Beyond the Lights Review

RYAN: I had this movie all wrong.  For some reason, I went in thinking this was gonna be a modern musical but it’s so not.  There are not many performances.  It’s really just a romantic drama.

CAROLINE: Why did you think that?

RYAN: It’s more that I just assumed it from the marketing.  Maybe I hoped for it? (laughs) Regardless, it’s sort of like The Bodyguard for a new generation.  Not quite as good, mind you; but it has a similar vibe to it for sure.

CAROLINE: Love that movie.  So what are the pros and cons here?

RYAN: The performances are a pro, for sure.  I liked everyone in it.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a new pop star is actually believable.  That’s so hard to pull off when you’re not Christina Aguilera, you know?  And Nate Parker as her boyfriend cop is good and these two just could not be any hotter.  In fact, they’re so hot and their connection is so steamy, I was like, “This is PG-13, really?”  I almost thought it could be an R.

CAROLINE: Sounds like the rating association might be getting more lenient.

RYAN: And then Minnie Driver as the momager is a complete scene stealer.  She has one of the best scenes in the film and really I just wanted more and more of her.  She’s very good at playing an intense character.

CAROLINE: Yeah she’s regularly good.  Was this movie cheesy at all?  I thought the marketing was a little cheesy.

RYAN: Yes, the story is a bit cliche but I like a lot of the issues, like the mother/daughter relationship, the struggles of fame and navigating a career in the music biz.  All of that inside entertainment type of stuff is always fun to watch.

CAROLINE: So what didn’t you like about it?

RYAN: It’s a bit too long and drags at times.  There’s literally one scene that has to be at least ten minutes long, devoid of any dialogue and very little story is happening.  It’s like a ten minute montage and I was just waiting for it to end.  The movie alternates between moments that work and those that don’t.

CAROLINE: Inconsistency at its best.

RYAN: And the bigger problem I have with it is that it really asks you to assume way too much about the main character and the story.  The movie starts off with her in a very desperate place but then never reveals why, really.  There are glimpses she’s unhappy with the lack of personal control over her career and her overbearing mother, but never anything to really dramatic enough to explain her deep unhappiness.  It’s like, is she really just taking her whole life for granted?  That really bothered me about this film.  Like it places bets on your prior knowledge of pop-stars-gone-awry to fill in the blanks of her story.

CAROLINE: That does sound like a problem.

RYAN: I like the two different characters and all they have going for them and their obstacles to connecting but it should have been explored a bit more.

CAROLINE: You take the good, you take the bad.

RYAN: Exactly.  It’s a decent chick flick with music.  I liked a lot about it but it has it’s problems.

Thanks For Viewing The Beyond the Lights Review