Relativity Media,
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Colson “MGK” Baker, Danny Glover, Darryl Stephens, Elaine Tan, Tyler Christopher
Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is blessed with a beautiful voice, but cursed with a mother (Minnie Driver) who is well beyond the usual stage mom. From an early age when Noni was proud to have won second place in a pageant, her mother told her to throw it in the dumpster because coming in second is losing. Now Noni is grown and has become a huge pop diva success. But she’s tired of her life and stands on a hotel room balcony deciding whether to jump. At the last second a security officer, Kaz (Nate Parker) is there to save her with the words, “I see you”. This intrigues Noni and makes her wonder “Who does he see”? Kaz has a father (Danny Glover) who has big plans for him as well, but as Kaz and Noni begin to fall for each other, they both may have to give up a lot to be together in this story of fame and fortune versus love and respect.
This is a film that I thought would do well when it was released, but it seemed to sputter. I guess there are a number of reasons why it didn’t do so well. There are some basic flaws in the movie that are not fatal, but probably caused folks to spend their movie dollars on something else. First of all, it’s very formulaic to a flaw. This is a number of other films (Glitter anyone?) almost scene by scene. The only thing a little bit unique is that they both have a bright future, and usually in these films one of them is poor and unworthy, but the other loves them anyway. But I suppose that is not enough to propel this film. The acting isn’t all that bad, and the story is predictable to a fault, but not too badly constructed. The actors are pretty good, so it’s kind of a mediocre feeling I got from watching it. I didn’t have anything exciting to make me remember it, or to encourage my friends to go see it, but on the other hand it wasn’t that bad, really. So I guess in this case it’s up to you. It’s a romantic drama of a star who is tired of being on all the time. Watch it if you’re interested, but I’m not going to give it a glowing recommendation.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
