Search - Duets on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Language, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 05/08/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 52 mins Studio: Walt Disney Video Total Copies: 1 Genres: Comedy Drama, Road Movie, Ensemble Film

Director Bruce Paltrow teams with his Oscar-winning daughter Gwyneth Paltrow for this road comedy with music. Paltrow plays Liv, a struggling professional singer whose meets her father, Ricky Dean (Huey Lewis), for the first time at the funeral of her mother. As it turns out, both Liv and Ricky supplement the income from few-and-far-between gigs by singing in karaoke contests, and soon father and daughter are competing on the same circuit. Meanwhile, Todd Woods (Paul Giamatti), a salesman who has grown disenchanted with his job, his family, and his life, picks up a hitch-hiker named Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), and during a stop at a tavern, they discover they make a good duet team while belting out a version of "Try A Little Tenderness." And waitress Suzi Loomis (Maria Bello) sweet talks Billy (Scott Speedman), a cabbie, into driving her to Omaha, where the national karaoke finals will determine who does the best job of singing along with the records, as the lives of these six characters begin to intersect. Duets also features Angie Dickinson as Blair, Liv's grandmother who was once a showgirl in Frank Sinatra's Las Vegas floorshow; Brad Pitt was originally cast in Speedman's role but withdrew after he and Paltrow announced the end of their off-camera relationship. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Maria Bello - Suzi Loomis
Andre Braugher - Reggie Kane
Paul Giamatti - Todd Woods
Huey Lewis - Ricky Dean
Gwyneth Paltrow - Liv

A real oddity that fizzled in theatres, Duets ended up being more popular as a soundtrack then as a movie. But this Disney DVD release of the movie shows that misfires are sometimes more interesting than hits. Duets is grungy looking, badly paced, and constantly shifts in tone between light and dark comedy and mawkish tragedy. But it's also very well acted, features genuine moments of tenderness, and many of the karaoke scenes really take off. The DVD format is very good at enabling viewers to single out Duets' better moments, while director Bruce Paltrow's audio commentary and interviews suggests that the movie didn't exactly turn out as planned. Paltrow goes in-depth about how hard it was to get this movie made and the problems involved in the shoot and with his health (he had cancer). The DVD also features deleted scenes, a multiple-viewpoint music video, a good widescreen anamorphic transfer of the gritty-looking movie, and a great audio transfer that negates the need to buy the hit soundtrack for your home stereo. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide