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Joyful Noise Movie

January 14, 2012 by · Comments Off on Joyful Noise Movie 

Joyful Noise MovieJoyful Noise Movie, It was only a matter of time that a movie was made about the passion for music infused with the spirit of competition given the variety of successful music-centric television shows like “American Idol,” “The Voice,” and “The X Factor.” “Joyful Noise” brings unexpected warmth and easily wins hearts with vibrant vocals and clever comedic dialogue.

Don’t let the title fool you. “Joyful Noise” unveils far more storylines than just choir competitions-perhaps too many to follow. When the choral director (played by legendary country music star and actor Kris Kristofferson) of Divinity Church Choir in Pacashau, Ga., abruptly dies in the opening scene, Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance) appoints second-in-command Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) as the replacement.

The news doesn’t sit so well with the wealthy widow of the late choral director, G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton), seeing as she is Vi Rose’s rival. While Vi Rose is more conservative and prefers traditional gospel, G.G is more carefree and likes country or pop.

The church choir faces financial and morale troubles when they are uncertain if they can fund their trip to the regional and national church choir competitions, and if they are good enough to seriously compete.

Award-winning actress and comedienne Queen Latifah shines in the film as a single mother raising two difficult teenagers who struggles to keep up with the bills while her husband is away in the military. Her depiction of Vi Rose brings out a range of emotions. She is moving in her solo of “Fix Me, Jesus” and shows off her comedic chops in an entertaining rant to her onscreen daughter. The sassy banter between her character and Parton’s, while a bit corny, is dynamic.

Country icon Dolly Parton stars opposite Queen Latifah in an unusual pairing of leading ladies. With the differences in their real-life musical backgrounds, it was that much more fitting to have them play rivals and share catfights onscreen. In addition, Parton wrote original songs for the film, including “Not Enough (Love)” and “From Here to the Moon and Back.”

Fresh faces Jeremy Jordan and Keke Palmer deliver strong vocals that overshadow their predictable love story in their roles as the two star singers of the church choir, leading the group in gospel renditions of modern pop songs.

The music pieces selected for the film were a perfect blend of traditional gospel and modern-day pop. Though the film constantly mentions spirituality and having faith in God, it doesn’t force-feed the audience religion, but instead highlights music and family relations.

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