| Teri Fletcher (Hilary Duff) is a small-town girl who has a gift for singing, gets accepted to a three-week camp for young gifted musicians in Los Angeles. Everybody in the family-her brother Paul (Jason Ritter), her mother Frances (Rita Fletcher) and her Aunt Nina (Rebecca De Mornay)-rejoice over this except her father Simon Fletcher (David Keith) who thinks that at 16, Teri shouldn't be exposed to the evils in LA, and instead concentrate on her helping at the family diner. Sneaking out with Paul one night to attend a rock concert-her graduation gift to him-a car accident claims Paul's life. Teri blames herself for the misfortune and loses all taste and zeal for singing. Mom and Aunt Nina conspire to send Teri off to LA, telling Simon she'd be holidaying with Nina in Palm Desert. Feeling very bad about having to lie to her dad but not quite willing to forego this chance of a lifetime, Teri agrees.
It's a feel-good movie with a plot that's worn and weary from having been recycled and repackaged hundreds of times in filmdom, but one must admit that even with all the clichés Raise Your Voice is a very well-made flick. Primarily because of the excellent casting-characters come across as true-to-life and next-door neighborly-and the good script which adds credibility and consistency of characterization. The screenplay is also good, with a just-right pacing that viewers can easily follow. The music schools scenes, particularly, seem all too real, as though all those actors are themselves indeed young musicians. Duff is in her element (as a well-scrubbed teenaged daughter any parent would be delighted to have), and only Keith's character as Teri's father Simon is more convincingly portrayed.
Families watching Raise Your Voice would find a lot of discussion themes in it. The main issue that could provoke a thought exchange would be: when is parental authority healthy, and when suffocating? Is it ever all right for children to talk back to their father as if he were just a peer? How does one discern or calculate the risks when defying parental authority in order to give way to a dream? In Raise Your Voice, the risk-takers are lucky-nothing untoward happens to Teri. In fact, everything is going for her, she reaches her goal, and the strict father realizes he is wrong. But real life isn't always kind to gamblers-what if country-girl Teri gets mugged or raped or snubbed beyond repair by snotty schoolmates in the big city? Movies like Raise Your Voice are, of course, more worthwhile to watch than most movies being shown these days. For one, they're wholesome, refreshing and uplifting. Just take care that they don't blind you to the nitty-gritty of lived realities.
(Date
Reviewed: January 14, 2005)
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