I'm not averse to the occasional chick flick but this well-reviewed story of a suicidal, sexy pop diva and the cop that rescues her is a bit syrupy even for those as open minded as Jack and I. The cast, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (last in Belle) as the star Noni, Nate Parker (I guess I've seen his face but no movies spring to mind) as the cop, Minnie Driver (because she hasn't yet been profiled I'm going to do so now: Oscar-nominated for Good Will Hunting (1997), she was also good in Circle of Friends (1995), Big Night (1996), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Return to Me (2000), the wonderful series The Riches (2007), and Barney's Version) as Noni's stage mother, and Danny Glover (covered in 2012) as the cop's father, all try hard but this falls flat.
Director/write Gina Prince-Bythewood has won many accolades, not only for Love & Basketball (2000) and The Secret Life of Bees, but also for this. The song Grateful, by Diane Warren and performed by Rita Ora, was nominated but lost the Oscar to Glory from Selma. I'm a big fan of composer Mark Isham (last in these pages for 42), who's credited for original music, but don't, after all this time, remember his score.
We trusted Rotten Tomatoes, with its 81% from critics and, at the time, 83% from audiences--it has since slipped to 81. Ah well. At least we saw it for only $2.00 each.
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