Sing Street

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There have been lots of great Irish films in recent years but, in my opinion, this is not one of them. I just found it so hard to believe virtually every aspect of the story. There were some fine performances by young actors but there were also moments of strangely exaggerated emotions. If you enjoy the film I'm happy for you ... but I fail to understand! IMDb requires that reviews have at least 10 lines of text (strange) but I cannot write more about this production without giving away part of the story and without picking out the flaws in some people who may not be ready for such criticism.

Americans know just a few Irish films like Commitments and series like Derry Girls. This has that same relatable story of young people finding their way. The fictional band Sing Street itself has pretty good songs. They were charming, kind of Icicle Works or Modern English sounding. The film actually starts off by teasing us with Motorhead and Clash songs, and with a skinhead kid as bully who then becomes a friend. You find yourself expecting the kids to form a Stiff Little Fingers type band. Then some of the soundtrack almost wrecks it. Who they use as inspiration is laughable. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Hall and Oates? It's the worst of the 80s, when almost literally every other band was so much better. Joy Division/New Order. Bauhaus. Yaz/Alison Moyet. Tears for Fears. Echo and the Bunnymen. Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Fixx. Early U2. Big Country. The Alarm. Even the Smiths, though their singer became a whiny hateful bigot. Any of these would be better or more believable choices. Siouxsie and Bauhaus each inspired hundreds of imitators and millions of teens worldwide. Duran2 inspired exactly zero people. That part of the story was clueless. And they seriously expect us to buy a longhaired headbanger older brother who praises Duran or Spandau? I remember touring 80s rock acts back then who mocked the new romantics, and the audiences cheering their mockery. IRL a headbanger would sneer at them, even pick fights. In the US, Spandau were one hit one wonders, widely mocked because of their pretentious clothes and sappy ballad as cheesy Sinatra wannabes. Duran were pretty boys posing as musicians, and loved/lusted after only by 12-14 year old girls. HO did "blue eyed soul" in the 70s. That means they were very weak white imitators compared to genuine soul like Sam Cooke or Aretha. Then they did irritating jingles passing as pop songs in the early 80s before their career took a nosedive around 1985. It's still well worth watching, even if you will find yourself fast forwarding past the bad soundtrack choices to hear the better songs. A good story almost ruined by a third of the soundtrack being awful. Sing Street though, is a band you'll listen to. ETA: I'm glad of the strong reactions to my review. The downvotes are amusing, that some bad 80s pop fans are so fragile. I like the higher than I expected number of up votes. Good to know some others feel the same.

Sing Street (2016): Films about people at school forming bands are well known for being 60% more lovable than any other sort, and this movie is no exception.Sing Street,directed by Irish Film maker John Carney,has already been nominated for 74th Golden Globe Awards but sadly it will lose it to La La Land.If not for La La Land,Sing Street has all the necessary emotions and qualities to win a best musical movie of 2016.Why am I boasting it up before the review?You will see.. Plot: SING STREET takes us back to 1980s Dublin seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy named Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who is looking for a break from a home strained by his parents' relationship and money troubles, while trying to adjust to his new inner-city public school where the kids are rough and the teachers are rougher. He finds a glimmer of hope in the mysterious, über-cool and beautiful Raphina (Lucy Boynton), and with the aim of winning her heart he invites her to star in his band's music videos. There's only one problem: he's not part of a band...yet. She agrees, and now Conor must deliver what he's promised and immersing himself in the vibrant rock music trends of the decade, he forms a band with a few lads, and the group pours their heart into writing lyrics and shooting videos.In a sea of opportunities ahead of them, what does the future hold for a love like this? Plus Points: 1)Music: Sing Street is brilliant mostly because of its music.Much of the original music by the band "Sing Street" was composed by 80s veteran composer Gary Clark,which really gives us some nostalgic 80's rocking music with meaningful lyrics.For every 5 minutes a song always plays and it played a brilliant part in the movie."The Riddle of the Model" is one of the best track from this movie.I loved the other tracks too. 2)Performances: Newcomer Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is outstanding in his role and he surely has a bright future ahead.He surely is a Futurist:)When Conor gives an early Sing Street song called The Riddle of the Model to Raphina, he assures her: "It's not about you. It's about another model I know." Walsh-Peelo delivers the line with just the right mixture of shyness and teenage petulance.The other one I liked in this movie is Mark McKenna who played the role Eamon who has talent to play any kind of instrument.Lucy Boynton is lovely.Especially during the shoot of The Riddle of the Model,her expressions are marvelous.Jack Reynor as Brendon is very good in his role. 3)Screenplay and Direction: Sing Street has the most familiar plot for a musical drama but John Carney successfully made such a beautiful engaging drama with a perfect script.Sing Street is, in fact, a delightful coming-of-age tale that both celebrates young love and laments how quickly the fire of youth can be snuffed out. Director John Carney knows exactly how to mesh storytelling and music into his films.He is the next best after Damien Chazelle in directing a perfect musical picture.A great applause for Carney. So,Sing Street is a delightful film that is almost impossible to watch without a smile on your face and tapping of your feet for its outstanding soundtrack.One of the best musicals in recent times. My rating 8/10

The movie starts with some promise: Irish boy with difficult home life in new school starts a band. This is the same story line, done with much more intelligence and verve, as the film The Commitments. The dialogue here is boring and silly, the acting amateurish, and the ending ridiculous. The music is OK, if you can believe a group of kids get together and a week later are playing original songs. Except for the lead, none of the characters has any depth. The director/writer never develops the personalities in the band or shows how they work together. The band starts because they want to make a music video, and the whole movie is like a music video: lots of staging and no believable backstory.

