Our Song
PLOT:
Our Song follows three high school girls over one summer in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The girls, Lanisha (Kerry Washington), Maria (Melissa Martinez), and Joycelyn (Anna Simpson) are best friends and confidants. They have different family situations, different romantic interests, different moral codes and their own unique dreams.
They are all dedicated members of the Jackie Robinson Steppers, a community marching band, that holds daily rehearsals in a local parking lot. The girls want to master the instruments they play in order to impress their conductor.
Joycelyn works at a makeup boutique, while both Marie and Lanisha work at a bakery. Sometimes they talk about what they’ll do after high school, but most of their conversations are about the difficult immediate issues that face them daily:
- Their school is not going to reopen in the fall because there is asbestos contamination, so they each challenged with finding a new school with a good reputation, enrolling, and planning the daily commute.
- Pregnancy and teen motherhood are serious considerations for the girls, as many of their friends have babies.
REVIEW:
Based on my interest in Drumline, this film, Our Song, was recommended. Honestly, the only similarity between the two films is that they deal with marching bands. This film, though, uses the band much in the same way football was used in The Blind Side, and that is more as a back drop rather than a focal point.
This film is shot on a sort of documentary style, which was a real turnoff for me. Heck, that’s the reason I don’t really care for The Office or Parks & Recreation, yet I love Modern Family (Sofia Vergara…need I say more?).
–ahem–
Where was I? Oh yeah, amongst all that documentary style camera shots, this picture does actually have a plot, which is the 3 girls and their problems. In other words, this is one of those coming of age films.
Does that mean its bad? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but it does seem to drag on and on and not really get anywhere. This is where the scenes involving the Jackie Robinson Steppers marching band (played by themselves) comes in.
They bring in a nice break from the monotony of watching these girls have their various issues that really aren’t that interesting. Yet, somehow, the audience is still riveted. It is like watching reality TV, I suppose. For people with common sense, its nothing but drivel, but the common audience member will somewhat enjoy.
I’ll be honest with you, there isn’t much to this film. Three girls, their relationships, some scenes with a band, heavy pregnancy drama, and an abrupt ending. Having said all that, this film was really well made. I don’t highly recommend it, but if you’re into these coming of age dramas, then it is right up your alley.
3 out of 5 stars
