Joyful Noise
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: January 13, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
20
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundJan 12, 2012
Joyful Noise certainly has its demographics covered. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanJan 11, 2012
The movie's musical numbers are catchy and rollicking and, in their bright sunshiny way, rather soulful. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJan 11, 2012
Joyful Noise is a good movie when it lifts up its heart and lets people sing. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyJan 12, 2012
Though one wishes Graff's eye were as developed as his keen ear, he elicits rafter-raising musical performances from Latifah, Palmer, and Jordan that are irresistible fun. Read full review
63
ObserverRex ReedJan 10, 2012
Grousing aside, this is a disarmingly sweet movie, enjoyable to the hilt, with music that really stomps. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJan 16, 2012
A Joyful Noise overcomes. The big numbers are a gospel-pop-funk fusion that made me think, Hmmm, this seems very processed - before I noticed my feet were tapping of their own accord. How can you resist that wah-wah funk guitar? Read full review
60
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJan 12, 2012
A well-intentioned, pleasant-enough picture that shoots off in too many directions to ever ignite. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichJan 10, 2012
More stupid movies should leave you with such a blissfully stupid smile. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonJan 11, 2012
Like so many underdog movies, Joyful Noise will go over best with those who show up hugely eager for it to be exactly what it looks like, and to tell them exactly what they want to hear. Read full review
50
TimeRichard CorlissJan 16, 2012
The critic in me can authoritatively declare that the film is crap. The fan in me sent his shirt to the dry cleaners for tear removal. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 13, 2012
Lots of talented young singers decorate the scenery, notably Jeremy Jordan (late of Broadway's failed Bonnie & Clyde but soon-to-open in Newsies)who has vocal and acting chops that shine even in this bucket of Glee Goes Gospel cornpone. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerryJan 12, 2012
Despite some mawkish dialogue, there's something to be said for leaving the theater with a smile. Can I get an amen? Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliJan 12, 2012
Like most ruckuses, it is frequently loud and not always intelligible. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 12, 2012
Joyful Noise seems tailor-made for an audience of churchgoers and "Glee" devotees. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 12, 2012
Todd Graff's would-be inspirational film lift their voices in song that makes you smile, and squander their voices on dialogue that makes you cringe (but also smile in oddly pleasurable disbelief). Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJan 12, 2012
Hot gospel singing and earnest family squabbles are all that distinguish Joyful Noise. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 12, 2012
The movie's all right, if you can take its rampant artificiality - and I'm not even talking about Parton's face yet. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleJan 12, 2012
Joyful Noise is too tone-deaf to put its few blessings to good use. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverRoger MooreJan 11, 2012
A cheerful, not-quite-off-color crowd-pleaser that rarely breaks formula, it's the big screen equivalent of a sloppy smooch from your over-affectionate aunt over the holidays. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 6, 2012
Staggeringly cornball and squeaky-clean even when flirting with such issues as interracial sexual rivalries. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 6, 2012
A routinely plotted competition drama in which Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton (playing her first bigscreen lead in 20 years) vie for control of a small-town Georgia church chorus. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJan 12, 2012
A lower echelon of musical comedy hell (or heaven, if you love the hoariest musical comedy clichés). Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderBen SachsJan 12, 2012
It's hard to enjoy the movie's charms when writer-director Todd Graff (Camp, Bandslam) keeps trying to shove them down your throat. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaJan 12, 2012
The cornpone wisdom overflows from the screen during Joyful Noise, like maple syrup on your grandmama's flapjacks. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJan 10, 2012
Speaking of camp, the diva battle teased in the trailer for Joyful Noise between its two stars, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, flatlines, as do most of the movie's jokes. Read full review
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. JohnsonJan 14, 2012
Nothing more than uninspired mushiness. Read full review
38
New York PostLou LumenickJan 13, 2012
Latifah, a formidable actress who's almost always better than her movies, easily dominates this hokey cross between "Glee'' and "Sister Act.'' Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJan 11, 2012
Joyful Noise is an ungainly assembly of parts that don't fit, and the strange thing is that it makes no particular effort to please its target audience, which would seem to be lovers of gospel choirs. Read full review
30
Boxoffice MagazineKate ErblandJan 12, 2012
A well-meaning production that consistently fails to deliver on even the most basic of cinematic expectations, all while covering up stunning ineptitude with bloated song-and-dance numbers. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJan 11, 2012
The film feels about as genuine and spontaneous as its evident lip-synching. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterJan 12, 2012
An unholy mess. Read full review
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