Comedy PG-13. 1 hour, 58 minutes. At area thaters.
Grits. Hominy. Spoon bread. People with allergies to any of these corn delights — or the film equivalent of them — might steer clear of “Joyful Noise.” Ditto folks too easily exhausted by professions of faith, particulary in Jesus Christ.
Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah headline this Christian values-added tale of Vi Rose Hill and G.G. Sparrow, two headstrong women vying for the soul of a gifted chuch choir even as the teens in their lives strike up a budding romance.
Much worse things could happen to a movie than to have these two full-figured gals hold forth. Parton’s willing and able to despense the Southernisms. Latifah’s fierce when she needs to be. In a scene with daughter Olivia late in the film, she taps into the motherlode of mom-daughter love and resentment.
While the outcome may be as predictable as a Sunday homily, “Joyful Noise” attempts richer notes as it mixes a choir showdown of “Glee”-like proportions with lessons about the toll exerted by a downturned economy on towns, marriages, chidren.
Indeed, the town of Pacashau, Ga., is not what it once was. Signs of impending demise hang on the display windows of its core, longstanding local businesses. A food bank line is made up of a more diverse crowd than the so-called beneficiaries of charity. Times are tough.
As if wrestling with the wounds of an ungenerous economy weren’t enough, “Joyful Noise” takes on the angst of a youngster with austism.
Far from perfect, “Joyful Noise” has a big heart which, yes, it wears stitched on its sleeve.
Keke Palmer and Jeremy Jordan have easy chemistry as Olivia and Randy, G.G.’s rebellious grandson. They’ve got voices to charm even if their courtship is the most flat-footed part of the film.
Vi Rose has been raising Olivia and younger son Walter (Dexter Darden) pretty much on her own for the past two years. (Jesse L. Martin makes brief appearances as Marcus, her emotionally AWOL husband.)
Fifteen-year-old Walter swings between being antisocial and sharing far too many insights into “one hit wonder” bands. He has Asperger’s syndrome. One of the few people who can reach him turns out to be Randy.
“Joyful Noise” was written and directed by Todd Graff, the maker of the musically inclined “Camp” and “Bandslam.” He’s an advocate for the universal tug of music. He also makes an argument that, for many, there’s a solace and uplift to be found on any given Sunday once the Divinity Church choir says “amen” and begins swaying and belting.
As for the music? Essays could be (and have been) written about the transit of gospel onto the pop airwaves — via Aretha, Whitney Houston, Al Green, Beyoncé even. What’s mildly newer is the repurposing of R&B, rock and pop for the pew-dwelling set. “Joyful Noise” has a little Beatles, a little Sly and the Family Stone. Olivia’s and the choir’s rendition of “Man in the Mirror” gives the Michael Jackson hit a newly reflective soul.
Still, the pop parade may make a few feel like Vi Rose: if not old, at least old school. Give me some of that old-time religious music — some ecstatic version of it. For that, gospel maverick Kirk Franklin arrives kicking it. But it’s Southern gospel star Karen Peck and the Mighty High Choir that deliver a sacred-secular high note.
Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com
