good back-story, and good acting

From my favorite movies..

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This film disappoints in every aspect. The acting is middling (even the almost always wonderful Amy Adams and sadly-underused Harriet Sansom Harris), the script is ridden with clichés, the production values are amateurish, and the plot is terribly predictable. It is a credit to Ms. Adams that her screen presence alone kept me watching until the end even though she is rarely given anything to do in this film (besides exhibiting a fine singing voice) that would merit such dedication. Without her, I probably would not have made it past the first 20 minutes. The only positive thing going for this movie is the fine selection of American standards sung throughout which could easily be otherwise obtained from other artists and various other sources.It is easy to see why the studio sat on this film for more than 4 years before finally releasing as direct-to-DVD once Amy Adams had become a rising star.

This is an old-fashioned style of movie. It moves slowly and is the type of movie where the underdog wins out and the surprise of talent totally different from their profession comes out. It is not a new idea and is something out of movies I have watched many times but it didn't take away from the movie. The only criticism I have is I felt the characters were not developed enough so you got a better handle on who they were. It was predictable but even though cliché, I enjoyed the movie anyway. It was nice to watch a movie without violence, profanity and nudity.I wasn't quite sure what Nate's job was and I got the idea he was a stock broker or something like that. The offices, even though facades, looked fine. They actually looked like many I have been inside. The average person who has no film making background isn't going to notice how shots look so much. That was fine to me. I was concentrating on the interactions of the characters.As for the singing, jazz isn't my cup of tea really but I do listen to some and the standards were nice. I disagree with others about the character Nate. I felt his voice was very smooth and he sounded much better singing the music than Amy Adams even though she is a favorite of mine but not for her singing. I have a musical background and always felt she has an odd singing voice and is a little whiny sounding. She didn't always hit the notes as well. I figured the two main characters were doing their own singing since I knew Amy Adams did in Enchanted where the music was more suited to her voice but still even there she has sort of a whiny sound when she sings. She is cute and perky and her personality tends to sell the films. I don't think young people would like this movie much and if rating, would give this movie bad reviews most likely. It is not action packed and on top of it, it is a musical that showcases jazz and older styles of pop music. I felt the acting was fine with what they had to work with. Independent movies are usually low budget and I can't see why it would need a higher budget given the storyline. It's not a bad movie but more suited to television I think.

"Moonlight Serenade" seems to be a vanity project that probably started with a promise, but if fizzled out and it was released directly as a DVD, although we cannot be sure. The main interest in watching the film was Amy Adams, since we did not know the others in the cast. The best thing the film has going for itself are those glorious songs that have become standards. The story line does not make much sense. The story of an aspiring young singer was interesting, however, the screenplay, as written by Jonathan Abrahams and based on a story by the director, Giancarlo Tallarico, is weak. The basic idea of two people from such different backgrounds, does not work out. Not only that, the creators threw at us a situation that we had no idea about, when Chloe resigns her happiness in order to care for a man fighting a drug addiction, of whom we never knew a thing.Amy Adams shows a fine singing song, something we had no idea she had. Ms. Adams deserves much better. We suspect her participation in the film might have been a favor to the people in charge of the production. The only redeeming point is the music heard in the movie.

We saw this on Netflix streaming video.Amy Adams is Chloe, coat-check girl in a small New York nightspot but she aspires to be a professional singer.Brit Alec Newman is Nate Holden, hot-shot New York financial professional who makes his fame and fortune looking for bad things, companies that are about to experience problems and betting against them in the market. Nate grew up musically, has a piano at home and sings and plays every evening as a way to unwind from the pressures of the financial world. One evening, while playing and singing with his second story window open, he hears a beautiful voice from the sidewalk below, singing along with him. He rushes out, only to find her gone. In a Cinderella moment, he finds a lost charm on the sidewalk, and this eventually leads him back to Chloe.But Chloe has complications, her addicted boyfriend who had disappeared for several weeks shows up and she needs to help him get well. Meanwhile Nate gets disenchanted with the negative side of the investment business and switches focus, to establishing solid growth company portfolios for major clients. This gets him fired but is the catalyst for his overcoming some personal issues.A good, small story about turning your negatives into positives. Amy Adams is always fun to watch, and she is a pretty good singer also.