“Duets” (2000) was one of the last things Bruce Paltrow worked on before his death in October 2002. An ensemble film dealing with people passionate about karaoke, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti, Maria Bello, Andre Braugher, Huey Lewis and Scott Speedman as a motley crew of misfits who find happiness on the karaoke club circuit.
Huey Lewis, best known for his band “Huey Lewis and the News”, is surprisingly good as Ricky Dean, a karaoke hustler drifting from town to town until he meets his estranged daughter at an old girlfriend’s funeral. The daughter, Liv (played by Paltrow) tags along with him on his trip across the States heading towards Omaha and the $5,000 prize that awaits the best karaoke singer in town.
Meanwhile Paul Giamatti plays it up as Todd Woods, a frustrated salesman who runs out on his unloving family and finds himself hooked up with a singing ex-convict on the run named Reggie Kane played by Andre Braugher. They form a friendship over karaoke and their singing performances stand out as the most entertaining of the film.
Scott Speedman’s Billy Hannan finds out his girl is cheating on him and ends up in a bar with Maria Bello’s Suzi Loomis. Bello’s trick-turning huckster manages to persuade the innocent Billy to escape from his tedious life and take her to California.
All six are making their way to Omaha and trying to sort out their lives in the process. The story is simple and is performed well by all the leads, but Gimatti and Braugher’s friendship is the most interesting of the three threads. Giamatti steals the film with his stressed out neurotic salesman desperate to use his 800,000 frequent flyer miles on something and Braugher offers a very touching performance as a desperate man looking for some sort of escape.
The film drags a little at times, but the three intertwining journeys keep it interesting and it makes for an entertaining 110 minutes.
For more information on the dubious cover of the Korean dvd, click here.
Tags: bruce paltrow, duets, Film, gwyneth paltrow, huey lewis, karaoke, maria bello, movie, paul giamatti, review
