Joyful Noise

A small town church choir struggles to make ends meet and win gospel choir competitions. They have the talent but just can’t seem to put it all together. When young, talented Randy shows up, he introduces a little life into the music and a lot of interpersonal drama into the choir. Old style collides with new style as they head into one last competition hoping for victory.

ClearPlay In Action!

I was surprised when I found out this film was rated PG–13 as I thought it would be a family film. ClearPlay trims some sensuality, an implied sex scene, and more language than I would have expected from a film of this nature. Luckily, ClearPlay makes the movie what I think it should have been in the first place.

Does Joyful Noise Hit All the Right Notes?…

The music is the best part about this film, though most of the “gospel” songs seemed like contemporary pop songs reworked and reworded to seem like gospel songs (I’m no expert here). Other than that, the cheese level is in the red, the acting ranges from awkward to awful, and there are a number of unnecessary and underdeveloped subplots. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to add in the subplot that led to the implied sex scene was out of their mind for a film of this nature and the intended audience. In short, listen to the soundtrack or beg ClearPlay to make a version of the filter that just shows the musical performances.

Brian Fuller — ClearPlay Man in the Mirror

Rated R for some violence; 93 min; Directed by Steven Soderbergh