Two ladies butt heads with their different personalities and approach to the choir. The traditionalist Vi Rose (Queen Latifah) is a single mother of two teens, Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Walter, who has Asperger's syndrome. Her estranged husband (Jesse L. Martin) is serving in the military and has been absent for several years. Vi Rose believes the church should stay old fashioned and sing hymns the way they were written. The affluent G.G. (Dolly Parton) on the other hand thinks they need to move with the times and is open to having dance moves and such in their church numbers. Her grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) who has a reputation as a troublemaker, returns and reacquaints himself with Olivia, something Vi Rose does not approve of.
This film definitely is in the "feel good" camp and while it shows the choir's conflicts and disagreements, Vi Rose's family troubles, and other dramatic moments, you know how it is going to end. There are many musical numbers--showy competition performances, quiet solo songs by the singing stars Latifah and Dolly, and choir rehearsals and church performances which don't include the showboating lights and glitter. Most of the songs are pop tunes (such as Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror) where the lyrics are just as appropriate to sing about a higher power or being faithful and good, but the film still includes straightforward gospel and religious songs. I did appreciate that these were all staged and performed in full, and not just some snippet of lyric which is taken out of context. The songs will please general audiences with their range of styles.
The character of Vi Rose could have been made a bit more humble and apologetic and admit her faults more, with less of a my-way-or-the-highway attitude with her family and friends. Although the film gave her many legitimate and relatable reasons why she was such a traditionalist (or if you will, a stick in the mud), it gave her too much of these qualities. She was a caring nurse, a single mother, working two jobs, etc.--we get she is a hardworking woman with deep family values. Plus the film piles on her troubles with a son with Asperger's, although this subplot gives more depth to the family and allows the character of Randy to be more helpful to the family.
Dolly Parton as I expected was a bit distracting with her signature physical appearance. The film makes fun by addressing her bust and plastic surgery, but she is still out of place visually for me. But for an old lady she can still sing! Which I can't really say for Kris Kristofferson. He plays G.G.'s husband and has a small role. I was wondering at the beginning of the picture why they would cast a longtime singer and actor such as him for a five minute role, and not allow him to act or sing. What singing he does is pretty weak. The film really should have put some preamble at the beginning to form his character more for the audience, as throughout the movie characters were always saying how much he loved the church, how he would miss seeing the singing competition, etc. and he really didn't have a presence for me.
The romance between Olivia and Randy was played out realistically but in teen movie/comedy fashion. The film makes several feel-good endings for the various characters. I like how the casting of the supporting characters was a bit multi-racial but it was mostly played for laughs. One element that the film touches on but does not give any answer to is the economy. The small town was shown to have fallen on difficult times with local businesspeople having to close up shop (this relates to Vi Rose's storyline too), but the "one year later" montage at the end does not even refer to this. I did wish some of the more realistically dramatic elements weren't overshadowed by the showboaty music.
The film was written and directed by Todd Graff, who has a history in singing and dancing. He previously directed a film called Camp, about a performance arts camp, where teens practice their art while dealing with typcial teen problems.
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