Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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

At first, I wondered why this movie did not come out as a TV movie ... I mean, seriously, one of the main stars dies at the beginning ... which made me expect the rest of the movie to suffer the same fate. Me, and my assumptions, got a pretty nice surprise ... the movie took me higher as the minutes ticked by! Except for those times that I wanted to slap Queen Latifah upside her nappy head! Granted, its an old story, but the perfect cast gave this movie a whole new spin on the life of a feel good movie ... which was the reason movies were created in the first place, to take us away from our daily drudgeries, to lift us up and let us soar out of the theaters on a wave of exhilaration that washes away all of our troubles, even if only for just one evening.The down points are few ... but are worth noting as they tell us that even within a choir there are cat fights, back stabbings, and downright hatred for one's fellow man/woman ... which I did not pay the price of admission to see. I just don't believe that anyone whom supposedly loves God so much would result to downright slander and pettiness, as in the part that Queen Latifah plays against the part Dolly Parton plays. How does a person go from singing like an angel to scratching at someone with bared claws. However, I will say that some of the best acting in the whole movie is pulled out of Queen Latifah ... any entertainer would be proud as all heck to be chosen to be a part of anything that Queenie is a part of! Getting to Dolly Parton ... the woman is a walking miracle ... but some of the hairdos she wore in this movie were about a oogly as oogly can get! Dolly's fans want to see the glamorous Dolly with soft tresses ... not heavy metal spikes!!!!! One thing Dolly would have to admit to is that she, all too often, listens to the opinions of the wrong people! Afteral, it was those same people that destroyed a promising musical variety show on its first night on television ... and she knows it just as well as we do! I think Dolly needs to get rid of a few of her "Yes Men" and seek out the advice of someone that thinks more about her success and less about her money and (I'm gaga for anyone that's famous) fame! Please Dolly, cease the claymation look and go back to being the Dolly we all love! Your fans are not into your earthiness ... we're into the woman that celebrates being a woman on a daily basis ... and has a heart of gold! As for the rest of the cast ... perfection! The scripting between the other members of the choir is superb ... as are their stories that bring the entire story to such a climactic pinnacle of success in the final reel. I will say that I just can't get enough of seeing that part of the movie ... it definitely takes me gloriously "higher" than I've felt in a long time! And Angela Grovey is just that ... a total groove! This is a woman that should be seen a lot more, and a lot more often! As would her sidekick, in the movie, Dequina Moore ... the two make a great team. Oh, and lets not forget Andy Karl ... totally hot in this films last reel. Between him and Jeremy Jordan, the screen was often steaming with their individual sinaliciousness! Memorable Lines ..."God didn't make plastic surgeons so they could starve!" Dolly Parton."Tap it and die!" Angela Grovey."You read the bible to reminisce!" Queen Latifah.My favorite song in the movie is sung by Queen Latifah ... "Fix me." We should all be asking for that miracle. So, keep this movie close to your DVD player ... for when you really need to be lifted up ... higher!

If you love the exuberant singing on "Glee", chances are pretty good you will like this predictable 2012 musical and overlook the numerous plot deficiencies that bring the characters into a climactic singing competition. Naturally that means a lot of rehearsal filled with Whitney-style, gospel renditions of familiar Top 40 pop classics. On this level, it doesn't disappoint since the churchy arrangements bring out a roof-raising soulfulness that is otherwise missing from the flimsily plotted film. Energetic performances of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" definitely deliver the goods at key moments, but director/screenwriter Todd Graff ("Camp") relies on tired stereotypes and down-home hokum to fill out the framework of a story about a small Georgia town hard hit by the current economic downturn. Providing a beacon of light is the Sacred Divinity Choir anchored by two divas with opposing sensibilities, the conservative and financially struggling Vi Rose Hill and the saucy and wealthy G.G. Sparrow.The movie wastes no time in giving G.G.'s husband Bernard a fatal coronary even before the opening credits are complete. The uptight church pastor needs to find a successor and chooses Vi Rose over G.G. setting the stage for a stylistic war over the choir's musical direction. Naturally, Vi Rose prefers traditional gospel, while G.G. wants a more contemporary twist to the arrangements, which suits Vi Rose's 16-year-old daughter Olivia just fine since she is a budding soloist with those gymnastically limber, Mariah-inspired pipes you either love or hate. Complicating matters is G.G.'s juvenile delinquent grandson Randy, who of course, turns out to be a talented singer in his own right and falls head-over-heels for Olivia. Once you add Olivia's quirky younger brother Walter, who turns out to have Asperger's Syndrome, and Manny, a conveniently talented guitarist and Randy's rival for Olivia's affection, you have the makings of a suspense-free, by-the- numbers soap opera with the sophistication of a young adult novel.It wouldn't be giving much away to state that it all climaxes with a face-off between the choir and the prodigious Our Lady of Perpetual Tears youth choir, spotlighting lead singer Ivan Kelley Jr., who impresses with his knockout version of Billy Preston's "That's the Way God Planned It". The choir counters with a rousing medley of Sly and the Family Stone, Usher, Chris Brown and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours". Outside of the singing, the performances are serviceable and little more. Queen Latifah and a cosmetically altered Dolly Parton play Vi Rose and G.G. to their accustomed, outsized personalities. As Olivia, Keke Palmer ("Akeelah and the Bee") has a strong set of pipes as does current Broadway sensation Jeremy Jordan ("Newsies") as Randy, but neither makes much of an impression otherwise. Poor Kris Kristofferson has barely a moment as Bernard and then shows up later in a fantasy duet with Parton on her touching "From Here to the Moon and Back". Jesse L. Martin ("Rent") is also wasted in a small role as Vi Rose's estranged husband who escaped to the Army when he couldn't find a job. This is a highly conventional, cliché-driven film that is probably best left as a soundtrack purchase.

I'm 20 years old, I went with my house-mates to watch this. I'm an avid Dolly fan, the woman plays 10 different instruments and has that beautiful country soprano voice - I've loved her since I was a baby and in my eyes she can do no wrong. However I was worried this film wouldn't hit the mark, especially for my friends who weren't that bothered about Dolly or Latifah and were just watching this because the other choices were so unappealing. However...they absolutely loved them film, they laughed, cried, sang along and cheered...They absolutely loved it. It is a little cheesy at times, but not as much as you might think. By and large it's on the mark for comedy and the singing is beautiful. Give it a watch!!