I'll Be There
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Movie Reviews of I'll Be There
Movie Review: I'll Be There
Summary: 5 Stars
As a big fan of Craig Ferguson I truly enjoyed this film. His directorial debut. Charlotte Church's voice is gorgeous.Movie Review: Cute and pleasant acting debut for Charlotte Church
Summary: 4 Stars
After a drunken accident beginning with a dance in ya underpants a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business, rock star Paul Kerr, formerly with the Love Rats, a hard rock outfit with fluffed out 80's hairdo, discovers that he had fathered a child through a woman who attended a concert of his in 1987. That child, Olivia, is now sixteen (guess who?) and has a gift for singing, and it's only because of his accident, that her mother, Rebecca, still nursing a bitter grudge and a broken heart, reluctantly admits that Paul is her father.
Rebecca's bitterness comes from the fact that she wrote Paul letters that she was pregnant, letters never answered. Furthermore, her father, a tough, bearded, septuagenarian who plays 50's rock and roll and blues, goes by the stage name Evil Edmonds, fronts a band called the Beelze-Bobs, was on the road too much to be a good parent to her, and as a result, Rebecca is barely civil with her own father. In fact, Rebecca was born on the tour bus the Bobs use for their gigs! She is a single mother and also an entrepreneur, running a hairdressing salon named Cheeky Chops (nice name!) with a gay colleague.
Paul's accident leads him to turn his life around. The Love Rats' ex-drummer, a chipper Australian named Digger, hears the news and tries to get his bandmate off the wagon. Olivia, who wants to sing instead of doing nails and hair, visits her father to get to know him better. However, her mother associates the music business with the same atmosphere that led to her pregnancy and protective of Olivia, forbids Paul to see their daughter. After all, where was he when she was raising Olivia?
The best way to get to know her father is to listen to her music, and Olivia buys the Love Rats' hit album, Lost Woman, the rear of which has the dedication "To Rebecca," meaning that Paul did care, but Rebecca sees that as a sign that Olivia's traveling down the same road as her father.
As an acting debut, it's not much for Charlotte Church, but she acquits herself in that she doesn't play the usual pouting, rebellious teenager railing against Mum, Dad, and Grandpa. She's cute driving around in her pink moped with matching helmet to boot. Her Welsh accent comes through, not a debit as she's playing a half-Scot. And oh yes, does Charlotte sing! Apart from "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess, which can be found on her eponymous album, she does three new songs, "In Hebrid Seas," the creamy Mariah-like ballad "Would I Know?", and an acoustic and full-blown versions of the Four Tops "Reach Out (I'll Be There)." That latter is Rebecca's favourite song, hence the title. Walter Afanasieff of Mariah fame produced and arranged those new songs, with Diane Warren penning "Would I Know?" and if Charlotte decides to record again, that sounds like a logical next step in her career.
I was used to seeing Jemma Redgrave as the progressive, romantic idealist female doctor in the Victorian era series Bramwell. Quite a change for her, especially with blonde hair. As Rebecca, she does well portraying someone who is still stung by the past, which affects the expectations she has for her daughter. Ralph Brown (Digger) has a great rapport with Craig Ferguson (Paul), and interacts well with Charlotte. But it's Joss Ackland as Evil Esmond who's the real surprise. After playing heavies (White Mischief, Lethal Weapon 2, Sherlock Holmes:Copper Beeches), he's quite a delight as a rock-and-roller still singing songs like the Leiber-Stoller standard "Trouble." And that's Phyllida Law, Emma Thompson's mother, as Ms. Williams, Charlotte's vocal coach.
This cute comedy sadly didn't make it my local theatre. Given that it was Charlotte Church's film debut, I would've gone on opening day. Not a classic by any means, but it's still a delightful number benefiting from the performances, and some funny lines all around. Most people might give this 3.5 stars, but fans of Charlotte might boost this to 4 or 4.3.
Movie Review: "I'm rich and I'm Scottish. It doesn't get better than that."
Summary: 4 Stars
Followers of Welsh classical singer Charlotte Church don't necessarily feel the same way about Craig Ferguson, but this little movie serves as a happy meeting ground for both sorts of admirers, all respective parties mingling and having a pint or four and perhaps affably making disparaging remarks about Americans. Craig Ferguson, himself a musican in his younger years, writes, directs, and stars in I'LL BE THERE, a watchable 2003 family dramedy about a washed-up aging rock star (Ferguson) who, while wrongly consigned to a psychiatric ward, learns that he has a 16-year-old daughter (Church). And so cue the familiar plot points.
As a brawny, brawny man, I've only ever caught Charlotte Church on the telly by accident, but I'm not about to deny that the girl is gifted with an amazing singing voice. On the other hand, as a brawny, brawny man who also stays up really late, I frequently tune in to Craig Ferguson's late night talk show. I'm quite appreciative of his offbeat, amiably irreverent brand of wit and humor (I think his opening monologues, offhandedly delivered with that Scottish burr of his, are often little gems). I don't know that it's so surprising, but Ferguson and Church do well together onscreen. The film's focus is most definitely on the father-daughter angle, with a mere dollop thrown in of a romance between Ferguson and Jemma Redgrave, who plays the mother of Church's character. Charlotte Church, in her cinematic debut, performs as if this weren't her cinematic debut, and I only wish that her character were given more things to do (she doesn't even have a boyfriend, which is almost sacrilege in films like this).
