Joyful Noise reviews- Not so joyful- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/13/12 at 11:31pm

Entertainment Weekly says of Jeremy Jordan and his on-screen love interest:

"These two are pretty — and as bland as balsa wood."

I don't think these are exactly the "star is born" reviews many here were hoping for.

Although my favorite comment in the review is saying Parton now looks like a Spitting Image puppet of herself.

Entertainment Weekly review

Updated On: 1/13/12 at 11:31 PM

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 1:52am

I saw a late night showing tonight, and with all due respect Growl, I found it wildly entertaining! Maybe it was just what I needed after two weeks of tears over the loss of One Life to Live, or maybe I just love a great guilty pleasure movie, but this delivered on all counts.

If there weren't a couple of references to cell phones I would have sworn this movie was filmed in the 80s. It has the complete feel of a cheesy flick from that decade. There are groan-worthy one liners galore ("He's starring at your daughter like I stare at a piece of cake." "Yeah, a piece of cake that sits in your stomach for nine months!")

The musical numbers are ridiculous and the grand finale received much earned applause from my audience.

There are million subplots that don't need to exist and most characters are random to the point of hilarity. With Dirty Girl, one of the best worst movies of the year.

[NYTheatre01]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 10:09am

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/reviews/major-releases/e3iddc1d0e0a05eaa53d9ee2eafbf917b02 Read the last paragraph of this review! I totally agree with it!

"In addition to all this, the film possesses a secret weapon: Jeremy Jordan, who, like Darren Criss of “Glee,” is a phenomenal triple-threat talent, with the kind of effervescent, true-blood showmanship harking back to James Cagney. These guys just love to perform, and that love gloriously transfers itself to the viewer. Jordan, who was absolutely spectacular—near-legendary, really—in the recent, quite wonderful, undeserved Broadway flop Bonnie and Clyde, grabs the screen with his sexy faun face and ardent, natural acting, humanizing all that rote James Dean anguish. And when, in the final competition, he searingly performs Usher’s “Yeah!”, he lifts the movie straight up into blissfully funky movie-musical heaven. " Updated On: 1/14/12 at 10:09 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 10:31am

Comparing Jeremy Jordan to Darren Criss is a slap in the face. Jordan is a legitimate vocalist and actor who doesn't need autotune.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 12:19pm

I still can't decide if I actually want to go see this film. I love a good train wreck, but I can't figure out if this is enough of a train wreck where you can revel in its badness, or if it's just a bad film.

[bestfreakinshoes]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 1:27pm

Okay, so the dialogue in this movie is cheesy and awful, but somehow I still connected emotionally with several of the characters. And the music and vocal performances more than make up for it.

Just imagine you're at a musical with a really bad book...but the music is great! Plus, a movie ticket is a lot cheaper than a theatre ticket (even in New York.)

I'd never seen Jeremy and I found both his and Keke Palmer's voices to be stunning. And Queen Latifah and Dolly still got it! Plus, I can't say I minded seeing Andy Karl breakdance/do the splits near the end of the movie. Who knew he could dance?!

As I left the theater, I heard someone say it was 'uplifting' and that's exactly what it is. You can't help but enjoy the music.

So go if you are looking for some uplifting fun, but don't go if you're going to sit there and pick it apart as some great work of art. It's not.

[NoHSMisNotAMusical]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 9:33pm

Lately movies have the worst titles. We Bought A Zoo? And now this (I don't want use broadwayworld.com's favorite word : abortion) piece of crap.

[Edna Turnblad]

Posted: 1/14/12 at 10:04pm

I just got back from seeing it. I can say that it was not a great movie, but I wasn't expecting it to be. I had a great time. I was smiling the whole way through. I laughed at a lot of the cheesy lines and kind of felt invested in a lot of the characters. I especially loved the big number at the competition. I can say my friend and I were both speechless and breathless after it. Yes, it's not a great movie, but it's a perfect piece of fluff to go see to have some fun for two hours.

[CukorLover]

Posted: 1/15/12 at 6:07pm

But "Joyful Noise," Alcon's religious-themed musical, stumbled. In fact, "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" -- now in its fifth week of release -- had a better weekend than "Joyful Noise." "M:I:4" took $11.5 million compared to $11.3 million for "Joyful Noise."

