Movie - Joyful Noise

Lots of laughs, with every subplot having a happy ending
Released 1-13-12
1-14-12 at ElCon with Dede
PG-13 (1:57)
RT Critic: 38% RT Audience: 76%
Liked it
Directed by Todd Graff
Warner Brothers Pictures
Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton

The young, male lead, Jeremy Jordan, just stole the show.  He was adorable, comfortable, and a wonderful singer.  Great music.  lots of fun.  Hairstyles galore...they must have had a huge budget for hairstylistss alone.  Every subplot had a happy ending, the entire movie ended with a "one year later" big bang.  A poignant scene (one of my favorite) with a minor tear shed, and lots of great musical entertainment.

Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah live in a tiny town in Alabama, and have always sung in the church choir together.  The choir competes in an area competition, but there's a choir from Detroit that always beats them.  Once again they are on their way to compete against them, when their director dies and Queen Latifah is named as the new choir director.  She and Parton have always been at odds, and since Parton had been married to the previous director, they are even more at odds now.

Parton's grandson, Randy, arrives and shakes things up...not only with Queen Latifah's 16-year old daughter, but with the choir.  He relates really well to Queen Latifah's autistic son, too.  Ups an downs (have to have conflict in a flic, right?) mixed in with some really nice music and you have two hours of excellent entertainment.

MOVIE: Secret Life of Bees

Rating: Wonderful
Viewed: November 18, 2008
El Con with SW
58% Rotten Tomato Rating
Mine: 90%
EW: C cag: A
Genre: Drama
Released 10/17/08
PG-13 (1 hr 50 min)
Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys
adaptation of the book by Sue Monk Kidd

What's not to like? Sure, this would probably be considered a "chick flick," but what's wrong with that? GREAT storytelling, wonderful acting, lovely setting and sets. It's been awhile since I've seen a movie, especially a drama, that I enjoyed this much.

Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother when she was 4. Now, in 1964, living with her mean, unhappy father in what looks like a sharecropper's house on the edge of a peach orchard, she is searching for information about her mother. Her young black housekeeper, Rosalie, seems to be her only friend. While walking into town together, Rosalie is attacked, and beaten by a group of rednecks. Lily breaks her out of her hospital prison room and they take off together to Tiburon, SC, because of a mysterious clue that Lily has found about her mother's past.

This takes them to the Honey Farm of August (Latifah), June (Keys) and May's Pepto-Bismal-pink home. The family takes them in and they instantly become close, Lily sleeping out in the honey shack, and learning about beekeeping with August. The usual touching/interesting ups and downs, friendship, love, racial tension and anger-a great ride toward a powerful (but foreseen) tragedy.

I very much enjoyed this film and would happily watch it again, for all the reasons stated above. Ultimately, a really feel-good movie.