Duets

Rating:
Summary: Tremendously entertaining, great movie!
Review: I watched this movie in it's entirety several times, and don't have a clue why it didn't get better reviews. It reminds me of a karaoke version of Pulp Fiction, in the way that it handles the character interactions and storyline. I wish there were more movies that focus on character interaction in the way this one does.

Rating:
Summary: Some people don't, but I do......
Review: I know this movie got some very bad reviews however, I really liked it a lot! Yes, maybe the acting was not the best but bottom line is it is a movie that has imagination to it. Imagine the same 'ole role of life from day to day & all the troubled we face along the way. Wouldn't you like to have some kind of "release?" Well, that is what the movie is about...releasing from the heart by singing at kareoke bars. If you do not have a deep appreciation for music & all the feeling behind it, you won't like this movie. If you do have that special appreciation for music, you will be able to relate and to put yourself in it. Music is about people & expressing themselves, just as Duets does. I really do suggest that you at least try watching this one. No, it may not become your personal favorite, but it is entertaining with the great tracks and seeing the performances in the movie. I am impressed with Gwyneth's vocal talent! I don't care what other's have said, I feel that she sings very well. Take time and check Duets out.....it is worth it!

Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Not only do I LOVE all the singing,... but it was also an interesting story and sucked me right in. Bottom line: It's great.

Rating:
Summary: Really, its a good movie!
Review: Wow - I am kinda suprised at the intense dislike expressed so far about this movie. This movie was exactly what it set out to be - a fun diversion from life. The vocal abilities of the actors fit perfectly with the setting and the characters were interesting.

Was it the best movie of the year, nah - and it didnt set out to be. There should be a place for movies which are just fun to watch. Hey, all I know is I walked out of the theatre with a big smile on my face. I felt much better than I did walking in. What more can you ask for in a movie?

I immensely enjoyed this film.

Rating:
Summary: charming satire
Review: the film is charming, funny and occassionally touching like when the salesman character sings karaoke for the first time or when he sings the duet with the guy from Homicide. Well acted and well sung.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: Watching the seperate stories come together is fun. The different ppl and how they meet keeps is interesting and entertaining. Also, Gwen Paltrow's singing is to die for... Her voice will make you melt. What a doll!

Rating:
Summary: One star is indeed one too many
Review: Take a stupid, utterly implausible script filled with one-dimensional characters and really bad dialogues. Add some pathetically bad singing and over-the-top acting for a good measure. What do you get? The answer: Duets. This is by far the worst movie I've seen in the past year or two.

Rating:
Summary: Go Ahead and Laugh
Review: "Duets" stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis as daughter-and-father karaoke singers.

Go ahead and laugh. Why not? Everyone else does. There's something about karaoke that draws titters. Sure, it's increasingly popular, this singing along to backing tracks, with shows like "Say What! Karaoke" on MTV sending young wannabes into karaoke bars everywhere. But karaoke (Japanese for "empty orchestra"-I guess the singer is supposed to fill the void) is still perceived as something silly that people do when they've had a few too many.

So here's the surprise: "Duets" likes karaoke. In the movie, it's a metaphor for lost souls finding themselves, and, in their conquering a song, an audience, or a competition, filling some kind of spiritual void.

Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress for "Shakespeare in Love," is the daughter of director Bruce Paltrow, and she comes off as exactly that: a good little girl, more giddy than we've seen her in a while; seeking a reconnection with her father (Lewis), a rock singer reduced to hustling bets at karaoke bars.

Everybody knows that Lewis can sing. But so can Gwyneth, with a shimmering, glistening voice, which she shows off on Jackie DeShannon's "Bette Davis Eyes" and in a duet with Lewis, on Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'."

And so can Paul Giamatti, best known for his role as "Pig Vomit," the hated radio executive in Howard Stern's film, "Private Parts." A supposed karaoke virgin when he hits a bar, by chance, as he reels out of a dead-end routine as a traveling salesman, he nails Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me" and is hooked on singing. (Ah, Hollywood. Competing for a $5,000 prize, Lewis surprises Paltrow by calling her onto the stage, where they do an unreheased "Cruisin'" - perfectly, natch. And Giamatti, along with an ex-con hitchhiker played by Andre Braugher, whip up a stunning version of "Try a Little Tenderness," even though Braugher is on the lam and not exactly pleased to have been dragged onto a spotlit stage.)

Braugher actually doesn't sing; his voice is dubbed in. Neither does Scott Speedman, who plays a cab driver. But his pickup, Suzi (Maria Bello, from "Coyote Ugly") does, and acquits herself well on "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Make You Love Me."

Bruce Paltrow does toss in a couple of clinkers, but only briefly, and in the background. Curiously, he doesn't employ any Asian singers in any of the half-dozen or so bars in the movie. Karaoke was invented in Japan, became popular in various Asian cities, and has turned the stereotype of Asians as shy non-performers on its head. But you won't find any evidence of this evolution in "Duets."

Nor will you find much original. You've got yer hesitant parent and kid reunion; yer (black) con on the run hooking up with yer burned-out (white) guy making his own kind of escape. Then there's the cabbie who's just lost his girlfriend, and he just happens into the sexy Suzi, a small-town singer with stars in her eyes; she's itching to go to California. So call it three road movies squished into one, with the three pairs, such as they are, converging at a karaoke contest in Omaha.

See? You laughed again. But that's OK. "Duets" may be a bad movie, but it's the kind of bad that you can enjoy. As the New York Times' A.O. Scott wrote, "We could use more bad movies like this."

Rating:
Summary: Well worth seeing
Review: Discovering this movie was a happy accident. I had heard the Gwyneth Paltrow/Huey Lewis duet "Crusin'" on the radio and tracked down the movie. It did not get much press, I don't think. I found it very enjoyable, and in watching the extras on the DVD, discovered that all the actors did their own singing with the exception of Andre Braugher. He and the character he pairs up with have the most memorable scenes in my opinion. Braugher is an excellent actor. When I tell people this movie is about karyoke they never want to see it. If I can convince them to watch it anyway, they are always glad they did. It is not really about karyoke anyway, it is about relationships, using karyoke as a backdrop. Discovering Gwyneth Paltrow's singing ability was an extra benefit. This is sort of a "feel good" movie, but it has serious moments as well. And some great comedy scenes thrown in as well. I fell in love with the movie and the soundtrack.

Rating:
Summary: Paul Giamatti Rocks
Review: A far-out Paul Giamatti picks up a hitchhiking Andre Braugher and movie-magic is made. Then Giamatti sings his killer, heartfelt rendition of Try a Little Tenderness and you know Duets will permanently have a spot on your special shelf. Giamatti s feel for music is as sound as his feel for acting. Gwyneth Paltrow is my favorite actress because she's a serious character actress as well as a leading lady; as usual, she's both excellent and scary cute. Huey Lewis is a definite weak-spot -- even his singing sounds bad. But then there's the irresistable Scott Speedman and equally hot Maria Bello and you forget all about dumb Huey.

Go ahead, rent it.