What a Rush

I was watching August Rush the other night. I'd never seen it, but I kind of wanted to, because of the music. As a guitar player, if there's a guitar in the trailer, I want to see it!


There was a bunch of people I didn't know in it, except for Kerri Woods and Robin Williams, and a couple of people I've seen on Law & Order once or twice. That said, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. (See my prior post on how men have become wimps.)

To be honest, the plot was a bit contrived. Standard Film Plot #3, the "Lost Child" combined with the "Happily Ever After" finale (Combo #2) is served up. This is not the kind of movie that will leave (lesser) men weeping at the end, but you should surely have a smile on your face.

I liked the music. The massive orchestral piece at the end, scored by Mark Mancina, weaves it's way through the entire movie. Elements of the melody can be heard in snippits, and finally come to fruiton in the final act, as August conducts the New York Philharmonic (as if!) playing his opus. What I really liked was the mixing of guitar with the orchestra, the blending of modern and classical with the singing of Jamia Simone Nash. While I am dubious that a couple of weeks in Julliard could have an unschooled, untrained kid scoring an orchestral piece that could be played by the Phil, I did like the peice itself.

The best part (for me) was the "Dueling Guitars" part, where the father (played by John Rhys-Meyers) and the kid (Freddie Highmore) happened to meet in Washington Square Park and played an awsome guitar duet. Hey, it could happen; there's only ten million people in New York, right? Apparently the three principles all took lessons to be able to actually play in the movie, or at least credibly look like they were playing. (Rhys-Meyers is actually playing his part of the Dueling Guitars scene.)

So if you like music, guitar and a predictible, feel-good story, make your way to the Redbox and check this one out.