Now that the usual slew of paid shill IMDb reviews are in, it's time for the sober minded crowd who actually care about the music of the eighties, and film, to set things straight. From the moment the all knowing, witty mentor of an older brother tells our little 15 something hero and his father that Duran Duran is an artistic statement that belies criticism and is conquerable to The Beatles, I knew something would be sorely remiss here. In fact, Duran Duran seems to be the sole band of any real importance to the eighties if you fall for this ridiculous film's 'perspective'. I can even see a wry little uncomfortable smile on Simon Le Bon's face (whom I have met), as even his ego would allow that such comparisons are ludicrous. Oh yes, sorry, I get it now. He has been assured royalties from a whole new generation being sold his music as a result of this crappy teensploitation film. Where are bands such as The Clash, who after all, were voted the most important band of the eighties by Rolling Stone - despite their already breaking up by 82? It is quite obvious that his movie intentionally glosses over any of the truly revolutionary artists of the UK eighties wave, such as Elvis Costello, The Stranglers, The Pretenders, The Police, The Specials, Joy Division, and so, so many others that simply do not exist in this telling of the tale to a new generation. Perhaps these bands would be too dangerous an influence (certainlyThe Clash) to let today's teenagers in on? Okay, there is one snippet of a Clash song, and maybe a couple other decent tracks quickly used, but without mention by name of anyone of importance except... Duran Duran. Oh, and Hall & Oates do get treated to the same sort of rip off song writing created by some professional song ripper offer paid by the film producers, that are barely acceptable as music except that they are such accurate rip offs - which of course our 15 year old hero is supposed to have written with his musical cohort who okay, kind of looks like The Edge... but once again, forget U2 even being mentioned by these Irish teenagers in 1985. Hmmmm. Jokingly, they recruit a token black band member and whereas this could have been a great vehicle by which his character would develop and show them up for their stupidity... in fact he remains exactly that. A token black cast member without any real dialogue. Wow. The 'love interest' between a milky faced 15 year old and a mid twenties actress (playing a young girl) too, whose character wants to 'get into' modeling and looks more like she's almost too old for prostitution is just bewildering to me. How can anyone take it seriously? Both characters obviously have little in the way of real love for one another, but simply find each other advantageous and desirable for their own self images. Perfect brain washing for today's teens. Because yes, although compared naturally by many to The Commitments, which is a real story that can be enjoyed by anyone who loves good music, this is blatantly targeted solely at today's teenagers who will find a 15 year old boy being persecuted for wearing heavy make up to school so close to their own painful deeply significant struggles today... To any adult who was there though, and cared about it, it is a criminal whitewashing of musical history. One I submit is not without intent on the part of the film makers. The final scene is absolutely priceless though. It's as though these film makers wanted to end by showing how ridiculous the whole thing has been all along... and to think you lasted to this final absurdity of an ending.

This is a movie made for young people with all the ingredients they need: pop music, love story, a little family trouble and school environment with all its highs and lows. And for sure: a strong reference to recent fashion. So there is not much to say about the whole plot. It is simple and told straight forward. No surprises, no twists. Besides that the version of the 80ies given by the director is somehow distorted. There are a lot of errors in historical facts and fashion: the two brothers talk about MTV, but the story takes place in 1985 and MTV Europe was founded in 1987. And by that time it could only be received via cable which was very seldom, especially in poor Ireland. In one scene the protagonist tries to be a Robert Smith imposer and wears a donkey jacket. But this kind of jackets were usually worn by skinheads in the 80ies. But first an foremost the movie misses the spirit and feeling of the 80ies. Because the feeling of the film is just pure postmodern present age. The music played is mainly pop music the kids were listening to. But the old brother of the protagonist, some weird and misplaced 90ies slacker, is giving all those kiddy-pop-records to his younger brother as if they were long kept treasures. It would be more likely that this guy either would have listened to Birthday Party, Billy Bragg, Wire or some other post-punk underground stuff or still to music from "his" time, the late 70ies. The protagonist changes his design and musical interest like his underwear. But the 80ies were characterized by commitment, credibility and integrity. You chose once if you are mainstream or subculture and than you stuck to it. If you chose to be punk you'd never switched to be new-romantic on the next day. But that is exactly what the characters in the movie do. And it is a way of thinking that perfectly reflects pop cultural habits nowadays that derive mainly out of ignorance. I played in my first band in 1985 and it definitely felt different - the time, the music, just everything. So if you had your share of the 80ies, forget about this movie. If you are 15 and don't give a damn, enjoy it. But don't expect to learn anything real about the 80ies. Because it is just a fairy tale with some poorly placed accessories.