Regular readers of my blog know that I thought The Night Listener was a terrible movie. It stars Robin Williams as a radio show host who… you know what, I don’t even remember. For a plot synopsis, click on the link above. I was actually surprised that an A-list actor like Robin Williams would do such an awful movie as The Night Listener, but he did. After sitting through a movie like The Night Listener, my husband and I are weary of Robin Williams. However, 3 of our friends and fellow tangents.org authors all agreed that August Rush is a good movie, so we checked it out. And you’ll notice that the title of this post is called, “The Night Listener Returns”, so uh-oh. But that was more of a joke, and now I’ve explained it, so let’s get on with my review of August Rush.
Not nearly as bad as the Night Listener; I wouldn’t even call August Rush a bad movie. At the very least, it was really refreshing to see a movie whose target audience was over the age of 18 that was absent any filth whatsoever. August Rush is a cute story, but I think the movie could have been done a heck of a lot better in some ways. The tale follows the life of a young orphan, an almost magical boy, named Evan Taylor as he “follows the music” to find his real parents. There were a few circumstances and events in the movie that weren’t believable in any shape or form, and even if you suspended your disbelief, the cheesiness of other aspects of the movie was annoying. The storyline is intriguing, and the acting is not bad, but there are a few things that would have to change about August Rush in order for me to consider it a great film. To name just a couple of those things, I couldn’t get over the fact that this entire love story is based upon a one-night stand. Tactfully done – as I said, there isn’t any filth in this PG rated movie, but still, knowing it’s true love after just a one-night stand? Come on! And, I guess you’ll have to see the movie to appreciate this, but would an abandoned theater really still have its electricity working? Doubtful. Like I said, just a few examples of what I perceived to be holes in the plot, but there are other things about the movie that could have easily been changed, improving the film’s quality. Doing so would add much enjoyment and just plain common sense to this movie. And Robin Williams was not the shining star in August Rush either; that was left for Freddie Highmore who played Evan – he was also wonderful playing twins in the great movie The Spiderwick Chronicles – another highly recommended flick. Williams seemed almost annoying in his role as a musical outlaw with his multple piercings and goatee. I flip-flopped between deciding if his character “Wizard” was a good guy or a bad guy. Maybe that was the point, I’m not even sure.
The actor who played Buford Benjamin Blue (Bubba) in Forrest Gump played a preacher in August Rush, so I was wondering if the line, “Run August run!” was a reference to the extremely famous line, “Run Forrest run!” from the Oscar-winning film based upon the Winston Groom novel, one of my favorite movies (one that I highly recommend). Or maybe it was the filmakers’ way of laughing at us for even thinking of an awesome movie like Forrst Gump during August Rush. Ok, it wasn’t that bad… I did appreciate the sentiment. But my lack of suspension of disbelief just got in the way of me getting swept into the magic of the movie, I guess.
Sorry for those who disagree with me, but I’m still glad you recommended the movie; it was definitely worth a screening – thanks!
Yes, Freddie is quite a talented young actor. Hopefully, he continues.
No problem with you not liking the movie. I guess it could have gone either way for me. I didn’t have the problem with the 1 night stand that you did, but then my outlook on relationships is kind of based on a love at first sight, so it didn’t seem out of place to me.
The electricity in the theater could have been stolen from somewhere. There were enough people/children there. Someone may have had the knowledge to do that.
You raise some of the same points I read on IMDB by the ones who didn’t like the movie, and they are valid. I guess for some, like me, suspension of disbelief is easier than for others. I do agree that Robin Williams was not at his best. His character actually made me think of a cross between Bill Sykes and Fagin rather than just Fagin.
Oh, could you tell our friendly admin that I have comments awaiting moderation on the front page? I guess I had never commented on any of those posts before. 😉