Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in JOYFUL NOISE
by Oscar on Jan.27, 2012, under Movie Reviews
When “Feel Good” Doesn’t Feel Good
I have to be honest here, this movie was NOT on my “Must See” list. Just judging from the trailers shown on TV I had decided that “Joyful Noise” deserved to be shown on some cable network like, say, Hallmark, or HGTV, some channel up in the high 100′s.
My opinion wasn’t influenced by the actors involved because I really DO like Queen Latifah, and in the right setting Dolly Parton can be effective by playing on her “corn pone” image. No, it wasn’t the actors, it was the vehicle that caused this car wreck. The dialog was too predictable, the gags and jokes too stale and the characters were just cookie cutter stereotypes with little depth. The one saving grace was the two young stars, Keke Palmer and Jeremy Jordan, who play Vi Rose Hill’s (Latifah) daughter and G.G. Sparrow’s (Parton) grandson, respectively. They are attractive and talented and display some real chemistry in a film that sorely lacks it.
This is not to say that “Joyful Noise” is somehow offensive for it is NOT! It is a mildly entertaining venture, if you are not too demanding, that is saved by some very good singing. But even here I have to temper my praise because although this was supposed to be about Gospel singing the songs we hear are standard secular tunes. The only way that the viewer can accept this from a church choir is that the singers roll their eyes heavenward or lift their hands during the appropriate portions of the songs, obliquely indicating that they are reallysinging about the Deity. Surely they could have done better with some REAL Gospel.
In short, “Joyful Noise” is the perfect movie to watch on DVD on a slow weekday evening, accompanied by store bought frozen pizza and off brand sodas. And although it is still showing in theaters I’m sure that it will be available at Blockbuster or Netflix before spring. Save you pennies till then.
Not Much To Recommend, So I’ll Rate IT With
