Contrived script makes for sour notes in karaoke-filled 'Duets'

Since Gwyneth Paltrow is the hottest actress in Hollywood and her father, Bruce, is far from an A-list director, their teaming in the low-budget drama, "Duets," has an air of nepotistic charity about it that has generated mostly negative advance buzz.

Actually, the movie is not all that bad. Its reach may be quite a bit beyond its grasp, but it's mostly a well-acted, atmospheric little ensemble piece that says something about the soulless center of American society and the karaoke subculture in particular.

Gwenyth Paltrow, left, and Huey Lewis play a father/daughter pair who sing karaoke in "Duets," directed by Gwenyth's real-life father Bruce.

It's the story of three pairs of characters who are all, in one way or another, working their way toward a $5,000 karaoke contest in Omaha, Neb.

Couple No. 1 is made up of a karaoke hustler (Huey Lewis) who wanders from bar to bar conning unsuspecting customers into betting against his singing ability; and his long-abandoned, now-grown daughter (Paltrow), who decides to follow him on the circuit.

The second pair is a burnt-out, pill-popping, wildly self-destructive salesman (Paul Giamatti) who deserts his middle-class life for the nightly thrill of karaoke; and an ex-con hitchhiker (Andre Braugher) he meets one day in the Utah desert.

And the third duet is played by an ambitious, cynical singer (Maria Bello) working her way to Hollywood by performing fellatio on strangers; and an idealistic younger man (Scott Speedman) who refuses to accept all the evidence that "the world is a sewer."

The big downside of the film is that it always feels slightly contrived, and its script works to a melodramatic and not-very-believable ending that doesn't really serve to pull its characters and themes together in an emotionally satisfying way.

But the performances are consistently enjoyable, especially Giamatti ("Man On the Moon," "Saving Private Ryan"), who gives a riveting portrayal of a small man who discovers a big hole in the American Dream.

Director Paltrow and screenwriter John Byrum do a solid job of capturing karaoke's addictive appeal, as well as convincing us it represents a rebellion against the packaged entertainment of media conglomerates, and thus a modest triumph of the human spirit.

MOVIE REVIEW
DUETS
DIRECTOR: Bruce Paltrow
WRITER: John Byrum
CAST: Gwyneth Paltrow, Huey Lewis, Maria Bello, Paul Giamatti, Andre Braugher, Scott Speedman
RUNNING TIME: 112 minutes
RATING: R, for sexual references and brief nudity
WHERE: Bella Bottega, Crossroads, East Valley, Everett 9, Factoria, Galleria 11, Grand Cinemas, Issaquah 9, Longston Place 14, Metro, Mountlake 9, Pacific Place, Parkway Plaza, SeaTac North, Woodinville 12.
GRADE: B