Joyful Noise

This was an interesting film, though the substance in it was fluffy, and in parts lame. Bernie (Kris Krissoferson) is the choral director, but he suddenly dies, in a weird way, he gets arm pains while conducting the choir at a competition. After his death, his widow GG (a perfect role, handwritten for Dolly Parton) wants and expects to take over the choir, but the council chooses Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) instead. Tempers flare, and they flair even more when GG's wayward grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan) shows up. (On a side note, we never truly learn Randy's backstory, which causes some minor irration.) And Randy shows interest in Vi Rose's daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer, finally back in movies), which angers Vi Rose greatly. But the hurdles of competition Gospel choir remain, and the guys lose in regionals, and thus the pastor (Courtney B. Vance) cuts the show choir, as the church simply can't afford it. After all, the country is in a recession. But somehow, they make it anyway (but I don't want to spoil the whole movie, so I won't reveal that part of the film).
Then there are relationships, namely Olivia and Randy. They get together, despite protests from Vi Rose, but then they break up, but inevitably, they get back together. And kiss in front of the whole choir, and Vi Rose's mouth drops open, only to be silenced by Olivia's line, "That's not the first time I kissed him." However, there relationship is rather odd, from the beginning. When they first, one on one, Randy's lines to her are riduculous, and would have most women running to the hills. And I can't understand how they managed to spend so much time together, seeing that Vi Rose was so against the relationship from the beginning.
More interesting, though horribly odd is Earla, another lady in the choir. She and this guy from the choir get together, have sex, and then he dies. (This was funny, cheesy and awful at the same time.) And she whines about that for the rest of the film.
And then there is Vi Rose, her husband, Marcus, left two years before the movie begins and rejoined the army, but he still writes his children letters (though we learn later that in reality that he is doing such thing, Vi Rose has been writing the letters). But Randy takes Olivia to visit him, and he has missed his children, but he feels that he has let them down, and worries that he failed his wife, and she won't take him back. But he's wrong. And everything works out in the end. Earla ends up married and Marcus returns home, to Olivia's and Vi Rose's open arms.
My opinion of the film. It is enjoyable, with good acting (especially from Queen Latifah and Keke Palmer) and great songs, but there are many weird things about the film. Why does Marcus truly love his children (in addition to Olivia, there is Walter who is musically talented but suffer's from Asperger's syndrome) but he never contacts them, ever? That was odd, as was Randy's bad story. We learn that he dropped out of school and his mother kicked him out of her house, but beyond that, nothing. And he seemed like too good of a kid for that to happen to him. Still, these issues aside, it was enjoyable and not a waste of time, and worth a second look. Grade: B