dwahahn
Watchable, but OK to watch once and forget about. While the acting was decent, the premise was just not believable or worth caring about. Would you really fly across the country to attend/perform at the wedding of a man you loathe? The stock 'jerky right wing guy' character's "life-changing event" was so out of left field and then seemingly an afterthought :10 later. I can't figure out to whom this story was supposed to appeal. Too man-centric to appeal to women, too touchy-feeley whiny to appeal to most men. My only guess is "married closeted gay men," a very small demographic, which could go towards explaining the lack of commercial success. Molly Shannon was fun, the cast were decent eye candy, and the singing, though presumably overdubbed, was excellent. Fellas, watch it w/ your female significant-other to appease her after 3 or 4 nights of heavy doses of sports on the tube.
Art Carnage
Rips off so many other, better movies, it's hard to know where to begin. But I guess "Return of the Secaucus 7" is as good a place as any. And did they REALLY think they could steal the famous Girl On The Ferry monologue from "Citizen Kane", and think no one would notice? There are comedic rants that just fall flat, such as a Seinfeld-influenced "what's up with those 4-way stops?" bit, that's yelled at full volume, and lacks any actual humor. A grown man who can't negotiate an intersection? Absurd. But not in a funny way.The rest is just tedious, not-actually-witty witty repartee.Avoid this. See "Secaucus 7". Or "Citizen Kane". Or pretty much anything else.
dottmartin
This past week in Aspen, Co. I happened to select "Shut Up and Sing" as one of my Independent film choices at the HBO Comedy Festival. I have been attending the comedy festival for the past five years and I can absolutely say this is the best movie that I have seen that has been presented at the festival. "Shut Up and Sing" also received the "Audience Award" for best movie.I loved the humor , the characters were full and believable and very well acted. "Shut Up and Sing" reminded me of "The Big Chill". Only funnier and more current. The music was wonderful as well. The selection of songs that the group sang were good and fit in well with the overall theme. Their voices were well matched, strong and lively. I am still humming the opening song which is stuck in my head.I never see a movie twice, maybe that's just being part of the Baby Boom generation, never enough time. But I did see "Shut Up And Sing" twice. (I had a Best Audience award ticket). The movie was as enjoyable the second time as the first. People were leaving the theater singing and with big smiles on their faces.I was so excited about this film that I have told all my friends how good this movie is and we are all awaiting the finished product!
la_storyteller
A very impressive, intelligent comedy. I love this movie! It's funny, emotional, witty, clever, and it's one of the best comedies I've seen in a long time. I laughed a ton, cried some, and found myself being in the story with the characters. What a great script and solid story! The writing is truly fantastic, the direction superb, and I found myself thinking about the movie days later, and even laughing out loud at the jokes I couldn't get out of my head. After seeing so many dumb comedies in the past, it was a nice change of pace to see a smart movie written by someone who obviously treats his audience like intelligent, mature, cerebral adults.I can't wait for a wide release of this film so I can go and see it again!
AD
