BEFORE: Trying to get back into my groove, but that would require catching up on sleep, and for some reason I scheduled my annual physical/check-up today, since I was due in the city at 5:30 pm anyway, to manage a screening of "Dune: Part Two". So I figured I'd get my check-up at 1 pm, and if anything was really wrong with me I would have time to get it checked, if not I could go out to lunch at Sarge's Deli and then hit the comic-book shop before making my way to the theater. I still had to get up at 10 am, shower and get dressed before leaving the house, so really with just two things on my calendar I managed to fill up the whole day, and therefore I had no time at home to catch up on any TV, like this week's "Survivor" episode. Well, at least I'll have Saturday - no, wait, that's when we're getting our taxes done - OK, at least I'll have half of Saturday to catch up on some TV.
Catherine Keener carries over from "Nostalgia" and just one more romance-based film left in this year's chain after this one.
THE PLOT: A chance encounter between a down-and-out music business executive and a young singer/songwriter new to Manhattan turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents.
AFTER: It's a very sneaky romance-based film, like some maybe wouldn't consider this a romance at all, because the two main characters are together because they're working together on making an album, and they both have relationship problems. Music producer Dan is separated from his wife and doesn't have much of a relationship with his teenage daughter, while Gretta has recently broken up with her musician/singer boyfriend, only we don't know that about her at first, but it's why she's in NYC and why she's single.
The two meet by chance when Dan goes to an open mic night where Gretta performs her song, and (because he's drunk) he can HEAR how that song needs to be produced - even though she's performing solo on acoustic guitar, Dan imagines the drums, the violin and the piano playing themselves, and he knows exactly how he would mix it so it would be a hit - probably my favorite scene in the film with the animated instruments playing themselves. Now Dan just needs to persuade HER to let him produce the song. Oh, and wouldn't you know it, he just got fired from the record company that he co-founded, so he's kind of looking for the next big breaking artist to produce so he can work his way back into the biz.
They need each other, even if Gretta doesn't believe it at first, Dan somehow has enough self-confidence for the two of them. Gretta has strong opinions, however, about how songs need to sound and she doesn't like it when they sound all over-produced. OK, Dan can work with that, what about recording all the songs live, with the city's ambient sound, in different locations around New York, like on a rooftop near the Empire State building or in an alley near a schoolyard, or while riding on paddle-boats in Central Park? Hey, whatever works, I guess, and if there are sirens in the background or traffic noises, all the better - who needs to record in a studio, anyway, who needs their music to sound all polished and professional?
Surprisingly, the film never tries to get Dan and Gretta together, romantically - perhaps that would have been a mistake, or perhaps that would have followed the standard rom-com formula just a bit too closely, it's hard to say. But I like the restraint, we've all been conditioned by these fateful chance encounters to think that they're going to solve the romantic problems of the main characters, but what if they're just not right for each other, or not into each other for some reason, or maybe they made a choice to keep things professional if they're going to be working together on this album. It would be a conflict of interest, anyway, if Dan pitched her demo to the record company AND he was also sleeping with her - so maybe it's for the best that the film never went in that direction.
But working together on the album does, of course, help to solve most of their other problems - Gretta's going to get royalties from the song she wrote for her ex-boyfriend, anyway, so maybe that factors into her decision to sell her own album on the web for $1 per download. Hey, it's the internet age, maybe all music SHOULD be free, or close to it, anyway the real money is in touring and t-shirt sales, not albums like in the old days. It's possible that the Rolling Stones made more money over the last 20 years from t-shirts than from albums, so at the end of the day, are they musicians who sell music, or just t-shirt salesmen? If you're hoping that Gretta will get back together with her ex, Dave Kohl, well, the movie doesn't specifically say that they DON'T get back together - so it's possible, it's just not likely, because now Gretta has more self-confidence and she doesn't mind being on her own. Getting back with Dave might be seen as a step backwards where personal growth is concerned.
Dan seems to get back with his wife, though, and that's fine - having a job again and also spending more time with his daughter are all positive things. But there's still the new age of record company business to deal with, are we just going to keep giving away music or are we still looking for a way to monetize digital music, in an age when Gen Z can just find the music they wanted posted somewhere on the web and download it for nothing? When was the last time you saw CDs for sale in a store somewhere, anyway? I think for me it was about a year ago in a mall on Long Island, we saw CDs for sale at an F.Y.E. and vinyl albums (!) for sale at a Newbury Comics. I don't think I've bought a vinyl record since ZZ Top's "Afterburner".
The film is pretty well put-together, though - and the songs all seem well-made, I'll have to check those out as music files maybe and see if I want to download any of them. I'd give this a "7" for the most part, maybe that just comes from the relief of knowing that the romance chain is coming to an end and I can move on to other things. However, I may have to take a point off for containing too much James Corden, I'm just not a fan. This film was directed by John Carney, who also directed "Once" and "Sing Street", and I'm a big fan of the latter, though I don't think a lot of people have seen it.
Also starring Keira Knightley (last seen in "Colette"), Mark Ruffalo (last seen in "The Normal Heart"), Adam Levine (last seen in "The Clapper"), Hailee Steinfeld (last seen in "The Homesman"), James Corden (last seen in "The Lady in the Van"), CeeLo Green (last heard in "Hotel Transylvania"), Yasiin Bey (last seen in "Life of Crime") Rob Morrow (last seen in "Adam"), Maddie Corman (last seen in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"), Aya Cash (last seen in "Game Over, Man!"), Jennifer Li Jackson (last seen in "American Dreamz"), Marco Assante (last seen in "Matchstick Men"), Mary Catherine Garrison (last seen in "The Land of Steady Habits"), Ian Brodsky, Shannon Walsh, David Abeles, Kena Onyenjekwe, Harvey Morris, Terry Lewis, Jimmy Palumbo (last seen in "Something Borrowed"), Simon Delaney (last seen in "This Must Be the Place"), Danielle Brisebois, Keen Ruffalo, Melissa Maria Gonzalez, Nicholas Daniel Gonzalez, David Pendleton, Nicole Neuman (last seen "The Disappearance of Eleanor RIgbyL Them").
RATING: 6 out of 10 subway stations
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