Joyful Noise (2012) User Reviews

Worth Seeing

[bwayluver · 6/10 · 14 January 2012]

I originally had no interest in seeing it. The reviews were bad, the trailer looked just 'ok'. But a friend of mine wanted to see it and asked me to come along. Why not?

I'm glad I went. It was very enjoyable. It's not a masterpiece, but is a light hearted feel good movie featuring some very talented singers. Although the plot was relatively simple, it worked well and was easy to follow. The relationship with Queen Latifah's character and her family was touching and emotional. I found myself tapping my feet to the music and wiping away tears at the end.

So when I looked it up on IMDb and saw a 3.4, I was quite confused. I thought it would be in the 6,7 range. I don't understand.

If your looking for a fun enjoyable movie, see this. Ignore the rating and reviews. Guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face.

It's Contrived, but Feels Good All the Same

[wcameronmartin · 7/10 · 30 December 2012]

My review of the Joyful Noise Movie: Every single solitary, gimmicky, tired, old, wore-out, overdone movie cliché that's ever been used in any contrived, family-targeted movie in the history of cinema... and yet, the music was solid, the characters given some genuinely funny material to work with, and therefore there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes of your life. It was fantastic to hear new material from one of my favorite vocalists and lyricists, Dolly Parton... but it was worth the ticket price alone, to see Dolly "poppin' and lockin' for Jesus!"

...and I am personally convinced, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that Dolly Parton was manufactured by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

~ <3

Great Film to combat all the doom and gloom at present in the world.

[keepitreal60 · 7/10 · 21 March 2020]

Excellent Gospel music, and top shelf humor. A script of depth too, touching on the human condition and the pitfalls of being young, nice to see a film where the main characters are talented woman.

Blehhhh

[cmatsumoto702 · 1/10 · 16 January 2012]

This movie inspired me to create an IMDb account just to review it. I am so angry that a movie that should have been a sure-fire hit with Dolly, Queen, and (surprise! Kris Kristofferson in his first singing role in decades) was such an abominable dud. Not any of the actors fault, just poor directing and editing. I don't think the director understands how to tell a story. Instead of clearly defining the plot, developing characters, and building up a climax, there is just a whole lotta "stuff" going on that contributes pretty much nothing to the central plot. I'm not even sure what the plot is! Was it: a. The choir encounters several challenges to win a contest, b. Queen Latifah needs to spend time with her daughter and help her mentally challenged son c. Dolly and Queen need to get along, d. the supporting actress needs to stop sleeping with Asian men, e. Dolly needs to get over her dead husband and help her quasi-troubled runaway grandson, f. Grandson and Queens daughter need to get jiggy wit Jesus? Everything is so cheezily and sloppily thrown together in this movie, it doesn't really make sense. And why, Why do all the characters speak in stale platitudes??!!

Fun, dramatic and some great singing

[uberdonkey6 · 7/10 · 26 May 2019]

Ok, so my biases out the way: I'm not into Christian films per se, but I love Queen Latifah in most of her films. She doesn't fail to disappoint, being charismatic and larger than life whilst still being humble. Her daughter in the film has a great voice (is a singer herself in real life) with a Michael Jackson cover that brought tears to my eyes.

The love interest aspect is fun and sweet, there's a sub plot about love and loss, and just some great modern Christian singing and performance. I'm sure Christians will get more out of this, but anyone will feel sympathetic for this group of personalities on their musical journey.

This film really stuck in my head, and left me with a great positive vibe. It was well filmed and executed. Look - it's no subtle or complex bit of social commentary or story telling, but yet it's not the bland rubbish like Mama Mia. One of those films which I can watch again and again, and that's very rare for me.

A Feel Good Movie!!

[simplyjanise · 8/10 · 15 January 2012]

I liked the movie a lot. I've always loved both Dolly Pardon and Queen Latifah. I don't know who thought to put those two together but for my money, it worked. Yes, Dolly has had a lot of work done. SO WHAT? She's a sweetheart and still feisty! The plot has some definite misses, it was predictable and cheesy at times, but it was fun! Yes it was a bit of a "Sister Act 2" combined with "Footloose" rip off but again I say: SO WHAT?? I enjoyed the movie. Is it going to win an academy award? Nope. But it was nice way to spend an afternoon. It had me dancing in my seat and left me feeling good. And that's exactly what I wanted it to do. We have a winner!!

good moments

[Patmarie · 5/10 · 11 June 2012]

Joyful Noise did have a some good moments, and tried to give a positive message. Felt a lot like a Disney Channel movie and there were things that seemed disjointed or just didn't make sense.

