Sing (C+ or 2/4 stars)
'Sing' (directed by Christophe Lourdelet & Garth Jennings) will slay at the box office this holiday season. Despite it's 105 minute running time {long for an animated flick}, kids will love it; as may their parents. It's bright, bubbly, & chock full of 80+ well-known songs. My Facebook feed is littered with parents exclaiming how great the movie is & how much the family loved it. To that I say: good for them! Despite a few fun moments & a talented voice cast, I found this movie to be fairly dull. Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) is a koala whose family has long been in show business, & his love of that stems from having watched his sheep pal Eddie Noodleman's (voiced by John C. Reilly) then young grandmother, Nana Noodleman (voiced by funny Jennifer Saunders), perform on stage. Having inherited his dad's beautiful old theater but seeing attendance dwindle over the yrs. - and the bank threatening foreclosure - Buster wants to spice things up & comes up with the idea of holding an American Idol-like singing competition with the prize being $1,000 for the winner.
But his elderly assistant, Ms. Crawley (voiced by co-director, Garth Jennings), accidentally sets that amount at $100,000, which draws attention to singers of all sorts. There's Rosita (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), a pig who has been raising her 25 piglets & hasn't had the time to be a singer. Punk-rocker porcupine Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) enters with her boyfriend, Lance, but eventually winds up going solo. Mike (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is a crooning mouse who makes ends meet by playing his sax on the streets for tips, but he's got a large ego & a quick temper to boot. Meena (voiced by Tori Kelly - an actual American Idol reject-turned-pop singer) is a shy elephant who can sing her trunk off, but crippling stage fright keeps her working backstage. And gorilla Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton) longs to be a singer, but his father, Big Daddy, wants him to be the getaway driver for his criminal gang. As they & others audition, Buster keeps that $100,000 typo secret from the contestants due to the contest drawing lots of attention. Musical numbers pop-up throughout.
Ok, I'll try to be as nice to 'Sing' as I can. Featuring appealing covers of hit songs (classical-to oldies-to today's contemporary hits} & an all-star cast, this 'cute' animated musical comedy capitalizes on the craze for talking-animal adventures (like the superior Zootopia) & talent competitions {I DO love The Voice}. This film doesn't have the substance of Inside Out or the important messages of this yr.'s Zootopia, but, like Trolls, it's very simple, with catchy music, some thrills, & some laughs that WILL afford little kids a good time. The musical numbers are - by far - the best part of the movie, even though those disappointed me, too. Best offerings were the piggy duet of “Shake It Off” (by Witherspoon & Nick Kroll as a German boar named Gunter), a show-stopping “Hallelujah” (by Tori Kelly), and both “Stay with Me” & a smooth “I'm Still Standing” (both belted by a surprising Taron Egerton).
See, the music is what makes 'Sing' worth the price of admission, because, story & theme-wise (bravery, follow your dreams, but mixed messages about lying & motherhood), this isn't the greatest. For instance, the Rosita does everyyyything for her 25 piglets, but her burnt-out husband barely cares. And then there's poor Johnny the Gorilla, who desperately wants his criminal father's approval -- kinda weird to have his father be a bank robber in an animated flick. Overall, I just had a very 'mehh' reaction to this. Sure, hearing music from Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen, Paul Anka, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, and on & on is cool. Kids will enjoy the various sights, sounds, & familiar tunes. I'm not sure how many adults will get the same joyful experience. With a few exceptions, I don't even think the musical numbers were that exceptional. The plot is bare bones, subplots needed more oomph, & I craved for more character interaction. If you wanna see a great movie featuring exceptional songs/singing & a few funny animal sidekicks, check out Moana instead.
But his elderly assistant, Ms. Crawley (voiced by co-director, Garth Jennings), accidentally sets that amount at $100,000, which draws attention to singers of all sorts. There's Rosita (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), a pig who has been raising her 25 piglets & hasn't had the time to be a singer. Punk-rocker porcupine Ash (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) enters with her boyfriend, Lance, but eventually winds up going solo. Mike (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) is a crooning mouse who makes ends meet by playing his sax on the streets for tips, but he's got a large ego & a quick temper to boot. Meena (voiced by Tori Kelly - an actual American Idol reject-turned-pop singer) is a shy elephant who can sing her trunk off, but crippling stage fright keeps her working backstage. And gorilla Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton) longs to be a singer, but his father, Big Daddy, wants him to be the getaway driver for his criminal gang. As they & others audition, Buster keeps that $100,000 typo secret from the contestants due to the contest drawing lots of attention. Musical numbers pop-up throughout.
Ok, I'll try to be as nice to 'Sing' as I can. Featuring appealing covers of hit songs (classical-to oldies-to today's contemporary hits} & an all-star cast, this 'cute' animated musical comedy capitalizes on the craze for talking-animal adventures (like the superior Zootopia) & talent competitions {I DO love The Voice}. This film doesn't have the substance of Inside Out or the important messages of this yr.'s Zootopia, but, like Trolls, it's very simple, with catchy music, some thrills, & some laughs that WILL afford little kids a good time. The musical numbers are - by far - the best part of the movie, even though those disappointed me, too. Best offerings were the piggy duet of “Shake It Off” (by Witherspoon & Nick Kroll as a German boar named Gunter), a show-stopping “Hallelujah” (by Tori Kelly), and both “Stay with Me” & a smooth “I'm Still Standing” (both belted by a surprising Taron Egerton).
See, the music is what makes 'Sing' worth the price of admission, because, story & theme-wise (bravery, follow your dreams, but mixed messages about lying & motherhood), this isn't the greatest. For instance, the Rosita does everyyyything for her 25 piglets, but her burnt-out husband barely cares. And then there's poor Johnny the Gorilla, who desperately wants his criminal father's approval -- kinda weird to have his father be a bank robber in an animated flick. Overall, I just had a very 'mehh' reaction to this. Sure, hearing music from Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Leonard Cohen, Paul Anka, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, and on & on is cool. Kids will enjoy the various sights, sounds, & familiar tunes. I'm not sure how many adults will get the same joyful experience. With a few exceptions, I don't even think the musical numbers were that exceptional. The plot is bare bones, subplots needed more oomph, & I craved for more character interaction. If you wanna see a great movie featuring exceptional songs/singing & a few funny animal sidekicks, check out Moana instead.