Duets (film)

Duets is a 2000 American road trip film co-produced and directed by Bruce Paltrow and written by John Byrum. The motion picture features an ensemble cast with Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis, Paul Giamatti, Maria Bello, Angie Dickinson, Scott Speedman, and Andre Braugher among others. The movie "revolves around the little known world of karaoke competitions and the wayward characters who inhabit it."
Plot.
The story revolves around unrelated pairs of people who spend time in karaoke bars across the United States in the week leading up to a big contest in Omaha.
All three pairs end up at the Omaha contest, each having won the right to compete there for $5,000 by virtue of winning in a smaller town. Finally accepting his daughter, Ricky invites her to perform a duet of her mother's favourite song, "Cruisin'". Billy discovers that Suzi's confidence is fake when he finds her in the ladies' room, vomiting from stage fright, but he convinces her to compete. Reggie sees the police arrive, investigating the service station shooting. He performs an a cappella version of "Free Bird" before pulling a gun on stage, prompting police to shoot him; this gives Todd a chance to put the full blame for the service station shooting on Reggie, which frees Todd to return to his old life.
After the contest, Billy and Suzi continue on their way to California. Billy invites Liv (with whom he had been flirting with at the contest) and Ricky to join them, and they resolve to take a slight detour to another karaoke contest in Nevada. Todd and Candy contemplate reconciliation, but the fate of their relationship is left open.
Production.
Bruce Paltrow spent several years trying to get the project started. The film was produced outside Disney's main production channels and was acquired and financed by Buena Vista Film Sales and was distributed through Hollywood Pictures.
This was the only time Gwyneth Paltrow and her producer/director father Bruce Paltrow worked together on a film project, and it was also Bruce Paltrow's last production before his death.
Brad Pitt was first cast in Speedman's role, but, after he and Gwyneth Paltrow announced the end of their off-camera romance, Pitt decided not to take the role.
Film locations.
The film locations include Las Vegas, Nevada; British Columbia, Canada; and Los Angeles, California.
Reception.
Critical response.
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a thumbs down on his television program, and wrote on his newspaper review, ""Duets" has little islands of humor and even perfection, floating in a sea of missed marks and murky intentions." Kenneth Turan, film critic for the "Los Angeles Times", described the film as "six characters in search of a movie. Any movie will do..."
Critic Bob Graham, writing for the "San Francisco Chronicle", liked the spirit of the film and the acting, and he wrote, "Cut 'Duets' some slack. This is an appealing, and ultimately moving, ensemble comedy/drama about ordinary folks whose one chance at anything resembling stardom is a karaoke contest...The fable style is a fragile one. The "Ally McBeal" test probably applies here. Fans of that show are likely to give themselves over to "Duets," too."
"Variety" critic Todd McCarthy singled out Giamatti's work and character, writing, "Giamatti gets the lion's share of Byrum's good lines and if the film is to go over with auds, it will be largely due to this character and performance, which reps one of the funniest sustained rants against the lowest common denominator in American culture that has been seen in ages."
Overall, many critics echoed Stephanie Zacharek's review in "Salon.com". She wrote, "Its three interlocking stories don't find the right rhythmic balance, and some of the dialogue is stiff and mannered." Zacharek did praise the acting and the film's message. She added, "In that respect, the way "Duets" treats its characters is refreshing. There are brief moments when it reminds us that plenty of people enjoy karaoke at the expense of their audience (during one scene an Asian businessman warbles tunelessly in the background), but "Duets" isn't out to make anyone look ridiculous."
Distribution.
The producers marketed the film using the following tagline:
The film was first presented at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2000. When released nationwide on September 15, 2000, it suffered at the box office. The first week's gross sales at the box office was $2,002,588 (581 screens) and the total receipts for the run were $4,734,235.
In its widest release the film was featured in 583 theaters and the film was in circulation for seven weeks. The production budget was $16,000,000.
Home media.
A VHS videocassette and DVD of the film was released on May 8, 2001 by Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment. The DVD contained additional features: a commentary track by director Bruce Paltrow and producer Kevin Jones, additional scenes, conversations with director Bruce Paltrow, and a multi-angle music video of "Cruisin'."
A bare bones Blu-ray version of the film was released on May 15th, 2012 from Mill Creek Entertainment. Kino Lorber, porting over the bonus material on the DVD, re-released it on Blu-ray on May 5th, 2019.
Soundtrack.
An original motion picture soundtrack album was released on September 12, 2000, by Hollywood Records. The CD contained twelve tracks, including original music composed for the film by David Newman. Actors Huey Lewis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti, and Maria Bello all performed the songs featured in the film, while professional vocalist Arnold McCuller sings all of Andre Braugher's parts including the "a cappella" version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".
The soundtrack spawned two hit singles in Australia, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis' "Cruisin'" which spent two weeks at No. 1. and Paltrow's "Bette Davis Eyes" which hit # 3 there. Cruisin' did even better in New Zealand, spending five weeks at No. 1.
Michael Bublé has a cameo singing "Strangers in the Night", but the song is not included on the soundtrack.