For example, almost nothing is said between Latifah's character and her daughter, when she forbids the girl to see her boyfriend, later, they have long blowup scene when the daughter simply wants to leave their hotel room because her mother is snoring. The mother, brother and others in town are frightened and worried for a long time - the daughter has disappeared and no one has any idea where she is. Her boyfriend had just taken her several hours away to see her father at his military base. Obviously the minute the father saw her he'd have called the mother, what, no one has cell phones? And the food fight between the two leads in a restaurant, extremely stupid.

Kids who are Disney Channel/High School Musical fans would like it, so something parents and kids could watch together, and adults will enjoy the music much more, it was very enjoyable. My favorite part was Queen Latifah singing "Fix Me Jesus.", I hadn't been familiar with this old spiritual, and it really touched me.

I love Dolly Parton, musically and in films like Steel Magnolias. Sadly, she's had so much 'work' done it was hard to look at her. Still like her, though, and other characters were likable, so...not too bad, not afraid to use spiritual music and had some good things to say.

An old-fashioned "feel-good" movie - and there's nothing wrong with that!

[scooterberwyn · 8/10 · 26 January 2012]

I went with friends to see JOYFUL NOISE, the film starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. What can I say about it?

Predictable? Yep.

Formulaic? For the most part.

Manipulative? Definitely! One particular segment had me sobbing in my seat.

But the music rocked. The film also had unexpected flashes of humor that were laugh-out-loud funny. Though it wasn't a masterpiece (for one thing, editing was sloppy in places), I enjoyed it and thought it was well worth seeing.

Joyful Silence

[Marc_Action · 2/10 · 6 January 2013]

Horrible, horrible, horrible!!! Where to begin? It didn't take me even 5 minutes of viewing this dreadful film to see how bad it is. The acting is beyond bad, the dialog is elementary, the plot is hardly believable, and worst of all, for a movie about a gospel choir, it should be a sin for there to be such obvious lip-syncing going on during some of the singing scenes.

Dolly Parton as G.G. Sparrow and Queen Latifah as V. Rose Hill, two prominent, vocal (literally) members of a church choir, battle it out to see who's musical style will win out. Sparrow wants a contemporary sound and V. Rose Hill favors the more traditional gospel style. Of course, all parties involved will come together just in time to save the choir during the choir competition near the end. Yea right - in what alternate universe does this occur? Even their names tells you how utterly ridiculous this story is.

Also unbelievable is the subplot about love between Olivia, V. Rose's daughter and Randy, Sparrow's grandson, played by Keke Palmer and Jeremy Jordan, respectively. Jordan and Palmer have negative (-)100% chemistry. Zip-O!!!! And the dialogue and interaction between these two are flat. Oh, and if you've never heard of these two,don't worry. You're not alone. Many viewers haven't. To her credit,Keke Palmer has a decent resume of work as an actress, and definitely was not as stiff as Jeremy Jordan, but she wasn't much better.

Courtney B. Vance has a supporting role as the pastor of the church where the choir is based. He is clearly making the best of a terrible script. Dolly Parton also puts in a commendable performance, with her quirky but Southernly charm. One of the more touching parts of this sterile film is Dolly Parton's performance of "From Here to the Moon and Back". Otherwise, "Joyful Noise" runs like a 118-minute rip off of the Sister Act films, except Latifah's no Whoopi Goldberg and Keke Palmer's no Lauryn Hill.

Cliché yet pretty fun and entertaining

[davispittman · 7/10 · 24 October 2017]

It is true that Joyful Noise is a cliché film, some people may call it contrived or even cheesy, maybe there's some amount of truth in those claims, but it certainly doesn't change the fact that it is still entertaining and very fun to watch. It centers around a southern church choir and them competing in a big competition between gospel choirs. All the characters fit into the movie in an important way. Queen Latifah's character has many complexities to her, she is probably the heaviest character in the whole movie. Dolly Parton plays an older widow who is a big financial supporter of the church. The younger characters, Randy and Olivia (Keke Palmer) are pretty well put together, not nearly as heavy as Parton or Latifah, but still fairly good, and they accomplished what they needed to accomplish in the movie. The writing is what I really like because sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's sad and emotional, and then other times it is very uplifting and positive. I think there's a good mixture and range. I loved the music, the hip/new gospel performances that they put on, especially in the end, is very fun and it's almost impossible not to sing along. Dolly Partons to the moon and back with her deceased husband was a great thing to have in there too, because it added to the Movies heart and the overall feeling. Overall joyful noise is an entertaining somewhat light film that almost anyone can enjoy. And it's not overly religious or preachy either. 7/10.

