Gwyneth sings! (but don't let that put you off) (Duets (DVD))

Member Name: moronboy

Product:	Duets (DVD)
Date:	21/11/00 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of good jokes

Disadvantages: Generally insubstantial

If, like me, you find Gwyneth Paltrow all but unwatchable, her presence in 'Duets', a smart little comedy about Karaoke may put you off. But fear not, this is an ensemble movie and Paltrow can only pollute one segment. Her dreadfully smug rendition of the dismal MOR track 'Bette Davies Eyes' is enough to make you hurl, but just close your ears and it passes.

Three couples head for a big money Karaoke contest: Paltrow and Huey Lewis, a Karaoke hustler and his long lost daughter; Andre Braugher and Paul Giamatti, an escaped killer and a businessman having a nervous breakdown; and Maria Bello and Scott Speedman, a ruthless singer and her driver, a bleeding heart cabbie who was nearly a priest. There are a lot of predictable adventures, and Paltrow is wholly tiresome, but Lewis' world-weary charm shines through, while Bello has great fun as the woman who works her way across America paying for everything by offering oral sex.

The best pairing though are Braugher and Giamatti - Braugher underplays the tragic killer perfectly to complement the bug-eyed Giamatti's marvellously comic breakdown. Their rendition of 'Try a Little Tenderness' blasts the efforts of Bello and Paltrow from the screen, and is a thing of rare beauty. Moreover, Giamatti's rants against the lies of America's consumer culture are remarkably astute.

The ending is pat and Paltrow's Dad Bruce directs with little more ambition than to keep the boom mike out of shot, but it's a likeable film nonetheless.

Summary: