film including “Not Enough”, performed in the beginning of the film by herself, Latifah and the choir, “From Here to The Moon and Back” which she did along with Jordan and Kristofferson and finally “He’s Everything” at the end of the film. Palmer performs “Man in the Mirror” while she and Jordan sing “Maybe I’m Amazed” to try and incorporated pop songs into the choir. My favorite performance is when the choir makes it to the finals and they use pop songs tweaked for church purposes called “Higher Melody” I’m not gonna say what songs are used in the number; all I’m gonna say is listen and be surprised. Joyful Noise is a cute musical and while it’s not a need to see this moment the film will be leaving Netflix next month so if you are interested stream it now.

Movie Review: Last Holiday (2006)

I had to put 2006 because there are different movie titles with that name. This was a loose adaption of the 1950 UK film with the same name and originally was going to star John Candy, but he sadly passed away. A newer version would be made but staring Queen Latifah as the main character. Spoilers will be ahead as always. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.

Georgia Byrd (Latifah) is a very shy woman selling cooking supplies when she wants to be the one making the delicious food. She lists her dreams in a notebook, which includes traveling, becoming a professional cook and marrying the man of her dreams, her co-worker Sean Williams (LL Cool J). One day while flirting with Sean she hits her head and has to go to the hospital. According to Dr. Gupta (Ranjit Chowdhry) Georgia has several brain tumors from a rare disorder called Lampington’s disease. As her cheap boss will not pay for her operation, Georgia decided to live out the rest of her weeks by quitting her job, gathering all of her money and spending it on the vacation she’s always wanted: the deluxe Grandhotel Pupp in the city of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. Once she arrives Georgia soon becomes beloved by the hotel guests and staff with her free spirit and kindness. She finally gets to do everything she loves, including cook for the hotel chef. However one of the guests, greedy self-help guru Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton) believes Georgia is trying to sabotage his business, yeah you are not going to like him in this movie. I would go further but I would be spoiling the movie further.

A film I would describe as a feel good holiday movie, Last Holiday was another movie to showcase just how good of an actress Queen Latifah is. While critics at the time had mixed feelings of the film, no one doubted her performance. I have always loved Queen Latifah in much of her work, and this is at the very top. LL Cool J is also a good actor and I liked him in this movie, maybe not his best work but still. The rest of the cast was good as well. I actually really disliked Timothy Hutton’s character in the movie; he was a very greedy man who doesn’t realize just how unhappy he is. Now begs the question of would I recommend this movie? My honest answer would be yes and no. Yes because it is cute, but no because it is not a need to watch right this moment movie. I will say if you are a fan of Queen Latifah then enjoy Last Holiday.