At Least It Has Some Good Music

[sddavis63 · 2/10 · 4 May 2012]

Some of the music contained in "Joyful Noise" is pretty good. Which is a good thing. Otherwise there wouldn't be much - actually, there really wouldn't be anything - to make this movie worth watching.

Revolving around a church choir from small town Georgia looking to win the national "Joyful Noise" competition in Los Angeles and having to overcome a lot of obstacles to do it, the story - to be blunt - is shallow and predictable. There are tensions within the choir (mostly represented by the tensions between the two lead characters Vi Rose and Gi Gi (Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton) who simply don't like each other. As the movie opens, Gi Gi's husband (played very briefly by Kris Kristoffersson) is the choir master, but he has a heart attack during a performance and dies. Gi Gi wants to take over from him, but the church pastor chooses Vi Rose. Add to that a romance between Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Randy (Jeremy Jordan) - Vi Rose's daughter and Gi Gi's grandson, and assorted other issues that arise, and what you have left is one muddled plot.

For a movie that revolved around a church choir, the religious content here seemed very forced and artificial to me, as if those who wrote it just figured they had to throw "God," "Lord," "Jesus" and "Hallelujah" in every five minutes just to make the point that it's about a CHURCH choir. In short, there was very little to this that would cause me to recommend it. It reminded me a lot of a movie made a few years ago called "The Fighting Temptations," which had a very similar plot and was equally bad. Let's be honest. There's really only been one decent movie made about a church choir - and that was "Sister Act." This one has a few good and entertaining musical pieces, but is totally lacking in story. (2/10)

Not nearly so bad as some of the reviews might lead you to believe

[mrsluggy2001 · 8/10 · 15 January 2012]

Yes, the script was mighty thin in places and tried to tackle way too many subjects in too short a period of time (the poor economy, marriage struggles, death, teenage angst/rebellion, teenage love, etc., etc.), but despite its flaws this movie provided some fine musical entertainment, and pretty much delivered on its goal of being an uplifting movie-going experience.

I attended this movie with my senior citizen mom and my tween daughter, and all of us found some things to enjoy about this flick. There were some laughs, some moving plot points, some great musical numbers, and some fine performances, particularly on the part of the younger cast members. Some days you are just looking for some softball, "feel good" entertainment rather than a darker or more weighty film. This movie fits the bill if you're in the mood for some harmless, mostly mindless, fluffy entertainment.

Cute, but corny

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 4 November 2020]

It's no understatement to say Joyful Noise would be nothing without Queen Latifah. I know I'm partial to her anyway, but she brings a level of class and actual acting to the film that no one else does. In this ridiculously written, cheesy, Hallmark-esque comedy, she manages to get tears in her eyes when she looks at her Asberger's affected son. When she argues with Keke Palmer, her attitude-inflicted daughter, she has a great level of depth that only a mother can truly appreciate.

The plot of Joyful Noise is very silly: Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton butt heads as to the direction of their choir song selection and style when they enter a national singing competition. No, I didn't want to watch it either. The trailer featured all the one-liners, cat-fights, and humor, but none of the sadder, sweeter moments. I missed it in the theaters, but I broke down and rented it because I love Queen Latifah so much.

In a cute cameo, Kris Kristofferson plays Dolly's recently deceased husband, and they share a duet. Since he was the previous choir director, Dolly naturally assumes she'll be chosen as his successor. But her clash with the more modern Queenie extends past working hours; her grandson starts flirting around with Queenie's daughter. Will they ever get along? And will they win the competition?

As wonderful as Queen is with her tears and her heartfelt emotional outbursts, this really isn't the best movie out there. It has its moments, but the overall theme is a bit corny. Rent Last Holiday, one of the best modern feel-good movies out there, if this one left you wanting more.

Worth checking out!

[nybroadus · 9/10 · 13 January 2012]

I enjoyed this movie with my 12 year old son and 17 year old daughter. The gospel music and contemporary pop made it appealing to all ages. The movie was funny and not too heavy but delivered a good wholesome message. Dolly has been a long time favorite of mine and I had almost forgotten how funny she can be. The entire family could take away a message of hope from Joyful Noise. Who knew Queen Latifia could sing so beautifully? This is an all star cast of talented young people with a witty twist and a great upbeat mood from start to finish.

