![]() Much more impressive are the musical abilities of Davis, who does things with an acoustic violin few have ever seen or heard.ĭuff makes an engaging heroine, but her immaculately coifed blonde locks and undiminished lip gloss (worn even while sleeping!)remind viewers just how much of a star vehicle this actually is. It’s nowhere near as exhilarating as “Fame” or even “Flashdance,” and Terri’s performance skills are less awe-inspiring than the plot requires. Altogether, “Raise Your Voice” is pretty innocuous stuff. Plot points are predictable: Love blossoms between Terri and Jay but Robin poses a threat Terri must regain her self-confidence and love of singing following her brother’s death dad Simon discovers the ruse and arrives at the conservatory minutes before the final performance to demand Terri’s prompt return home.īut this is a teen empowerment fantasy, and before you can say, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” Terri has found her voice and the courage to stand up to her dad. ![]() And it should come as no surprise that the term ends with a performance contest in which contestants vie for a scholarship. ![]() Several characters fall into facile archetypes, including faculty members, principally John Corbett‘s sympathetic Mr. Mayhew), the haughty vixen he once dated Denise (Dana Davis), the seriously talented African-American violin-playing roommate and Sloane, (Kat Dennings), the Goth pianist who’s caught the eye of budding percussionist Kiwi (Johnny Lewis). Upon her arrival at Bristol-Hilliman, Terri meets the students destined to become her friends and rivals: Jay (Oliver James), the cute boy with the British accent Robin (Lauren C. The contrast is so stark it feels like a cheap shot, but it makes the point: Terri’s not in Kansas - er, Arizona - anymore. Sleazy streetwalkers and congested intersections supplant green lawns and backyard barbecues hard-edged rock replaces soft piano chords on the soundtrack. Terri arrives in L.A., and, in contrast to her hometown’s bucolic charm, Los Angeles couldn’t seem more like Sodom and Gomorra. Telling father Simon that Terri is off to visit Aunt Nina in Palm Desert, mother Frances puts her on a train with a cell phone and a hug. ![]() Terri abandons her musical dreams after Paul dies, but, when an acceptance letter from the Bristol-Hilliman Conservatory arrives, Terri’s free-spirited Aunt Nina (Rebecca DeMornay) and mother, Frances (Rita Wilson), insist the summer program would do her good. The film’s subsequent repeated use of Paul’s death as a narrative axis, however, feels manipulative and contrived. Minutes into the film, tragedy strikes when Paul - possibly the most agreeable sibling in movie history - dies in a car accident. Terri’s supportive brother Paul ( Jason Ritter), however, tells her if she doesn’t pursue her goals now, she’ll find herself “doing ‘Cats’ at the Y at 40.” Without Terri’s knowledge, Paul has compiled video footage of her performing and sent it to the arts school to buttress her application. is no place for a 16-year-old girl from Flagstaff. Gifted singer Terri longs to attend a performing arts summer school in Los Angeles, but her father, Simon (David Keith), insists L.A. Duff’s Terri Fletcher hails from a long line of youths for whom creative expression yields both self-realization and escape from an overprotective or domineering parent figure ( Jennifer Grey in “Dirty Dancing,” Kevin Bacon in “Footloose,” etc.).
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