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Movies / On DVD / Duets
Duets

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Duets (2000)

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21 %
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Reviews Counted:86

Fresh:18

Rotten:68

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: Duets suffers from sloppy direction and stretches credibility. Also, the characters are uninteresting and it's hard to care about what happens to them.

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Duets is a road-trip film about six individuals who throw off the binds of their pre-determined lives and strive to fulfill their dreams. The metaphor for this is Karaoke … the courage to stand up,... Duets is a road-trip film about six individuals who throw off the binds of their pre-determined lives and strive to fulfill their dreams. The metaphor for this is Karaoke … the courage to stand up, sing and be free. They are: a waitress (MARIA BELLO) from Wheeling, West Virginia desperate to get to California to become a recording star, an ex-con (ANDRE BRAUGHER) unwilling to bend to the rules of society who sings with the voice of an angel, a salesman (PAUL GIAMATTI) who melts down while chasing the American Dream, a seasoned Karaoke hustler (HUEY LEWIS) who is disconnected from everybody and everything, an innocent Vegas showgirl (Academy Award® winner GWYNETH PALTROW) searching for family and love, and a young down-on-his-luck cab driver (SCOTT SPEEDMAN). Each is searching for the meaning of life.

As they converge on the $5,000 Grand Prize Karaoke Contest in Omaha, Nebraska, their lives intertwine, revealing the funny, raucous world of Karaoke bars and chain hotels that link the interstates of Middle America. -- © Hollywood Pictures [More]

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis, Andre Braugher, Paul Giamatti

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis, Andre Braugher, Paul Giamatti, Maria Bello, Paul Bello, Scott Speedman, Murilo Benicio, David Paetkau, Dafne Fernandez, Adam Symansky, Max Färberböck

Director: Bruce Paltrow

Director: Bruce Paltrow
Screenwriter: John Byrum
Producer: Kevin Jones, John Byrum, Bruce Paltrow

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Duets

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I could write a whole book about how sublime Paul Giamatti is, how he carries the film, how he believably transforms himself into a total K-dawg!

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
07/09/01
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

Largely a missed opportunity and a waste of talent.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/07/01
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Delivers considerably more than the premise promises.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/02/01
Andrew Howe
Andrew Howe
eFilmCritic.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/16/01
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Some of these characters are interesting enough to keep your attention on the movie between songs. The soundtrack is full of great music and songs.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/01/01
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Happily for all, director Bruce Paltrow approaches the sing-along world of karaoke with an affectionate but mildly satiric eye.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Whoever thought reuniting TV-vet director Bruce Paltrow with daughter Gwyneth would create some sort of onscreen chemistry probably also thinks taking karaoke seriously is cool. They're wrong on both accounts.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Reel.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Every so often a movie comes along that's bad in such original and unexpected ways that it inspires an almost admiring fascination.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only furthers the idea that people just want to be heard and applauded, even if they have to purloin someone else's work to do so.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/01/00
Amy Sidwar
Amy Sidwar
PopMatters

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

OK, it got to me.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle

A lack of adequate character development makes much of the film hard to swallow. So does its hokey central plot device.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brad Haynes
Brad Haynes
Orlando Weekly

The whole thing comes off as a poor man's Robert Altman film, with too many characters who never really get to grow and overlapping story lines that never really mesh.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian McTavish
Brian McTavish
Kansas City Star

To their credit, [Byrum and Paltrow] attempted to make a movie of ideas. Alas, many of the ideas are bad. Not to mention bigoted.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Because Giamatti is so good and the rest of Duets is so only-OK, it feels lop-sided. Kind of like a duet between Whitney Houston and me.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

There are too many characters, subplots and themes going on at the same time, so it's hard to connect with any of them.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

The movie simply creaks with contrivance.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Curtis Morgan
Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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