I would suggest seeing this movie with someone who could use a good laugh!

Joyful Noise Is A Joy For The Ears

[patsworld · 7/10 · 19 January 2012]

Being no fan of plastic surgery, and a big admirer of people who wear their age naturally with all the beauty and grace given them, it must be said that Dolly Parton simply looks like a goofy caricature of her former self. But dang, that voice is still there! The girl can sing....as can everyone else in this movie full of foot-tapping, you-just-want-to-clap gospel-style music. A film about a church full of people brimming over with the ability to sing a rousing song, and a reason to sing it, this is the first movie I've seen in some time where I walked out thinking, "I have to get the sound track from this picture!" Not saying there wasn't a few slow spots along the way, for the most part this was a fine feel-good show. How refreshing not to be sujected to creatures, crashes, monsters or mayhem. If you like a movie with a positive attitude and if you like music that sets you bopping about in your seat, you're going to like this one. I did.

Wince-Inducing. Not believable, not well-done, not for me!

[sdiamond3208 · 1/10 · 13 January 2012]

Here goes - a partial review, because I walked out on this movie after 40 of the most painful minutes in recent movie watching history. Let's see, I winced when I first saw Dolly. I was a big fan, but not anymore. With all of her plastic surgery there was no emotion on her face, when she was singing or even when her movie husband died. More big winces soon followed from the stereotypical plot to the stereotypical characters. I'd also like to know how many small towns in Georgia enjoy the diversity in their church congregations as Hollywood foisted upon us in Joyful Noise.

Noteworthy is Dolly's cinched choir robe and how poorly the script included reference to it. Come on, take one for the team and allow yourself to dress in character. I'm just sayin... It was a big disappointment for a spiritual music lover like me.

Upbeat, noisy, feel-good, colourful

[anthonyehler · 7/10 · 26 May 2014]

Joyful Noise is one of those movies you should dismiss as feel-good corn, but because of the great music and endearing performances of the leads you end up enjoying.

Vi-Rose (Queen Latifah) becomes the new leader of a gospel choir when GG's (Dolly Parton) husband dies. The rivalry between the two women forms the main storyline. Vi's daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer) falls in love with GG's wayward grandson Randy (Jeremy Jordan.) All of them are involved in the choir and must work together if they are to win a major choral competition and bolster the morale of their small town, a community hit by the economic meltdown.

Sound predictable? It is. But it's also a lot of fun. Queen Latifah is authentic and believable as a single mother trying to hold it together. Parton delivers some killer lines ("God didn't make plastic surgeons so they could starve"). Palmer gives a resonant performance of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, and Jordan is likable, handsome and has a strong voice.

Awful movie all around.

[b-c-p-o-num1 · 1/10 · 22 January 2012]

Worst movie I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing in my entire life. I saw this at a drive in theater that was $5 for two movies- and i would have rather spent the $2.50 on some soda and chips. Completely terrible. The script was poorly written, the acting was painful, the story was unbelievable, unrealistic, and weak. It barely developed anything, I became bored and frankly disgusted by its unrealistic and sad portrayal of the Christian church and what it is like. Before the end of the movie i was barely paying attention and was begging for it to end. It dragged on and on. If you are looking for a movie to make fun off, this is perfect. You'll be "Booing" before its even over.

great singing and blah story

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 17 September 2015]

In small town Georgia, Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) and G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton) don't really get along. When the choir director G.G.'s husband dies unexpectedly, Vi takes over with the support of Pastor Dale (Courtney B. Vance). Vi is raising her kids Olivia (Keke Palmer) and Walter with Asperger while her husband returns to the military. G.G.'s rebellious grandson Randy Garrity (Jeremy Jordan) comes to town and falls for Olivia. The local choir struggles to find their sound to win the Joyful Noise Competition.

The singing is great and I love Keke Palmer's voice. The actors are all very good but the story lacks cohesion. This is a slice of Christian Mingle, a dash of awkward comedy and a handful of melodrama. I like all the actors and Keke Palmer is adorable but the story keeps hitting the wrong notes. The characters go off on weird tangents. This is a great musical that gets broken up by the need for a story.

