Duets

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The big downside of the film is that it always feels slightly contrived.

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

A highly likable movie.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

An intermittently irresistible entertainment.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Has little islands of humor and even perfection, floating in a sea of missed marks and murky intentions.

Film.com Tom Keogh

A mixed bag, all in all (casting Huey Lewis was not the best idea), but worth seeing.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Every so often a movie comes along that's bad in such original and unexpected ways that it inspires an almost admiring fascination

Washington Post Megan Rosenfeld

If scriptwriter Byrum hadn't tried to cram every possible theme into this film -- hoping, no doubt, they would all add up to greatness -- Duets would be an entertaining, wryly observed slice of Americana.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Duets is to movies what karaoke is to pop: a spirited attempt by non-pros.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Appealing, and ultimately moving.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A simple entertainment that's by and large carried on the backs of its actors, some who are wonderful and others who are merely likable.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

The joys of singing give the movie a hook, but when Duets aims for lyricism, it's got a tin ear.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Lack of much substance or dramatic payoff makes the whole significantly less than sum of its parts.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Too crisp and calculated to match the moods of its wild and woolly characters, and its interwoven subplots lead to predictable outcomes.

Miami Herald Curtis Morgan

Simply creaks with contrivance -- particularly in its overwrought finale.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

The ensemble cast, struggling with wanly written characters, hits more clunkers than high notes.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Slight but savory.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Hard to take stone-cold sober.

Entertainment Weekly Steve Daly

A leaden piece of whimsy that looks for profound life lessons among a group of karaoke bar aficionados.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Hits mostly flat notes, then a few really sour ones.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Miserable as it crawls for two eternal hours toward being "life-affirming."

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Giamatti provides those small moments of triumph that Duets pretends to celebrate but instead stifles with its sense of superiority.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

To be fair, there are moments when the film seems better than, finally, it is.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Why the devotion to such dull material?

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This soft, formulaic comedy/drama has a far better cast than it deserves, and they work their hearts out trying to bring life to a cliched script.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

A road movie, though there's a decided lack of forward motion.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Only the most indulgent would fail to notice that this movie can't hold a tune.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

By the time Duets faces the music, hardly anyone is going to care.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The talented cast doesn't stand much of a chance in this rambling, pointless narrative.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A conceptual train wreck, with half an idea scattered like disaster debris all over the screen.