Shut Up and Sing (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Bruce Leddy

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Leddy (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Plot:

A group of guys who sang together in a college a cappella group reunite 15 years later to perform at a friend's wedding and discover how their lives have progressed -- and in some cases regressed -- since their college heyday. |

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Wedding | Weekend | Divorced | Marriage

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

David Alan Basche	...	Steven
Chris Bowers	...	Spooner
Samrat Chakrabarti	...	Will
Alexander Chaplin	...	Ted
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Dana
Mark Feuerstein	...	Greg
David Harbour	...	David
Elizabeth Reaser	...	Julep
Reg Rogers	...	Richard
Molly Shannon	...	Trish
Liz Stauber	...	Michelle
Camilla Thorsson	...	Elsa
June Diane Raphael	...	Tammy (as June Raphael)
Salvatore Inzerillo	...	Biker
Joanna Adler	...	Sheila

Also Known As:

Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace (USA) (new title)
The Wedding Weekend (USA) (new title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

East Hampton, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Shut Up and Sing LLC

Trivia:

Had to be re-titled "The Wedding Weekend" after a legal battle with the Weinstein Co over the use of "Shut Up and Sing" for the Dixie Chicks' documentary Shut Up & Sing (2006).

Movie Connections:

References Scared Straight! (1978)

Soundtrack:

Love Is Here to Stay

Best Movie of the Year!

I had the opportunity to see this film at the 2006 HBO Comedy Film Festival in Aspen, and went into the screening with very little expectations. When the last scene faded out on the New York City landscape, there was a brief moment of silence and then everyone leapt out of their chairs into a standing ovation. The clapping didn't stop until finally Bruce Leddy and the producer Eliza Steel came up to the front for the question and answer session. I don't know much about the film industry or these festival screenings, but I thought people were supposed to be asking questions - instead people took turns standing up and outright praising them for the experience they had during the film. I have to agree with that sold out audience - it was absolutely fantastic. Not only was the script incredibly written and the acting spot on, but the film reaches deep inside all of us and literally pulls at your heart strings. This intelligent comedy does what most movies fail to do which is to connect with all of the human emotions involving relationships from the very highs to the very lows. At the end of the movie, I think the reason everyone was silent for a moment before they jumped up to clap was because they were not ready for it to end! I can not wait for this movie to hit theaters so everyone has the privilege to take this journey with this group of friends to the Hamptons and learn a lesson about life and love that will make both men and women laugh and cry. It is no wonder that the movie ended up winning the Audience Award at the festival.