the audience applauded

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Grace Slick, lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane, once said in an interview that there was something pathetic about 50-year-olds playing rock and roll. Grace should rent THIS film, if for no other reason than to see Joss Ackland as Evil Edmonds and his geriatric band, the BeeLzeeBOPS, prove you're NEVER too old to rock. I've been a fan of Ferguson since his days on the Drew Carey Show and enjoyed his two previous films, which he also co-wrote. Somehow I missed this one until recently, which is a shame since it's also his directorial debut. Much has been written about the film as a Charlotte Church vehicle which it really isn't. What it IS is a heart-warming family drama/comedy/musical about lost & re-found love, personal redemption, family values and friendship. Ferguson, who also wrote the screenplay, uses his own personal experiences as an 80's rocker and alcoholic to inform his story without descending into mawkish sentimentality.Here Be Spoilers: The story revolves around Ferguson's Paul Kerr, an 80's rocker on the downside drinking his way into oblivion. After a drunken motorcycle accident lands him in the psych ward under suicide watch, he finds out he has a daughter named Olivia he never knew about, played quite winningly by Ms. Church, from a one-night-stand that he never forgot. This revelation, along with the arrival of his former band-mate and drummer, help him to quit drinking and begin to forge a relationship with his daughter both as a father and as a musician. This also allows him to finally reconnect with Olivia's mother, played quite well by Jemma Redgrave, while helping her to see her child's enormous gift and realize that he really HAS always loved only her. Toss in Joss Ackland's bravura performance as Olivia's Grand-dad, the aforementioned Evil Edmonds, an older, crustier, not-so-successful version of Kerr and you have the basic family. Add a great supporting cast of characters, a great screenplay that shows the humanity OF those characters and great singing from Church and what more do you need? Ferguson's Kerr, as the little boy who never had to grow up, stepping up as both a father and, ultimately, lover is dead on. Redgrave's Rebecca strikes the perfect tone showing her bitterness and anger towards Kerr as well as her vulnerability and love for her daughter. Church is a natural as Olivia, who loves her mother dearly but has music in her bones, a fact seen by Kerr, Evil Edmonds and, ultimately, by Rebecca herself.So it ain't War and Peace. It's merely an excellent family movie which places it head and shoulders above the usual pedestrian family fare. THAT credit goes to writer/director Craig Ferguson. Bravissimo Craig. See this movie. You'll laugh, you'll cry. you'll sing along. If it can warm the heart of a jaded soul like me, then it ought to warm yours as well.

This film, chiefly a vehicle conceived to highlight Charlotte Church at a time when she was about to relinquish classical music to jump on the bandwagon of pop (maybe wrongly) didn't last long at its opening in English theaters. It didn't reach the streets in France for the simple reason that if Church is celebrated abroad for having a sublime voice and sang for a good number of most momentous people around the globe, she isn't a household name in my native country. This film was broadcast a few weeks ago on French TV and it was so hurriedly, badly dubbed that it brought a sensation of false, phony. It wasn't much of a problem given the weak contents and substance of Craig Ferguson's film.The fleeting life of the film in the English theaters is hardly surprising. This reheated menu is certainly partly derived from Church's several installments in her life. The quality of her acting leaves a lot to be desired. It's true that it would take impervious ears to resist her voice and singing but it's impossible to be moved by her rather wooden acting. And she's not served by a story with little depth and is sedately scheduled in its evolution and its recesses. Just think about the staple ingredients used by Ferguson: take a has-been rock musician in limbo, make him discover that he's got a cute daughter, the result of a relationship which lasted one week-end. And this daughter has a wondrous voice, so she could take her chance in music but her mother is not ready to accept this because the clichés of rock n'roll remain stuck on her mind. I won't tell the rest but the different steps of the scenario interlock as planned to give a run-on-the-mill film. Actors act cardboard characters and the supposedly would-be droll moments fall flat (sorry Mr. Ferguson, but you didn't manage to make me smile during your antics at the psychiatric hospital). And there's a bad taste editing opening the film announcing the fiasco of this well-worn tale.Some users on this site talked about the "feel-good" vibe which shrouds the film. I wasn't taken with it at all so this vibe wasn't palpable at all to me.

I must admit I really enjoyed this film. Not because it had something profound to say, but simply because it is positive and has a very amusing, Scottish 'front man'. Craig, you're braw! You really can act the rock star from the smile to the stage appearance! I was also very impressed by Church - very natural. Maybe this film could help her go far? I watched the film with commentary since Ferguson was commentating and found it rather amusing to note that he really had had a motorbike accident (not in the way described in the film) and had broken a rib and hurt his arm. Although you don't think about it in ignorance, it does explain a few things when you know. A must-see for everyone who doesn't stick there nose up at happy film :)

It is sad that this beautiful film didn't do as well in the theater. I only heard about it because I saw a big poster at Wal-Mart, advertising the DVD release, and thought, "Charlotte Church in a movie? Cool!" Anthony Stewart Head seems to be trying to shed his "charming gentleman" persona from coffee commercials and _Buffy_ (though he played something of a bad guy on _VR5_).As a Romantic comedy, I think it's a fine film, _The Parent Trap_ without the annoying slapstick. But I agree with "Drumicon" that the singing seemed off. Charlotte has a beautiful voice, but she doesn't seem to know how to sing pop--even her Christmas album is too "slow." This is a love story not just about a man and a woman, but about family. This is also a romance in the proper sense, idealizing the sad realities of "the music industry."