Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Duets Blu-ray Movie Review

Karaoke Strong.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 5, 2012

Karaoke. It's a way of life.

Duets combines the Personal Drama with the Road Trip Adventure movie with a hobbyist's pursuit. But rather than car racing or whatever other "get them to the main event" competition most movies of this sort make the focus, Director Bruce Paltrow's (the late father of this film's star Gwyneth Paltrow) Duets focuses on six people, who become three teams of two, traveling to Middle America for a chance to win the big bucks...singing karaoke. About all that's missing is an obvious coming-of-age element (though one could argue that for either the Paltrow or Speedman characters), and one wonders how that was left out when there's the con man, the reuniting of the long-separated father and daughter, the escaped convict who's not such a bad man after all, the (literally) lost businessman who's absence at home doesn't make his family's hearts grow fonder, the cab driver whose girlfriend breaks his heart, and the superficially confident sex symbol and karaoke junkie on her way to California. It seems a bit scattered, but it works. The hybrid Comedy/Drama Duets plays around with recycled themes but paints a fairly cheery, breezy picture. The character relationships are sound and it's not so much the end goal as it is the destination that makes the movie work. The karaoke segments allow for some lighthearted fun, but Duets is as its best when the singing and humor give way to the character arcs and interpersonal dramas that truly shape the film.

The soloist.

Ricky Dean (Huey Lewis) hustles unsuspecting, relatively small-time karaoke champs for hundreds of dollars. Not only does he collect the betted winnings, but his winning of a championship along the local circuit means an automatic entry into the big show in Omaha, Nebraska, where the best-of-the-best karaoke performers will compete for a sizable jackpot. On his way towards his destiny, Ricky learns that his ex-wife is dead, and he has a chance run-in with his estranged daughter Liv (Gwyneth Paltrow). Elsewhere, Todd Woods (Paul Giamatti) is a burned-out business traveler who can't even get to the right city and whose family has all but abandoned him. He ditches his cookie-cutter life and pairs up with Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), a hitchhiking, Glock-toting escaped convict who holds up every good samaritan he comes across, but he sees something in Todd that has him changing his tune. Billy Hannan (Scott Speedman) owns and operates his own cab. When he catches his girl with another man, he hits the bars and happens upon the sexy Suzi Loomis (Maria Bello), a drifter of sorts and a karaoke-addict on her way to California. What does fate have in store for these six individuals, a fate beyond the chance at a karaoke jackpot?

Duets is a simple movie comprised of complex characters. The picture works better in its character moments than it does in the karaoke segments. The singing's catchy and contagious and sometimes even funny, but Duets is truly a story of relationships rather than moments behind the microphones and prize money. The picture shapes into a sweet, charming little affair. The characters are rather one-dimensional, but they find purpose in the presence of one another as they journey not only towards Omaha, but towards turning points in their lives as they find friendship and fate on the road and, sometimes, behind the mic. The pairings are excellent, with the Giamatti-Braugher tandem easily the film's best. Their arc is the deepest, the most meaningful, and the most entertaining. Unlike the other two pairings, this one winds up quite differently than audiences might expect of a movie that's otherwise something of a dramatic middleweight and equal parts character-driven story and light-hearted fun. But the entire things works out rather well, provided audiences enjoy the movie for what it is and not simply expect a recreation of a smoky, small-time Saturday night karaoke marathon.

Still, the movie leans heavily on the karaoke angle, and requires of its cast at least an ability to perform under the bright lights of the smoky stage. They succeed. Not only is Duets remarkably well cast, but the players all seem up to the task of performing at various levels of success when behind the microphone. Whether Giamatti's first and reserved notes, Braugher's soulful final performance, a lovely duet between Lewis and Paltrow, or Bello's energetic Omaha show, the cast shows its talents beyond the film's dramatic arcs. The off-stage performances are just as appealing; Giamatti leads the way with his involved physical performance of a family man gone off the deep end, becoming lost in the world and addicted to the fame and the meds that give him the courage to jazz up his exterior and, along the way, perhaps even find some much-needed balance on the inside. Lewis excels as a karaoke hustler (who knew such people even existed?) and Bello dazzles as the sexy and seemingly uninhibited starlet of the karaoke stage. Speedman and Paltrow unearth some depth beyond their good looks, while the stalwart Andre Braugher finds some real depth as a man in search of a purpose in life beyond knocking off kindly truck drivers. The movie looks good and plays quickly; it's not all that dramatically original but the fine cast, sound direction, catchy tunes, and good dramatic pairings make Duets a movie worthy of song.

Duets Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's 1080p, 1.85:1-framed Blu-ray transfer of Duets looks a bit dim, but the image on the whole impresses with a nice-looking, film-like appearance. Whether smoky bars, bright exteriors, or well-lit interiors, the image delivers some balanced, natural details along faces, clothes, and general surrounding objects. Nothing stands out as particularly striking, but it's rather the entirety of the image rather than individual achievements that make Duets' 1080p transfer superior. Colors are never vibrant, but the image handles the film's natural palette well enough, delivering even flesh tones, bright convenience store product colors, clothing, and other colorful elements to satisfactory result. There's little in the way of banding, noise, blocky backgrounds, or edge halos. This is a fairly dim but proficient and film-like transfer that should please audiences with proper expectations for an older catalogue title released to Blu-ray for a bargain price.

Duets Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Duets belts out a satisfactory DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track makes good use of the film's musical elements. It offers good, positive energy, volume, and clarity in the karaoke singing scenes, while general, integrated music features fine spacing and positive bass. Ambient crowd applause nicely intermixes into the track and subtly surrounds the listening audience, even as front-end music remains rather entrenched across the primary speakers. Other, musically-unrelated ambience and effects work impress as well. A plane rumbles overhead in one early scene, traffic passes by the soundstage with little effort in chapter six, and the light background din of chatty guests in a hotel lobby all help to immerse the listener into various environments or, at least, paint a more certain and alive picture of the world of Duets. Dialogue can sometimes sound a bit hushed next to the other elements, but overall this is a fine presentation that works in the movie's favor.

Duets Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Duets contains only the film's original theatrical trailer (480p, 2:21).

Duets Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Duets is more about personal pairings and budding friendships and relationships than it is just a couple of people behind the karaoke microphone. The movie satisfies with its catchy singing stretches, but it finds its footing and delivers the goods as a quality Drama that sees six people find what's been missing in their lives, karaoke being the strange but effective middle ground, the unlikely meeting point for not just a chance at some winnings, but a chance at redemption, self-discovery, and togetherness. It's a quality film from top to bottom. Mill Creek Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Duets features satisfactory video and audio. The supplements are limited to the film's trailer, appearing in standard definition. Recommended on the strength of the film and the unbeatable sale price.