Joyful Noise

[fraun · 3/10 · 14 June 2012]

I was disappointed. I love Dolly! And I'm a huge fan of Kris Kristofferson and Queen Latifah, but I am amazed that Kirk Franklin would have anything to do with this movie. It was a prime example of churches behaving humanistic-ally, filled with Christians behaving like the rest of the world...using bad language, dis-respecting authority,using the Lord's name in vain, lying, and having one-night stands. Brings to mind the the answer I saw recently from a sidewalk interview clip, where the interviewer asked a passersby if they knew any Christians, and they said yes, but the ones they knew behave like everybody else. The portrayal of Christians in this movie just helps keep that image going......Shame on y'all!

Great! A must see for Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah fans!

[msosment · 9/10 · 14 January 2012]

Storyline was a bit familiar, but it is presented in a new, fresh way. There is a strong main storyline and other small background stories which link back to it. The stories are touching and show great sensitivity. Very well played. Even though it takes place in the south, there is a rich diversity in the movie. It paints a lovely picture of the new south. Dolly Parton is charming as always. Queen Latifah is perfect in this role. They play off each other beautifully. Kiki Palmer and Jeremy Jordan are fantastic and fresh. The singing and choreography are top notch. Constant flowing entertainment. Never a dull moment. Well worth my time and money.

Why the hate on a lovely film?

[martylee13045burlsink342 · 7/10 · 11 May 2012]

Critics and bigoted heartless snobs be damned ("I made a face at the trailer"...go ahead and deny yourself a delightful film ...it is YOUR loss!).

First off ...I am not a fan of holy roller religious-y movies...have no affiliation...and no deep convictions at all. I came to this film hoping for some nice music and a chance to see two very talented actresses who have been ill used by film in the past...and was expecting very little due to the snide reaction this film received when it was dumped in January.

To say I was very surprised by the films beauty, heart, humanity, and yes, soul is putting it mildly.

Latifah and Dolly are sensational...the numbers are brilliant and beautifully executed...the script is full of unexpected depth and nuance....

To my eyes this is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable films of the year...I hope a few open minded people give it a chance on disc!

Great mix of music and comedy.

[chipzehnder · 9/10 · 8 January 2012]

an awesome mix of comedy and music it has a very glee feel to it and Dolly is in top form as is Queen Latifah though they are over shadowed at times by the younger stars. Touching at times and funny too! Jeremy Jordan is best known for the musical Newsies and he adds an enhance essence to the movie. yes at times there is corn in the comedy but you have to expect that with Dolly. This is a great family film if i was rating this as a family film it would get a 10+. The musical numbers are awesome with Kirk Franklin in the cast who could go wrong? Keke Palmer is just awesome as Latifahs daughter. And Jeremy Jordan is a gem as Dollys Grandson "Randy" Take your family or your girlfriend a great time will be had by all!!

Critically passable, thoroughly enjoyable

[penwah2 · 6/10 · 26 January 2012]

If you are looking for impeccable filmmaking, keep going. This piece is not about great film, script, editing or direction, but about fun characters, very decent acting, and vibrant music that will have you dancing along in your seat. It's a great venue for Dolly Parton's sweet self, which I fell in love with in this film for the umpteenth time in my life (despite awful plastic surgery that unfortunately has left her looking too much like Joan Rivers) and Queen Latifah's spiciness. The vocals were a treat, the southern platitudes ("She'll be mad enough to lay square eggs") are cute, and the characters for the most part are rich. Angela Grovey's facial expressions stopped the show; hope to see her in more film. Nice to see Jesse L. Martin though his character was poorly written. Keke Palmer's and Jeremy Jordan's voices are pure ear candy; I'll look forward to more from both of them. Not being a Christian I was not as spiritually uplifted as the film intended me to be but it was a feel-good, high energy experience all the same. I think it's a great entertainment film that you can enjoy with adults or kids.

Glee The God Awful Episode

[bebins · 1/10 · 15 April 2012]

Dolly Parton (in her first major film role in 20 years) and Queen Latifah star in this sincere, but not exactly joyful. A movie about redemption, forgiveness and country swagger. Similar to a Lifetime movie. It plays out like a really bad episode of Glee. A country singer and a hip-hop diva walk into a church. No, this isn't the setup for joke, it's Joyful Noise, the feel-good movie starring Dolly Parton (in her first major film role in 20 years) and Queen Latifah. My advice wait till it comes out to rent & don't waste your money,If you want classic Dolly watch you tube because this falls flatter than a pancake, The best thing about this movie was the credit song.