[My Oh My]

Posted: 1/15/12 at 6:45pm

One question...is it quirky and eccentric? Is it like this thread? If so, I'm there.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 7:58am

I'm glad you enjoyed it, Whizzer! It's probably fair to say that I don't often enjoy bad movies for being bad. Whereas some folks get a cheese-fest rush from cornball writing and plotting, I usually feel insulted and irritated by the clear lack of effort and/or talent that's been bankrolled. The last really bad movie I remember loving was "Strange Wilderness," and part of the reason was that -- spoiler alert!! if you haven't seen it -- they're so aware of their lack of effort that they didn't even film an ending; everyone just starts laughing and walks off-camera. That movie wasn't trying to sell me anything; "Joyful Noise" is like that perky little b!tch who lived down the hall from you in college, who you just wanted to see fall down on her face every day. Or maybe I'm the only one who wanted to see that. Maybe everyone else really did like her!


And, My Oh My, I would say, no, there's nothing the least bit quirky about it, which, in my estimation, is a value-neutral statement. It's about as straight-down-the-line, run-of-the-mill as it gets. That's just its bag.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 10:49am

I saw it on Saturday and really didn't enjoy it at all. It's not the cast's fault. They all seem to be game. The script is just abysmal. It's seriously worse than anything the Disney Channel has ever produced. Some of the musical numbers are ok, but that's about it.

All attempts at humor fall flat. I'm upset that Dolly thought this project was the one to make her comeback with. It doesn't really give her much to do. Latifah is the one who comes off the best and it won't hurt her at all in the long run. She has some terrific moments in the film and actually gets the only laugh in the movie when she starts talking about how they're supposed to enjoy each team in the competition, but they're really there to kick ass. I found that scene to be hysterical after more than an hour and a half of sugarcoated preachy "let's act like we're 2nd graders and not do anything remotely subversive" crap.

I really wanted to like it, but it just bored me to tears.

[The Pud]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 7:59pm

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/01/contraband-beauty-and-the-beast-box-office.html

Joyful Noise did $13.8 million in 3 days, not bad. My Week With Marilyn for which Michelle Williams just won the Golden Globe has only earned just over $11 million for 6 or 8 weeks out. I just read a review for The Iron Lady, only got 2 stars but Meryl Streep can do anything and get an award.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 8:17pm

You can't compare it to my My Week With Marilyn, which cost half as much to make and was playing at a quarter the amount of theatres- AND will get awards traction.

13.8 million is pretty bad.

[The Pud]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 8:19pm

http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic/never1.htm?page=never10&p=.htm

For you movie fans check this list out. Movies which were never in the top 10 grossing movies. Several of which produced Oscar Winning performances. Monsters Ball, The Pianist and The Reader to name a few. Those of you who seem to have it in for Jeremy Jodan, just wait a few weeks. He was chosen for Joyful Noise just barely out of college, I would consider him a lucky guy. Don't worry, his reviews will be taking a turn skyward soon.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 8:23pm

He is extremely lucky to have been given this chance.

But it's a crummy movie.

A lot of movies, some very good, never made much money.

And then there are films like this, which aren't very good, don't make money, and will be forgotten.

[Kad]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 8:23pm

He is extremely lucky to have been given this chance.

But it's a crummy movie.

A lot of movies, some very good, never made much money.

And then there are films like this, which aren't very good, don't make money, and will be forgotten.

[NYTheatre01]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 8:27pm

Quote from Kiki Palmer facebook page: "guys guess what? Our soundtrack is currently the number 3 best selling record in America - check out itunes!! I LOVE YOU GUYS, thank you!!!"
This movie is going to do well!

[James885]

Posted: 1/16/12 at 9:18pm

The 13.8 million is actually its estimated four day total gross. It's three day total was 11.3, according to Box Office Mojo. While not a horrible, considering the fact that the budget was roughly 30 million and that it will need to gross about sixty million in order to get in the black as well as the mostly negative reviews, it's hardly a reason to jump for joy (no pun intended).

But the studio probably expected it, seeing how they released the film in January...