One Chance (FILM REVIEW)
One Chance
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Overcoming-the-Odds Biopic Recounts Rise of Aspiring Opera
Singer
For as long as Paul Potts (James
Corden) can remember, all he every wanted to do was sing. Blessed with a big
voice, the chubby boy sang everywhere as a child, whether in the shower,
walking down the street, riding the school bus, or in the church choir.
Sadly, this
inclination didn’t sit well with the ruffians of Port
Talbot, the blue-collar town where Paul was raised. The more he
sang, the more they would bully him, and vice-versa.
Fast-forward to 2004 where
we find Paul, at 34, pursuing the pipe dream of an opera career and still
living at home with his supportive mom (Julie Walters) and skeptical dad (Colm
Meaney). Meanwhile, he’s taken a job as a cell phone salesman in order to save
up enough money for a master class in Venice
with the legendary Luciano Pavarotti (Stanley Townsend). And he is lucky to
have an understanding girlfriend in Julz (Alexandra Roach), a portly pepperpot
he met over the internet.
Thus unfolds One Chance, a delightful
musical dramedy directed by Oscar-winner David Frankel (Dear Diary), best known
for The Devil Wears Prada. Here, the Native New Yorker has fashioned an
overcoming-the-odds biopic revolving around Potts’ real-life exploits as a
contestant on the TV show “Britain’s
Got Talent.”
The film feels a lot
like The Full Monty (striptease) and Billy Elliot (ballet) in terms of the
protagonist’s pursuit of an unconventional art form. However, it also is
evocative of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral in the way it wins your
heart via a charming courtship.
A touching, true tale
chronicling a talented troubadour’s televised triumphs.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for
profanity and sexuality
In English and
Italian with subtitles
Running time: 103 minutes
Distributor: The
Weinstein Company
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