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Duets
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Photos (see all 28 | slideshow) Videos
Duets (2000) -- US Home Video Trailer from Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Overview

User Rating:
5.7/10   4,944 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 21% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Bruce Paltrow
Writer (WGA):
John Byrum (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Duets on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 November 2000 (Italy) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Music more
Tagline:
Six lost souls in search of a little harmony. more
Plot:
A professional karaoke hustler reconnects with his daughter and a bored suburban businessman turns outlaw karaoke singer, among other plotlines. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Paltrow Joins Forces With Brother
 (From WENN. 11 October 2005)

Paltrow: "I Don't Want To Be Martin's Yoko Ono"
 (From WENN. 8 October 2004)

User Comments:
Not great, but entertaining – and well worth it to see Braugher and Giamatti in action more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Lochlyn Munro ... Ronny Jackson
Carol Alexander ... Beth the Hostess
Michael Rogers ... Tulsa Bartender

Huey Lewis ... Ricky Dean
Amanda Kravat ... Redhead

Paul Giamatti ... Todd Woods
Ian Robison ... Sales Guy
Roger Haskett ... Sales Guy
John Payne ... Sales Guy

Scott Speedman ... Billy
Tom Bougers ... Desk Sergeant

Marian Seldes ... Harriet Gahagan
Angie Phillips ... Arlene
Steve Oatway ... Ralph Beckerman
Erika von Tagen ... Julie (as Erika Von Tagen)
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and some sexuality.
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was the only time Gwyneth Paltrow and her father Bruce Paltrow worked together on a filmed project. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Suzi Loomis wins the contest, she is holding the prize before the emcee gives it to her, then in the next shot, she is being handed the money by the emcee. more
Quotes:
Suzi Loomis: I'm gonna be the only major thing that has happened to you in your life, and you're gonna be jerking off to my memory on your goddamned death bed! more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Conversations with Bruce Paltrow (2001) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Texas more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful:-
Not great, but entertaining – and well worth it to see Braugher and Giamatti in action, 13 March 2005
6/10
Author: FilmOtaku (ssampon@hotmail.com) from Milwaukee, WI

Bruce Paltrow's film "Duets" basically centers on the relationships of vastly different people who all end up at a karaoke contest in Omaha. Liv (Paltrow) meets her dad Ricky (Lewis) for the first time at her mother's funeral. Ricky is a "karaoke hustler", a guy who walks into various competitions and not only wins the cash prize, but manages to get a sucker to bet on which of them is going to win. Ricky reluctantly lets Liv tag along with him on the circuit, and along with singing herself, she also tries to forge a relationship with her father. Todd (Giamatti) is a salesman who travels most of the year and comes home to a house where his children don't talk to him and his wife would rather spend time online than talk to him after one of his business trips. One day he has a "moment of clarity" and decides to use some of the 800,000 frequent flier miles he has racked up, taking off in his car and driving anywhere but near his home. The first night he gets a room, he walks into a hotel bar and is convinced to get up on stage for their karaoke night, where he finds he loves the freedom it allows and the attention it garners him. Along the way on his trek, he picks up a hitchhiker named Reggie (Braugher) a recent parolee with the voice of an angel, and the two strike up a very close friendship despite (or possibly because of) their many differences. Finally, there is Suzi (Bello), a drifter who travels her way to karaoke contests by eschewing all dignity and selling any part of her she can. At a stopover in Cincinnati, she encounters Billy (Speedman) a former seminary student who is now a gypsy cab driver that just discovered his girlfriend sleeping with his business partner. Bello convinces him to take her to California, but along the way, the lure of the $5,000 purse in Omaha gets the best of her and they make a stop there.

"Duets" features several story lines, but other than karaoke, they all have one thing in common: They are all unhappy with either their past, their present or the prospect of a bleak or uncertain future. The film really isn't all that good, but there are a couple of good things about it. First and foremost, the chemistry between Giamatti and Braugher is fantastic. Completely casting aside the fact that they are two of my favorite actors, their connection was practically tangible. Hey, who knew Giamatti could sing, too? The rest of the stories were pretty clichéd or just not very compelling at all. I wasn't sure where they were trying to go with the Suzi/Billy arc but it ended up going nowhere for me personally. Huey Lewis, nothing more than a marginally average actor does an okay job in this film, but it obviously isn't much of a stretch for him.

If you are not a fan of any of the actors, "Duets" is entertaining enough to sit through and not end up hating yourself afterward. Personally, the film deserves a slight edge because of the Giamatti/Braugher thing, but altogether, it gets a 6/10. In this case I'm rounding up from 5.5 for that edge.

--Shelly

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who won? BiancaWhitman29
Alternative Ending???? sietz
What's up with all those stuntmen? david_theis-2
Pinette was robbed!! bostoncees
Fat guy singer CaeserOct0
Giamatti owned this movie voacor
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