RATED: PG-13, GENRE: Musical/Comedy, 118 Min, DIRECTOR: Todd Graff
STARRING: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan
In the small Bible-Belt town of Pacashau, Georgia times are very hard and its residents are desperately searching for a ray of hope. With its semi-finalist placement in the “National Joyful Noise Competition,” The Divinity Church Choir is lifting morale. With gifted voices, great tunes, and giving attitudes, the choir seems be a shoe-in winner for the competition. But, underneath the sweet harmonies and angelic smiles, tensions cause discord.
Vi Rose (Queen Latifah), Dinity’s newly-appointed choir director, is sassy, opinionated and closed-minded, preferring tradition and an “it’s my way or the highway” approach to her directing. G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton), the late choir-director’s (Kris Kristofferson) wife, is just as feisty, yet open-minded and ready and willing to “shake things up” in order to save the church, which is in desperate need of funds. The two bicker about everything from G.G.’s plastic surgeries (quite the comical scene), to their conflicting musical preferences and views on how a choir should be directed. But the women have two things in common, the fact they’re both devoid of their significant others (GG’s recent loss of her husband and Vi Rose’s estranged marriage, their mutual love of music AND their love for their church and its people and the desire to see it thrive!
When G.G’s grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan) comes to live with his grandmother, tensions rise further. G.G. wants her grandson to join the choir because he has a gifted voice and she’s sure he can help loosen up the choir and “funk” it up. Vi Rose is dead-set against him joining, because he is far from the stereotypical “church boy.” Reluctantly, she finally agrees. Suddenly, things start to shake up, both musically and personally as Vi Rose’s daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer) falls for Randy. Cliché? Yes. But. refreshingly, they portray their characters as real teens (hormones, sass and all), versus the cliche goody-goody church kids.
If you like Glee, Sister Act, Footloose or are a Gospel/Contemporary Christian music fan, you’ll no doubt revel in Joyful Noise’s lively musical renditions of popular, secular-turned-church tunes. Musical highlights include a youthful, harmonic rendition of Michael Jackson’s “The Man In The Mirror” in a scene with one of the movie’s most quotable lines. Vi Rose teaches her star-struck teen daughter that, when it comes to music, sometimes “less is more.” By adding far too many musical note runs and trills, Olivia is over-singing, cluttering the song and crowding out its profound lyrics. Vi Rose corrects her daughter, “I don’t wanna hear you. I wanna hear God, through you!” The result is a much tamer but much more effective rendition of the tune, one that will make the audience and congregation really think. Other notable musical offerings: Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” in which Randy and Olivia sing a swooning duet AND the lively, powerful finale, “I Want To Take You Higher.”
If you can stand some its “cheesy” moments, this is actually a good flick. The scene in which Vi Rose and Olivia “square-off” about what Vi Rose thinks is “right” for her daughter and what her almost-adult daughter really wants will prove a definite eye-opener for parents and teens, alike. And, when Vi Rose and G.G. finally put aside their differences and join forces for the good of the choir, indeed, these creative women become a force with which to be reckoned!
The vast array of demographics and ethnicities–African-American, Asian, Spanish, Latino, Caucasian–portrayed in the film are a definite plus. To round out the demographics, the movie even includes a developmentally-challenged teen boy with Asperger’s syndrome (Autism). Dexter Darden, who plays Walter Hill–Vi Rose’s teenage son and Olivia’s younger brother–offers a merited portrayal of an Autistic youth, lost inside himself and desperately seeking a form of expression, a way to connect with the outer world. Darden’s realistic portrayal definitely helps to neutralize this film’s cheesiness and Jordan’s portrayal of the older brother, humanitarian-type, who takes Walter under his wing befriending and mentoring him, is a bit “overdone” but never-the-less touching. There’s even a shocking reunion at the end. So, yes, Joyful Noise definitely has it’s moments!
A “must-see”? Perhaps, not. But, if you’re in the mood to be musically-entertained GO, you will not be disappointed! And make sure to pay special attention as 66 year old Dolly Parton dance the “Robot” to Usher’s “Yeah!” better than most teens could. Gooo Dolly! Joyful Noise is best-suited to older children 10+ and adults (rated PG-13 for some sexual references).
