I went with friends to see JOYFUL NOISE, the film starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. What can I say about it?

Predictable? Yep.

Formulaic? For the most part.

Manipulative? Definitely! One particular segment had me sobbing in my seat.

But the music rocked. The film also had unexpected flashes of humor that were laugh-out-loud funny. Though it wasn't a masterpiece (for one thing, editing was sloppy in places),I enjoyed it and thought it was well worth seeing.

Just watched this movie with my movie theatre-working friend. This is a musical drama with the leads of Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in conflict over the budding romance of Latifah's teenage daughter and Parton's just-arrived troubled similar-aged grandson. Well, actually there's also the matter of the just deceased choir master played briefly by Kris Kristofferson and Latifah replacing him...I'll just say that while the story and characterizations are just devices to hang musical numbers into, they're enjoyably slight enough that one does feel some connections to them when they're showcased. All I'll say now is I had a pretty good time watching Joyful Noise especially when the Big Final Number came on. So, yeah, that's a recommendation.

In small town Georgia, Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) and G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton) don't really get along. When the choir director G.G.'s husband dies unexpectedly, Vi takes over with the support of Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance). Vi is raising her kids Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Walter with Asperger while her husband returns to the military. G.G.'s rebellious grandson Randy Garrity (Jeremy Jordan) comes to town and falls for Olivia. The local choir struggles to find their sound to win the Joyful Noise Competition.

The singing is great and I love Keke Palmer's voice. The actors are all very good but the story lacks cohesion. This is a slice of Christian Mingle, a dash of awkward comedy and a handful of melodrama. I like all the actors and Keke Palmer is adorable but the story keeps hitting the wrong notes. The characters go off on weird tangents. This is a great musical that gets broken up by the need for a story.