Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

To all those from a younger generation than mine, who thinks that the 1990's are ancient history, it's very complex in telling a story set in the Prohibition Era situated in the small town of Idlewild, Georgia. Newbie director Bryan Barber thought he found the solution. First grab a bunch of singing sensations and provide a soundtrack that doesn't depend on the authentic sounds of jazz and blues, but instead replace the genre of music to hip-hop (just like Baz Luhrmann has done in his period piece films). Sadly even though Barber provides some of the set pieces, an important staple was missing in action here. The script was very spotty in detail and feels very loosely attached here. The clichés are aplenty and the transitions can be quite incongruent. Although I can appreciate Barber for his efforts as a director, he's still in heavy need of improvement when writing scripts."Idlewild" just doesn't have enough songs for it to pass off as a musical with the minimal selection of only five songs which in total last for about 15 minutes. And of the musical numbers three of them are situated at the club, even though they're catchy and the tempo is very uplifting. But the musical numbers feel like I'm in a music video than an actual movie. It's no surprise at that because Barber's first claim to fame was directing videos for OutKast who star in this vehicle. The scenery and photography look authentic and the costumes were stylish for the period, but the hip-hop score can be very distracting. It doesn't feel like a period piece at times.The story centres around the lives of two friends since youth Percival (Andre "3000" Benjamin) and Rooster (Antwan "Big Boi" Patton) who go their separate lives into their adulthood. Percival becomes a dedicated worker at a mortuary with his father Percy Sr. (Ben Vereen) while fixated with his true passion, music at night at a club called Church. Rooster is the main act there and has a future as owner whenever the current owner Ace (Faizon Love) decides to step down. Even though Rooster is married with five children, he's still an inebriate and a philanderer. While Percival is single and without a girlfriend, he does develop some interest in the new attraction star Angel (Paula Patton). The plot starts to thicken when a local gangster named Trumpy (Terence Howard) enters the fray and kills his boss Spats (Ving Rhames) and then assassinates Ace leaving the Church at the hands of Rooster while Trumpy supplies him with moonshine. The duo despise and the conflict is inescapable.The performances were overall really good, though nothing special. Benjamin and Patton don't have a lot of acting credits on their resume, they still manage to give it their all and never feel upstaged by the more established performers who also seem to excel in their respected roles. Paula Patton is amazing in her performance and her breakout number is extraordinary. You have great familiar stars like Ben Vereen, Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray and the late Bill Nunn here. It's a shame that we don't hear LaBelle or Vereen singing which is what I was expecting. And though his role is one-dimensional Terence Howard can still add that charm quite professionally.For fans of OutKast, it will be treasured, but the appeal can be quite puzzling. The tone can be very uncertain at times. The musical and fantasy elements lack in cohesion especially when the gangster scenes come into play. Not only that the talking liquor flask and animated musical numbers seem to not fit in at times. The movie is way too serious in delivery and the tragedy has no room for spontaneous, jovial fantasy sequences. Sure it may be original in content, but familiarity seems to be inescapable. The product might be high in diversion, but there's nothing really that much special about the characters, the plot or the story which in the end makes this movie very disposable.

Like most of the movies that I see, I have only seen Idlewild on cable, and I do not think I have been able to view the entire film in one setting. After several sittings, I finally realized that the production was really not about trying to entertain me. The cast was simply offering their talents which are entertaining. Especially in the final credit scene of Andre Benjamin. Mr Benjamin proceeds to engage in a song and dance routine. I kept saying to myself - he is not a dancer, why is he dancing? The dance routine continues for a much longer period than normally recommended for a non-dancer. Then it dawned on me. Mr Benjamin was not dancing for me. He was dancing out of the joy of dancing, and I became appreciative for his letting me share in his joy. I liked this movie.

There are two reasons I tuned into this film. One, I love Terrance Howard (currently on the big screen in "Pride), and two, I was hoping to see another "Chicago"-style musical extravaganza. I was definitely disappointed with "Dreamgirls." It just didn't measure up, but "Idlewild" comes much closer to the gold standard.Forget the story of the cigarette girl who wants to be a singer (Paula Patton), or the mortician wanting to be a piano player (Andre Benjamin) and their eventual romance. That was just a side story. Just as was the story of Trumpy (Terrance Howard) and Rooster (Antwan Patton). They added interesting bang bang, sweet love, and tremendous moaning to what is essentially a musical extravaganza.And that is just what we got with the tunes of Benjamin and Patton along with the golden trumpet of Autouro Sandoval in the background. Outstanding choreography and luscious costuming adding to the mix and gave us a punch that was straight to the gut.If you are not tapping your feet and clapping you hands at the end, then you are ready to be laid out.

My biggest problem is that I don't know what this was. Was this a musical that was too much of a movie, or a movie that was too much of a musical? The problem is you can't blend them. Either it is a musical or it is not- and if that isn't clear from the get-go, the suspension of disbelief will not exist within the work.From the very beginning of the movie I had a problem with the suspension of disbelief. I didn't like effect of the freeze frames with the expanding pictures during the credits. I didn't like the fact that they were still rolling credits after 16 damn minutes. And when the rooster on the canteen became animated, a little kid barely able to see over the dashboard borrowed a hearse and DROVE it, and another kid's sheet music became animated, I knew that it was about to be a LONG 2 hours...It was.Had the music/musical scenes been strongly to my liking, I suppose I could have enjoyed this movie as a guilty pleasure like Prince's "Graffiti Bridge". But the music was horrible. In fact, there was nothing upon which I could found a liking of this movie on any level. From a picture book full of dead people in coffins; Andre's ugly beard and mole; animated characters/musical scenes that just didn't fit- Such as Rooster speeding away for his life in a car and rapping; and two full hours of play time; this movie was simply an unlikable piece of work.And one last personal pet peeve: The so called "hit song" that Miss Sally B Shelly AKA Angel Davenport was singing that supposedly made her a star, and kept the club packed was.. AN EXTREMELY WACK SONG. Another failure of the suspension of disbelief to exist for me.Someone commented that this movie was like a African American "Moulin Rouge". Funny thing is that I did think of Moulin Rouge when I first saw the Church club. But Moulin Rouge was enjoyable (even though I never felt the need to see it more than once) primarily because it KNEW what it was- an over the top musical- and the music/musical scenes were VERY good with very strong and memorable songs. Idlewild was exactly the opposite. This movie had no idea what it was.... at the sad thing is, that this was the least of it's problems...