Bronagh Gallagher: what a face.

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2007)

I remember well the (MTV) hype surrounding TC. One would have thought that Jesus wrote and directed this movie, the way it was pushed by the media, the video clip having been played incessantly by every music programme/channel. Fact is, it's a decent little movie, but absolutely nothing special - especially if you get headaches, the way I do, when exposed to more than 3 seconds of so-called "soul" music. (Is it called that way because it kills the soul?)
There are obvious similarities to Parker's earlier "Fame". The one that sticks out the most is how adamant Parker must have been in picking out an ugly bunch (with very few exceptions) once again. (It's the old "ugly people = realism" credo.) Still, no need to panic: the cast of TC is not nearly as visually unappealing as the one in "Fame". However, unlike "Fame", which gets serious occasionally, this Irish-based rags-to-almost-riches story can be classified as a comedy. A comedy musical, alas. The second half features far too many musical numbers, and they drag on for too long. As I said, "soul" can be rather migraine-inducing; it is rather simplistic, unimaginative, lowest-common-denominator music, designed to please the true tone-deaf non-connoisseurs among music fans. Andrew Strong may have a great voice for this dull style, but whenever a (white) guy tries to imitate the annoying throat-barks of James Brown, or that overrated bore Joe Cocker, I am overcome with an urge to throw things at whatever the source of the sound may be. Strong is also the funniest cast member.
If it's true that Parker picked out only non-actors for the band, then hats off to him, because there is nothing wrong with the acting; there is very little to indicate that all these people were amateurs. That, naturally, also brings us to the distinct possibility that basically anyone can act - given the right director. The bleedin' obvious, of course...
There aren't any true laugh-out-loud moments, but the gags don't totally bomb, either. TC is basically interesting rather than funny.
One of the things I liked is that musicians and singers are portrayed as the true morons they (mostly) are in real life.
As far as Bronagh is concerned: if you've never seen her, just try to visualize the name "BRONAGH" and you might come close to imagining her face. It's no wonder Lucas had her killed off within minutes of the start of "Phantom Menace".
Why is one of the Corr sisters in the movie, but without a singing part?