“Auditions begin 2016”
Directed by Garth Jennings
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly
Theatrical impresario Buster Moon (McConaughey) attempts to revitalise his failing theatre with a singing competition, accidentally offering a $100,000 prize. While Rosita (Witherspoon), Mike (MacFarlane), Ash (Johanssen), Meena (Kelly) and Johnny (Egerton) are all drawn to the competition for their own reasons, Buster’s best friend Eddie (Reilly) tries to persuade him that perhaps he needs to give up the theatre before it breaks him.
Harried housewife Rosita struggles to find her rhythm with the help of flamboyant partner Gunter (Eric Kroll); Mike flashes cash around and gets into trouble with the Russian mob; Ash is thrown over by her boyfriend and musical partner; Meena wrestles with severe stage fright; and Johnny clashes with his father Big Daddy (Peter Serafinowicz) over whether his future should be in music or crime. When Moon is force to reveal that there is no money and the theatre is destroyed, it seems as though the contest is over, but the performers come together to sing for themselves, and find the strength to face their everyday lives as well.
What’s wrong with it?
Sing is not a deep film, and it shies away from any significant conflict. Even evil bank llama Judith (Rhea Perlman) only threatens to call the police and break up the show, but doesn’t actually do so, despite being speared with one of Ash’s projectile quills.
Right; did I mention that they’re all animals? Yeah; they’re all animals. It’s like Earth-2 Zootropolis up in here, only if the fact that they’re animals didn’t really mean anything.
Why are the criminals all European? Russian mobsters I get, but why are Big Daddy and his gang of mockney wide boys the face of street-level organised crime in what is otherwise an American city?
Mike is an almost unforgiveable karma Houdini, who seems to get away with being foul to everyone because he’s talented, which is one hell of a creepy moral.
It’s an old tune, but one more we have an animated film full to the rafters of really white voice talent, with the exception of Kelly, who is of half mixed-Caribbean descent. In an especially egregious example, African-American singer Jennifer Hudson provides the vocals for Buster’s inspiration, opera singer Nana Noodleman, only for the speaking voice of the older Nana to be that of Jennifer Saunders.
What’s right with it?
Sing has a lot of energy, and some pretty decent song performances. There are a couple of okay-but-forgettable original offerings, but the jukebox numbers are on point.
The lack of conflict does at least mean that we are spared a gratuitous love triangle between Rosita, her husband and Gunther. Also, the filmmakers do not feel the need to cap Ash’s ‘find my own way’ arc by having her either make up with her loser ex or find another boyfriend.
How bad is it really?
Like so much of the pop music it celebrates, Sing is good, harmless fun. It’s never going to rock the world, but it will make you smile, at least for a little while.
Best bit (if such there is)?
Johnny hammers out ‘I’m Still Standing’, and his dad – seeing this on the news – breaks out of prison and charges across town, just to tell him that he’s proud of him.
There is also a nice bit where Ash performs wearing a pair of sunglasses left in her flat by the girl her ex dumped her for.
What’s up with…?
- Predator/prey relations? The bears threaten to eat Mike, which suggests that there has been no Zootopia-style conquering of all instincts, so what – or indeed whom – do the bears and other carnivores eat?
Ratings
Production values – Modern CGI animation is a beautiful thing to behold, and the film makes inventive use of its technology to create ‘unbroken takes’ including swift zooms across the city. 5
Dialogue and performances – An excellent set of performances elevate a fairly by-the-numbers script into something bright and lively. 7
Plot and execution – Pretty much the definition of ‘by the book’, the plot is familiar, indeed predictable, but the energy of the production saves it from feeling tedious. 9
Randomness – Why are they animals? 6
Waste of potential – While it never goes above and beyond, it also avoids some classic pitfalls which lazier writing would have walked right into, and the songs are ace. 7
The Bad Movie Marathon 
5 thoughts on “Sing (2016)”