The gospel according to Latifah and Parton
joyful noise it’s a harmless, well-intentioned film that was clearly made with no other goal in mind than to be uplifting. It’s easy to see why the critical response has been mostly negative; in its innocence, it leaves many questions unanswered, whitewashes a number of harsh realities, and repeatedly evades plausibility for the sake of entertainment. While I can’t argue with these observations, and while the film is ultimately too flawed and predictable to recommend, I’m not inclined to be ruthless. Writer/director Todd Graff has his heart in the right place. And because the theme is a gospel choir, we’re treated to a series of well-arranged musical interludes that showcase some real talent. Regardless of whether the songs are Christian, pop, or country, passion bursts from the screen every time.
The plot, while paper-thin, is easily understandable and admirable in its efforts to be inspiring. Set in a small Georgia town hard hit by the economy, it begins with the sudden death of Bernard Sparrow (Kris Kristofferson), the director of the local church choir. Chosen as her replacement is choir member and second-in-command Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah), who makes ends meet as a registered nurse. Bernard’s widow, GG (Dolly Parton), who is well-to-do and one of the church’s major benefactors, believes she should have been chosen as the next choir director, as she is also a member and believes that is what her husband would have wanted. She’s not the bitter type, so if you think she’s turning mean and vindictive, you’re in for something else.
Because times are tough, and because the choir has consistently lost out on Joyful Noise’s national gospel competition, the show is under constant threat of being cut. If they can finally win this year, it would give the people of their small community something to believe in. Stern pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance) wants his music selection to reflect traditional gospel style. I saw too. GG, on the other hand, has come to believe that a more contemporary sound will give them an edge. This puts both women at odds with each other, which isn’t all that surprising since they were never best friends to begin with. There are many reasons for this, although it seems that a combination of class division and their own egos are the main contributing factors. The movie never misses an opportunity to show how headstrong they both are; Vi is a working single mom who resists change, while GG can’t go five minutes without dishing out a dark southern proverb.
There is another side of the story more focused on the characters, although that does not prevent it from being just as conventional and easy to watch. Vi is the mother of two teenagers. His son, Walter (Dexter Darden), has Asperger’s syndrome, a trait that will likely divide audiences, as it’s debatable how seriously Graff takes it. It provides Walter with bizarre and reliable personality quirks, such as constantly wearing sunglasses, singing spontaneously, a revulsion at being touched, an inability to tell if someone is joking or not, and a superfluous mental database of one-shot wonders. success (none of which, he informs us, can be found in gospel music). It also makes Walter very aware of his personality flaws; at one point, he tearfully admits that he is angry at God for making him the way he is.
His daughter is sixteen-year-old Olivia (Keke Palmer), just the right age to start acting. She doesn’t lie down or get addicted. She, however, begins dating GG’s rebellious and outgoing teenage grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan), who has returned to Georgia from New York after being kicked out by his mother. While his past is never revealed to the audience, it seems that he has a reputation for being a bad boy. Vi disapproves, which will inevitably create friction between her and Olivia. Our instincts have already told us that he is not bad, but he has simply had a worse time than others and is decent at heart. He will join the choir and, with his incredible singing voice, will prove that he is instrumental in driving a new sound that will hopefully win them the upcoming competition in Los Angeles.
I mentioned earlier that he was not inclined to be ruthless. I’m not inclined yet, though I think it’s necessary to point out some of the more glaring mistakes in joyful noise. It is established that Olivia’s father (Jesse L. Martin) is a military man who was forced to rejoin the army after losing his job. While Olivia is willing to see past this, Vi clings to the mistaken belief that he knowingly abandoned her. She’d bet if he stayed in town an unemployed man, she’d resent him even more. Also, we get a little subplot involving two choir members falling in love; Aside from the fact that they’re both typecast on one note, their story is so unfunny and so poorly put together that it actually ruins part of the final scene, which had the potential to be very sweet. Finally, we get a painfully contrived scene where Vi and GG get into a fight in a restaurant. If there’s one thing a movie like this doesn’t need, it’s two grown women acting like little girls.
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