Blu-ray Review: Boring ‘Joyful Noise’ Offers Great Music, Dull Melodrama

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CHICAGO – “Joyful Noise” is a weird movie in that it absolutely comes alive in its full musical numbers, of which there are several, but the plot that connects those gospel and pop songs is so thin that it’s impossible to care about the characters or what’s happening to them. The people in “Joyful Noise” are all likable and the story is harmless but the movie is slowly paced and oddly inert, showing none of the life that real gospel music brings to the people. It’s not full of enough joy or noise.

Blu-ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

First, a warning. “Joyful Noise” is long. It runs nearly two hours and feels much longer than its running time given that there’s not a whole lot of plot. The characters and storylines spin their wheels and there are several full-length musical numbers, including a rendition of “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson. You have to like gospel, pop songs, Queen Latifah, and Dolly Parton to enjoy “Joyful Noise.” And if you fit into all of those categories, you’ve probably seen it already.

And that group should be happy with a pretty strong Blu-ray that includes a good audio mix (important for a music-heavy movie) and several featurettes along with a deleted scene and extended songs. I wish there was more to “Joyful Noise,” more reason to suggest checking it out, but the Blu-ray does a service to fans of the film and its stars.

Haywire was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 24, 2012
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Synopsis:
Oscar nominees Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton star in this funny and inspirational story of music, hope and love. Their small Georgia town has fallen on hard times and is counting on the church choir to lift everyone’s spirits by winning the national Joyful Noise Competition. But discord between the two leading ladies threatens to tear everything apart when Vi Rose (Latifah) plans to stick with a traditional style, while fiery G.G.(Parton) wants to shake things up in a big way!

Special Features:
o Spotlight On A Song: Dolly Parton’s “From Here To The Moon”
o Inspiration Of A Joyful Noise
o Make Some Noise - Get An Inside Look As The Young Stars Light Up The Screen
o Leading Ladies - Get An All-Access Look At The Recording Studio With Dolly Parton And Queen Latifah
o “He’s Everything” Live
o Extended Songs
o Deleted Scenes

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]