By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
Three couples are destined to sing off at a $5000 karaoke contest in Omaha, Nebraska: the black guy and white guy from different worlds who become best friends, the slut with a good heart who redeems the aimless guy, and the daughter who wants to bond with her long-lost father.
Paul Giamatti is a salesman who gets fed up with his work and walks out on his family. He meets Andre Braugher, an ex-con with a violent past, at a karaoke night in a bar just past nowhere.
Maria Bello is the karaoke pro who offers her sexual favours more often than her credit card. Scott Speedman is a taxi-driver who dropped out of studying for the priesthood and has no focus.
Then there is Huey Lewis, the professional karaoke hustler who bets he can out-sing anyone in the house, and can, and Gwyneth Paltrow as the daughter he never knew. She wants him to stay in one place long enough for her to get to know him.
Do we care about any of them? Not really, because this is too much of a Hollywood formula movie to get that involved in the story. But watch it for a couple of surprises — the performance by Lewis that seems to come from the heart of rock'n'roll, and for Paltrow's singing. Maybe she really is doing this one for her dad: Bruce Paltrow directed.
Running time: 113 mins
Rental: Today
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