Sing Street

Movie, 2016, R

Premise – Newly transferred to an Irish Catholic school, Conor decides to form a band with his new classmates to impress a girl he notices across the street. The mysterious girl and the band join forces, creating homemade music videos for their songs in order to help the girl one day become a model.

Review – Sing Street has the same director as the films Once and Begin Again, both famous for their low-budget musical charm. I like these films, but really Once is the only one that stands out to me. Why? The music is actually good, and the stars incredibly talented. These films each give their stars an incredibly realistic amount of talent for the circumstances. In Once, it makes sense that these street musicians are some of the most talented singers at the moment, their talent just undiscovered. In the later films, Begin Again and now Sing Street, to stay realistic, the songs are just… eh… and the singing is just… ehh… especially in this film, Sing Street, where the band members are inexperienced adolescents. For their age and experience, they are incredibly talented. But if they were too talented, the film would suffer from romanticism. Problem is, I quite like romanticism, especially in the context of a musical.

The film has its moments. A particular scene that stands out is the one where Conor is imagining the ideal music video for the song “Drive it Like You Stole It.” Of course, we know it’s all in Conor’s imagination, but it is one instance where the film actually creates a spectacle. And while I seemed critical of the songs earlier, I just mean that they aren’t good enough to be famous on their own. But in the context of the film, the songs are quite enjoyable.

Here’s where the film suffers – lack of originality. Just think of a teenage boy’s fascination with the model across the street, who has daddy issues and is dating an older boy, and has a mysterious beauty and a manic-depressive attitude like her mother, and they fall in love and he shows her that nice guys are what this girl needs… even just typing this I cringe at the stereotypes. And I’m cringing hard.

If the film has any originality to it at all, it is with the other band members besides Conor, and the humor they add. I particularly loved the little red-headed manager. Despite the lack of originality, I see the appeal of the film. I don’t think this director was going for originality, or at least I hope not. Quite the opposite. He seemed to have been aiming for a feeling of nostalgia. The film takes place in the 1980s and seems to aim at any and every teenage-boy fantasy, as well as any and every teenage-boy problem. What the film is best at capturing is the correct balance between these boys’ insecurity and confidence as they try out new looks and identities to discover who they are. None of these looks are new or original, but rather are tributes to other famous bands at the time. All of this suggests that the film is intentionally unoriginal, celebrating beloved tropes. Only problem is that some of these tropes, as I’ve mentioned above, are painfully outdated and problematic (57/100).

Quote – “Your problem is that you’re not happy being sad. But that’s what love is, Cosmo. Happy-sad.” - Raphina

What to watch for – All of the musical numbers! Some good ones are “Drive it Like You Stole It” and “Brown Shoes.”

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Begin Again!

Director: John Carney

Distribution Company: The Weinstein Company (ew...)