While films like Heats Beat Loud don't really speak to me in any meaningful way, I don't mind them if they're well done. Hearts Beat Loud is one of those films. I found it watchable and charming enough, but do note that it's quite possible that at least part of the story might offend religious and/or bigoted types. Recommended.

"Hearts Bead Loud" (2018 release; 91 min.) brings the story of Frank Fisher and his daughter Sam. As the movie opens, we see Frank in his Red Hook Records store in Brooklyn, but there is hardly any foot traffic. Meanwhile Sam is in summer school to prep for her upcoming pre-med college studies at UCLA. (No word on Sam's mom.) During an impromptu jamming session< Frank and Sam write a song called "Hearts Beat Loud" that actually sounds pretty good. When Franks sarcastically asks Sam what their band should be named, Sam shrieks "We're not a 'band', dad!", and shortly thereafter Frank puts "Hearts Beat Loud" by We're Not a Band on Spotify... At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director (and co-writer) Brett Haley, who before this brought us the excellent Sam Elliott vehicle "The Hero". Here, Haley brings us a wonderful "little" film that turns out to cover a lot more ground than what you might expect from the movie's opening premise. Of course, there is the father-daughter relationship, but there is, among others, also the pending start of Sam's college career at UCLA (yes, all the way on the other side of the country), which looms larger by the minute. The beauty of this film is that the characters are fleshed out, and we are dealing with real people, not some condensed "dumbed-down" characters. The movie sports a veritable all-star cast, none more so than Nick Offermann, who shines as the doubting ex-musician/record store owner/proud father. Sam is play by up-and-coming Kiersey Clemons in a breakout performance. Ted Danson has a small but pivotal supporting role as the bar owner/Frank's best friend. I can't recall having seen Dawson in such a wonderful performance in many years. Other supporting roles include Blythe Danner (as Frank's mom), Toni Collette (as Frank's landlord and possible romantic interest), and last, but certainly not least, Sasha Lane (as Sam's possible romantic interest), who came out of nowhere in 2016 and astonished us all in "American Honey". The original music and songs are courtesy of American movie composer Keegan DeWitt."Hearts Beat Loud" premiered at this year's Sundance film festival to positive buzz and critical acclaim. The movie opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The (discount) Tuesday evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly (5 people, including myself). That's a darn shame. It is no coincidence that this movie is currently rated 90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Hopefully the movie will find a wider audience when it premieres on other platforms. If you are in the mood for a sweet lil' film that you will easily identify with emotionally, I'd readily recommend you seek this out in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. For me there is no doubt: "Hearts Beat Loud" is a WINNER.

I can totally understand why this film was so adored at both Sundance and SXSW film festivals. It's a great family film with a great cast and a great soundtrack. Hearts Beat Loud is about a father (Nick Offerman) and his daughter (Kiersey Clemons) as they spend their last summer together in their charming hipster NYC home town before she embarks on her career path of becoming a doctor at a university on the other side of the country. Frank Fisher (Offerman) owns the vintage record store in town and brings a musical background to the story. The father-daughter duo record a song during one of their weekly jam sessions and Frank sends it out to Spotify where it becomes an indie hit. Sam Fisher (Kiersey Clemons) delicately navigates a new romance with Rose (Sasha Lane) as well as her relationships with both her father and music all while taking summer courses online and preparing for her big move at the end of summer. I was so impressed with Nick Offerman's (Parks and Recreation) performance in this film. He showed real vulnerability in so many scenes and I was captivated by the color of his eyes and how well he portrayed a loving single dad. I really enjoyed the simplicity of how this film was shot. Most of the scenes were only two characters at a time. We see Frank with his daughter Sam together hanging out, having heart to heart conversations, arguing, and making music together. We also see him attempt to maneuver through an undeniably confusing relationship with his "landlady" Leslie played by indie darling Toni Collette. We also enjoy a not so subtle nod to the 80's TV hit show Cheers as Ted Danson is cast as Dave, the local bar owner and Frank's best bud. Sasha Lane (American Honey) lights up the screen as artist and Sam's love interest Rose. I was most enchanted by Kiersey Clemons's performance. She is absolutely beautiful and does such an incredible job portraying Frank's daughter. She effortlessly dances from rolling her eyes at her goofy dad to expressing her love and admiration for him. She sings throughout the film and her voice is so sweet and so soulful that it will give you goosebumps. In the Q&A session after the film, co-star Sasha Lane admitted that she cried every time she heard Kiersey sing. I absolutely loved the music throughout the film and I especially enjoyed Kiersey's performance.With a running time of just 97 minutes, this is a quick watch for any film buff. At times I did feel it was a little slow, however the audience was intended to enjoy the music during these slower and more drawn out scenes. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys music and light and easy heartwarming films. Hearts Beat Loud is unquestionably delightful.

Good music, cute story, and it gets the heart sapping. It was all about actors showing range of emotion. Nick Offerman was really good at that and so was his connection to Kiersey Clemons, who plays his daughter, who had good connection with Sasha Lane who played her girlfriend.