One Chance

To be fair to the film, they got the Pol Pot jokes out of the way early on in the movie. The rest of the film is a wannabe, quirky, humorous, rags to riches feel good film with every cliché thrown at it. Personally I think James Corden is a decent enough actor and he has proved that on stage several times such as The History Boys. However he has his detractors who cannot get over his comedy roles or just because he is fat or laddish in behaviour. Based loosely true events Corden plays Paul Potts a mobile phone salesman who has always loved opera. He has been bullied since he was young, shy, gawky, overweight and always seems to be down on his luck and could never get that big break. Even his father seems to be embarrassed by him. In reality Paul Potts was an elected Lib Dem councillor for several years, his siblings have been ignored in the film and he sang in several Opera productions on his way to the big time. We see Potts save money to go to an opera school in Venice, he auditions in front of Pavarotti but gets too nervous. He falls in love with a girl he met through the internet but every time something good happens bad luck gets in his way such as a burst appendix or a bike accident. That is until he wins Britain's got Talent. Its a film that is aimed at the audience who enjoyed his performance in the talent show, voted for him and purchased his album. I have no idea how good of an opera singer he really is. These days the Classical charts are full of what I term Karaoke opera singers who sing snippets of popular opera tunes, you know the bits even philistines like me would recognise such as 'Just one Cornetto' or is it 'O sole mio?' The film produced by Simon Cowell's production company with product placement by Carphone Warehouse is heavily manipulative and contrived just like some of Cowell's shows. I found the film to be tedious, unoriginal and unfunny. The cast do their best with a poor script, Corden is charming enough more to with his skills as an actor than the actual cookie cutter screenplay itself.

One Chance-720P

One Chance-480P

source: One Chance

This is such an uplifting movie with so much heart and love. It may be somewhat of an old story of a young man who was bullied by other children when he was young, had an intense love of opera that was opposed by his father and nurtured by his mother, who falls in love and continues his efforts to become professional despite so many odds against him. It was so enriching to see his friends stick by him and his wife totally supporting his dream. His humility is beautiful and his winning the top prize in Britain's Got Talent brings one to joyous tears: Excellent script and good acting in this wonderful true story of a talented, good human being.

Before you watch this movie you should hydrate, then get ready to open the water works. Such a touching story, and it is just so well acted by this cast of some very funny folks. I was completely caught off guard by this movie, and sit here now very satisfied, and left completely fulfilled. What you find under the wrapping is a fully epic movie that spans years, and once again technology is used very well to mark very simply for most of us the certain points in time, and culture. The story opens up from such a small tale to one living, and breathing on the much grander scale of the world. I Enjoyed every minute of this movie you have to admit that you really hate Trystan Gravelle all of the way through the story, but that just shows what talent is on screen, and how well all of the characters are burrowed into your heart. Recommended without any thought, and I think that anyone with a choice, and this is on your list should jump at it, and you will not be sorry.

I think the idea of this movie was to keep the audience in the cinema by firstly completely bemusing them before sending them to sleep in their seats. Directed by David Frankel, 'One Chance' follows the life of a dull, nervous, young boy, Paul (played by James Corden) who likes opera music, to becoming a dull, nervous, young adult, who sings opera music for a living. Firstly the title suggests that Paul only has one chance at something, when in fact he has at least five chances at several things. 1. He has the chance to progress from his choir to study music at a music but he blows this chance and chooses to leave school early and work as a mobile phone shop assistant, as this is obviously less difficult. 2. As a young adult in the word's capital of opera, Venice, he is heavily proposition by a very attractive, talented, educated, enthusiastic, rich young lady, who is also an opera singer, but he blows this chance because he's save a shop assistant girl back home in Port Talbot, the world capital of steel. 3. Also in Venice, he gets the chance to audition in front of his hero Pavarotti, but he blows this great chance by getting stage fright and drying up. 4. Back home he's offered the lead in a major production of Aida by his old music teacher – another big chance, but he falls ill on opening night, and is unable to perform, and looses that chance. 5. Although he was born and raised in Port Talbot, South Wales, and had no choice, when he comes into a lot of money later, he blow the chance of getting out of this depressive steel works town, by buying a house there to live. 6. He also enters a TV talent show. I won't spoil the ending, but just to say, it's another chance! Secondly, is this a film or an extremely long (and boring) advert for The Carphone Warehouse? We must have seen the shop at least 10 times, and had it mentioned at least twice this. The acting is competent from all, but a little caricatured: macho dad; batty mother; bully boy; wacky friend ('I'm positive this character was made up, and put in the film to counter the greyness of everyone else). Thirdly, and this will probably go amiss to non-UK residents, but Paul was born and raised in Port Talbot, Wales, but he has a Bristol, English accent! It's like a man born and raised in New York having a Texas accent. It's a little weird. Finally, and only because the list is almost infinite, light rock-pop dominates the soundtrack, and confusingly conflicts with the operatic theme of the film. So, if you want to spend 103 minutes watching a lot of uncharismatic 'non-steely' people simply 'milling' around all day, in an overly long mobile phone advert (and listen to 'Nessun Dorma' one more time), this is the film for you.

