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.

This is meant for a special crowd, who like musicals....and a cheesy story as a wrapper.Actually, I watched this movie because of Dolly Parton. I've just seen her live in concert not long ago. She really rocked the house... Personally, I think, she is a fab actress as well but these modern American movies don't do justice.It's a modern Romeo and Juliette kind of story. Certainly watchable when nothingelse is on.I gotta admit though, The Gospel music was FANTASTIC!!! If you care for a good Gospel but don't like movies - go and buy that soundtrack. It's ear candy, so to speak ;)But the script is mostly boring and packed with foreseeable lines. But I sat through cos Queen Latifah has a very enjoyable speech melody.Okay, summary: Gospel = 10script = 3Dolly/Queen = 10acting = 5

One of the many good things about this film was that the race card was totally eliminated. It dealt with a rural choir in Georgia made up of all groups. Yes, the Queen Latifah role and Dolly Parton counter-part don't like each other, but race isn't the culprit here.This is basically the story of interpersonal relationships among the people in the choir. We have an assortment of characters we can all identify with- Parton's grandson, constantly in trouble, rebellious and yet having a good heart. Latifah, the strict mother covering the fact that her husband reenlisted in the army so as to get away from her, her rebellious, precocious daughter, who wants to set her mother straight. The scene where mom and daughter have it out was memorable.We have the general competition among choir groups for an award out in Los Angeles.The singing is great, the characters are lively and we can identify with what we're seeing. A beautiful film.

It doesn't have a very high rating, probably for good reason because story-wise, it is mediocre. But the story is just there to allow the actors to sing, and they do very often and very well.The premise is the choir in a Georgia community that competes every year, only to be eliminated by a bigger, better choir in the regional competition. Their plight is complicated by the two competing divas, Queen Latifah as Vi Rose Hill and Dolly Parton as G.G. Sparrow. Vi Rose wants them to just sing traditional gospel hymns while G.G. thinks they need to liven it up to be competitive.There are also several teens involved. Keke Palmer (who really was 16 or 17) is Vi Rose's daughter Olivia Hill, quite a talented young singer. Then showing up unexpectedly is Jeremy Jordan (actually 26 or 27) as Randy Garrity , G.G.'s nephew from New York. He is also a talented singer and musician but as a former "bad boy" has a difficult time getting accepted. Naturally he and Olivia take to each other as Vi Rose tries to keep them apart. There is also a good side story regarding Vi Rose's son with Asperger's, Randy befriends him and helps him.The story is fairly predictable, the singing is rousing, Parton and Latifah are good.