REEL CRITIC

From the commercials and movie previews, “Duets” seemed like it would

be a fluffy, enjoyable little comedy. Wow, was that impression wrong.

“Duets” tries to be a comedy while offering few laughs and a drama,

but has little depth.

Following six people involved in the world of hard-core karaoke

competition would seem to be a great idea for an amusing lark of a movie.

For some reason, writer John Byrum felt the need to also add violence and

superficial commentary on modern society.

The dialogue is often painfully bad. The actions and interactions of

the characters are forced and unnatural. The resulting film is a

schizophrenic mess that achieves none of its goals.

It is hard to believe that talented actress and Oscar winner Gwyneth

Paltrow could be in a terrible movie like “Duets.” Her acting skill is

still evident here, but her character Liv, a good-hearted dimwit, wears

thin very quickly.

Maria Bello as the overly raunchy Suzi Loomis and Andre Braugher as

criminal Reggie Kane do their best in badly written, horrible roles. They

both have done much better work in much better roles on television.

The only bright spots in this film are the karaoke numbers. In these

musical segments, “Duets” has the sparkle and joy missing entirely from

the rest of the movie. Paltrow has a surprisingly fine singing voice, and

Braugher shows true singing skills.

The duet between Paltrow and Huey Lewis on Smokey Robinson’s

“Cruisin”’ and Braugher’s a cappella version of “Freebird” deserve to be

in a far better movie.

The saddest thing about “Duets” is the waste of so much acting and

singing skill. If the script had stuck to the fun initial premise,

“Duets” might have been a charming comedy.

o7 “Duets” is rated R for language and some sexuality. f7

* TRICIA BEHLE, 31, lives in Newport Beach and validates software.