What keeps me from giving this film a fully extended thumbs up is the leisurely pacing and the story's predictability. The happy ending is a mere formality. The only real speed bump to the impending familial bliss is that the mother, concerned that her daughter's heart may get broken, adamantly forbids her daughter and her suddenly discovered dad from getting to know each other. Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from BUFFY) also skulks on the screen as Ferguson's sleazy manager. Will the rowdy boozy rock god quit his yen for the sauce and sort out his other issues? Will the mother thaw out and rekindle a past romance (it was actually more of a groupie fling)? Will Ferguson and Church get a chance to rock out? What do you think?
Apropos of nothing, I somehow get a kick out of the rock star's keeping a llama on his lawn. I think, partly, it's because of the llama's name, which is Dolly (heh).
What I think is that I enjoyed this movie, despite its lack of momentum. Craig Ferguson is very agreeable and occasionally dispenses funny one-liners, and I think that's really him playing the piano and guitar. Charlotte Church gets to sing, but not often enough, and I did get irked that, other than "Summertime," the musical performances weren't allowed to finish out. It's a bit startling to hear Church branching out to pop music, but she mostly handles it well. However, her duet with Ferguson at the end is too short and her voice somehow gets drowned out. For those who like to soak in refinement, she does cover a classical piece in the opening scene, so that's a chance to elevate a cultured pinkie. Also keep an eye on Josh Ackland who plays a pub-performing rockabilly musician and Church's grandfather. Those who cater to grandpa's music generally tend to raise another sort of finger.
Movie Review: You don't have to be a Charlotte fan to enjoy this film
Summary: 4 Stars
I put off watching this movie for some time. I've had a hard time accepting the fact that the Charlotte Church so many of us fell in love with, seemingly one of the last remaining bastions of wholesomeness and all-around purity in this world, has caught a virulent case of Britney-itis (and has actually sunk even lower than Britney in a fair number of ways) and is seemingly lost to us forever. I'm really quite saddened by the whole situation. Nevertheless, I can still adore the girl Charlotte Church used to be, and, happily, there are traces of that girl immortalized forever in this film. I was actually quite surprised by I'll Be There; Charlotte's no Jodie Foster, but she's a far better actress than I expected her to be, and this really and truly is a good movie. It doesn't take us anywhere we've haven't been before, but it's a fun ride.
Charlotte plays Olivia Edmonds, a teenaged girl who finds out that her father is actually famed aging rock star Paul Kerr (Craig Ferguson), just after he makes headlines for driving his motorcycle out a second story window of his home. Olivia's mother never told her the truth about her father because the relationship was short-lived (Kerr never even knew he had a daughter) and she resents the fact that her own still-rocking father was never there for her growing up. She wants Olivia to join her hairdressing business and stay away from musicians at all costs. We all know Charlotte has the best singing voice in the whole bloody kingdom, but her mother does not realize just how talented her daughter Olivia really is. Anyway, Olivia and Kerr slowly develop a relationship with one another, helped immeasurably by Kerr's decision to stop drinking - but dear old Mum wants nothing to do with the man she's obviously still in love with. Everything comes to a head when Olivia's talent is made manifest, and you can probably fill in the rest yourself.
As I said, I'll Be There doesn't break any new ground, but it's a feel-good movie that succeeds extremely well. Craig Ferguson makes it all work and injects a lot of comedy into everything he does. As writer, director, and star, this really is Ferguson's baby and should have enjoyed more success than it achieved. It even supplies the somewhat disconcerting sight of the Buffyverse's Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) playing a smarmy music agent - earrings and all. Of course, you also have the added attraction of several Charlotte Church songs (even if they do represent her early foray into pop). All told, I'll Be There is a surprisingly entertaining, heart-warming motion picture - and those are few and far between these days.
Movie Review: A Sleeper
Summary: 4 Stars
Thousands of low budget movies are released on DVD/Video every year. Most, without fanfare. This film won several awards, at a number of Film Festivals, throughout North America last year. Those audiences loved this British import. They laughed and then laughed some more. But I guess the lack of violence, sex, drugs and gore can kill a film's chance for financial success. So money is not spent to promote the film and it has gone directly to DVD/Video. What a shame. It also has a plot!!! It tells a story and has a purpose. This was written and directed by Craig Ferguson...his first venture on that side of the camera. You know Craig, he has appeared on the Drew Carry Show in the US but he is known mostly in the UK. He had a new acting talent in mind, when he wrote the role of Olivia...Charlotte Church. This movie is NOT about Charlotte Church but it is her acting debut in the movie business. Up until now, she has been better known as a singing phenomenon..."Voice of An Angel". Those of us familiar with her vivacious personality, can better appreciate the fact, that she plays a totally different person in her role as Olivia. We also get a chance to hear her sing...worth the price of the DVD alone. The other cast of characters are also experienced actors, one of which you will recognize...from a coffee commercial on US TV several years ago.
This is the type of film that leaves you smiling at the end. You are sorry it is over. You will find yourself pulling it off your bookshelf over the years and watching it again. This is not a Disney type film. The language is raw at times and we also get to see more of Craig Ferguson than we might want...and I do not mean his screen time is too long.
No one will win an Oscar or a Brit or any other fancy award. There are flaws and Craig's first attempt at writing and directing, demonstrates a need for polish.
So, just enjoy this movie for what it is...a movie that makes you feel good....nothing wrong with that folks.