Okay, I've never seen Britain's Got Talent or, indeed, any similar television programme. I'm not an opera buff (or even an opera bouffe)and I first heard the name Paul Potts earlier this year when his PR team were placing squibs in the showbiz columns of National newspapers in order to promote this film. I did see James Corden in History Boys at the National Theatre but he didn't make an impression on me; I didn't see him in One Man, Two Guv'nors though I did see the show itself after he'd left it. About the only thing I did knowingly see him in were several episodes of Gavin and Stacy which I enjoyed as a show and also Corden's performance. So this is what I brought to the film. I agree one hundred per cent with the person who wrote here that the film exploits just about every cliché in the book - and yet it is apparently true. For me the revelation was the gorgeous Alexandra Roach, who dominated every scene in which she appeared. So far as the 'love' story goes it is both implausible and yet the kind of love story everyone aspires to. I was reminded of the 'love' story in Somebody Up There Likes Me (also a 'true' story and based on Rocky Graziano's own autobiography (albeit presumably 'ghosted' for him), which in turn was similar to the one in Rocky, which was fictional. it was not lost on me that both the real Graziano and the fictional Balboa were both boxers and unlikely to have been bullied either as children or adults - or at least not for long - whilst the real Potts was about as far from a boxer as it's possible to get or, to put it another way, love, real, unselfish love, can come to anyone. Because of the 'lovable cockney sparrer' persona he has cultivated Corden struggles to play colorless as the role demands but apart from that this is a fine movie.

Well I have to say that I am very surprised that I see almost only positive reviews when this movie is pretty mediocre. Okay it might be a biography of Paul Potts but still when your life is dull and boring you can't expect the movie to be anything else then that. I normally do like James Corden as a comedian but here I didn't laugh once. Classifying One Chance as a comedy is just a farce. They should classify it as a musical because that's almost 60% of the movie. Endless annoying opera singing, and not even that good. I couldn't wait until he finally won Britains Got Talent so that this movie finally ended. I guess if you are friends or if you are related to Paul Potts you might like this movie but otherwise there are loads of better movies then this one. Boring from beginning till the end.

To be fair to the film, they got the Pol Pot jokes out of the way early on in the movie. The rest of the film is a wannabe, quirky, humorous, rags to riches feel good film with every cliché thrown at it. Personally I think James Corden is a decent enough actor and he has proved that on stage several times such as The History Boys. However he has his detractors who cannot get over his comedy roles or just because he is fat or laddish in behaviour. Based loosely true events Corden plays Paul Potts a mobile phone salesman who has always loved opera. He has been bullied since he was young, shy, gawky, overweight and always seems to be down on his luck and could never get that big break. Even his father seems to be embarrassed by him. In reality Paul Potts was an elected Lib Dem councillor for several years, his siblings have been ignored in the film and he sang in several Opera productions on his way to the big time. We see Potts save money to go to an opera school in Venice, he auditions in front of Pavarotti but gets too nervous. He falls in love with a girl he met through the internet but every time something good happens bad luck gets in his way such as a burst appendix or a bike accident. That is until he wins Britain's got Talent. Its a film that is aimed at the audience who enjoyed his performance in the talent show, voted for him and purchased his album. I have no idea how good of an opera singer he really is. These days the Classical charts are full of what I term Karaoke opera singers who sing snippets of popular opera tunes, you know the bits even philistines like me would recognise such as 'Just one Cornetto' or is it 'O sole mio?' The film produced by Simon Cowell's production company with product placement by Carphone Warehouse is heavily manipulative and contrived just like some of Cowell's shows. I found the film to be tedious, unoriginal and unfunny. The cast do their best with a poor script, Corden is charming enough more to with his skills as an actor than the actual cookie cutter screenplay itself.