"'Duets' Sing Out of Tune"
by Scott Mantz

"Duets"
Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis
Directed by Bruce Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis are singin' the blues in "Duets"

If misery loves company, then the six lost and lonely losers of "Duets" are in good company. Not only do they find themselves in the dark when it comes to their personal lives, but they sure know how to shine once they get out on stage to belt out some tunes. Despite a noble attempt to stir some emotion with provocative stories and touching performances, "Duets" misses its cue and fails to bring it all together with a good point or a satisfying conclusion.

There are actually three stories that make up "Duets." In one, Ricky Dean (Huey Lewis) is a karaoke hustler (do these people actually exist?) who is reunited with his estranged daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) after her mother dies. In another, aspiring priest-cum-taxi driver Billy Hannon (Scott Speedman) gets suckered into driving aspiring singer-cum-whore Suzi Loomis (Maria Bello) across the country. Finally, Todd Woods (Paul Giamatti) is a tightly wound traveling salesman who never knows what state he's in. He goes out for a pack of cigarettes and keeps on going, only to pick up ex-con Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher) along the way. All three duets come together in Omaha, Nebraska, to compete for the $5,000.00 grand prize at the National Karaoke Contest, and in the process, they come to terms with their inner demons.

The configuration for "Duets" was obviously inspired by the interweaving multi-character structure that Robert Altman made famous, but the film falls short in its attempt to do for karaoke what "Nashville" did for country music. The characters here have either never heard of karaoke (which is surprising) or they are completely obsessed with it (which is definitely not surprising), but either way, karaoke, which peaked in the early 90's and continues to be huge in Japan, seems like a fad from the past. Unfortunately, so does the film.

That's a shame, especially considering how much time and effort went into making it. Directed by "St. Elsewhere" producer Bruce Paltrow, "Duets" was originally conceived as a vehicle for former lovebirds Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt. When that relationship fizzled (hey, that's Hollywood!), so did the film. A few years later, the project was on again, but this time Bruce Paltrow had to undergo treatment for throat cancer. When the film was finally completed, Hollywood Pictures' parent company Disney threatened to send it straight to video unless it was re-cut to tone down some of the more violent scenes.

Where "Duets" comes up short is in its attempt to be all things to all people. Part buddy-pic, part road-trip-pic, and part tear-jerker, the progression of the film feels too contrived and, dare I say it, out of tune for the ultimate results to be convincing. But where the film falters in its storytelling, it shines on the stage. The musical numbers are surprisingly fresh and full of energy, and many of the actors show off some previously unforeseen talents, particularly where Maria Bello and Gwyneth Paltrow are concerned.

After solidifying herself as a modern-day Grace Kelly, "Duets" feels like a step down for Gwyneth Paltrow. Then again, considering she has the same last name as the film's director, it's pretty obvious why she did the movie. Her performance as the lonely Las Vegas showgirl trying to re-connect with her father is heartfelt and warm, but it's hardly her best work. As a former 1980's chart-topper, Huey Lewis may have been hip to be square, but as an actor, he's just square. He tries to do for karaoke what Paul Newman did for pool in "The Hustler," but his performance is too stiff to complement Paltrow's more emotional performance.

Maria Bello brings some quirky energy to her role as the nomadic dreamer in search of a singing career, while Scott Speedman tries his best to invoke some charm into his underwritten role. However, the best performance in the film belongs to Paul Giamatti, who plays the miserable suburbanite whose desperation to break free from his middle class prison almost gets himself killed. His character falls somewhere in between Edward Norton in "Fight Club" and Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty," but he goes a little too far over the top to match the poetic intensity of either of those performances.

In the beginning of the film, one diehard fan explains the appeal of karaoke by saying "you get to be the star for three minutes. It's a rush like you wouldn't believe." She's right--I wouldn't believe it. Except for that one brief scene, we never get to feel or understand the nature of that excitement. Karaoke has always been one of those things that people either loved or hated, but the film fails to shed any light on the guilty pleasure phenomenon. Perhaps if it didn't try so hard to be something that it clearly wasn't, then maybe we would have felt that rush watching the movie, not running for the exit.

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