Directed by: Todd Graff
Starring: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Warner Home Video
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Running Time: 118 minutes
Our Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I must confess, I do have a sweet spot for Dolly Parton. Queen Latifah is really hit or miss for me, mostly miss. It is crazy to believe that both of these actresses are in fact Oscar® nominees. Unfortunately the film runs way to long at 118 minutes. The only saving grave for this film is the music. The productions are fun and quite large but not even for keep my interest for the rest of the movie. I feel that this would have been a lot better running at 90 minutes. Though fans of Latifah and Parton should enjoy this musical comedy.
The Blu-ray presentation looks great with its 1080p transfer and aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Since the film is all about music the audio is very important and doesn’t disappoint with its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Besides the Blu-ray, this combo pack also comes with a DVD disc of the film, as well as an UltraViolet Digital Copy. The special features though are well like the film. There is a brief “Spotlight on a Song” for Dolly Parton’s “From Here to the Moon”. Then there are three also brief behind-the-scenes featurettes: “Inspiration of Joyful Noise”, “Make Some Noise” and “Leading Ladies”. Lastly, there are few extended songs.
Oscar® nominees Queen Latifah (“Chicago,” “Hairspray”) and Dolly Parton 
(“Transamerica,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Nine to Five”) star in Alcon Entertainment’s and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Joyful Noise,” a funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal. The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old. Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G.’s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose’s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks between the two teenagers are causing even more heat between G.G. and Vi Rose. If these two strong-willed women can overcome their differences and find a common voice, they–and their choir–may make the most joyful noise of all.
Buy It 5/1/12 on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with UltraViolet Digital Copy or Download to Own http://bit.ly/xEFnzy
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