Film review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

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celebrities, comedy, end of the world, entertainment, Film Review, Keira Knightly, midlife crises, reviews, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Steve Carell

Meteor Matilda is approaching earth fast and in 21 days the world will end.  Of course this means that every day is now casual Friday at work, you can have sex with random partners, not having to worry about any consequences and heroin is the latest party gift.

But while everyone around him has succumb to debauchery, drugs and random looting Dodge (Steve Carell) is stuck in his midlife-crises thinking of all the women who got a way, including his wife. Always playing it safe he sells insurance for a living, even the Armageddon package, and while he keeps trying to fire his cleaning lady he can’t help but wonder where everything went so wrong.

His neighbour Penny (a healthy looking Keira Knightly) is his opposite, a free spirit with a love for vinyl and the wrong kind of men. Always five minutes behind everyone else she has missed all the planes out of the US and can’t help but be upset by missing out on spending her last days with her family. When she discovers that it is her fault that Dodge didn’t get a letter from Olivia, the love of his life, the unlikely pair partners up to try and help each other.  With the agreement that she won’t kill him if he doesn’t rape her the two of them and Sorry the dog go on one last adventure, all bundled up in a tiny blue smart car.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is not your typical rom-com, although it is very funny in parts and tender and romantic in others, but refreshingly the ending is not your normal Hollywood scenario. The main let down in this film is that there is no chemistry between Knightly and Carell and while you could understand why someone like Dodge would fall for Penny, the reverse is not believable. Knightly is good and looks better with a bit more weight on her but Carell only has two facial expressions and none of them ever suit the situation.

But if you are looking for a funny and at times endearing film to while away a few hours on a grey and wet afternoon, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a good, enjoyable choice.

Joyful Noise

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celebrities, Dolly Parton, entertainment, Film Review, film reviews, gospel choir, Jeremy Jordan, joyful noise, Keke Palmer, Kris Kristofferson, movies, music, Queen Latifah

Riding on the coattails of the TV series Glee Joyful Noise is the story of a small town gospel choir competing to be the best in their field.  With Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton in the lead, great music, strong voices and a mix of beautiful and quirky young singers you’d think that Joyful Noise has the perfect combination to be a fun-filled film. But a bit like Dolly Parton’s wardrobe it only ends up being a little bit tacky and gaudy and sadly lacks the charm that Dolly has to make it work.

The story is simple; when the choirmaster Bernard Sparrow (Kris Kristofferson) dies Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance) decides to name Vi Rose Hill (Latifah) as his successor, sidelining Sparrow’s widow GG (Parton) in the process.  Loyalties are split but while the two main characters try to work it out a Romeo and Juliet scenario develops between GG’s grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan) and Vi Rose’s daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer).

As the story plods along the choir practises to compete in the final sing-off concert, Parton and Latifah fight, sing and dislike each other, Jordan and Palmer make-out, sing and rebel against the rules. But nothing feels real; the scenes are often over-acted and the dialogue is dull, self-deprecating and always unrealistic.

The last big number comes as a surprise when suddenly bit-players have interesting solos but have otherwise only feature a few minutes throughout the film. But then this fits into the messy stitching that holds the plot together.

Another surprise is the fact that although she is forever present on our screens and in our ears it has taken Dolly Parton twenty years to return to the big screen in a lead role, why she chose GG in Joyful Noise is anyone’s guess.

All in all Joyful Noise is filled with good songs, bad lip-synching, a tired love story and many dull moments. The only thing that save’s this film from being a total fiasco are the two young rising stars Jordan and Palmer and the two real live divas Latifah and Parton.

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