I’ll Be There Review

I'll Be There
Paul Kerr (Ferguson) is a former rock star whose latest hijinks have seen him sectioned in the local loony bin. Salvation arrives in the form of the daughter he never knew he had, her sturdy vocal chords and still-fanciable mother - who's not pleased by his re-emergence.

by Jane Howdle |
Published on
Release Date:

20 Jun 2003

Running Time:

105 minutes

Certificate:

12A

Original Title:

I’ll Be There

This is one of those 'nice' films.

You know the type: likeable characters, moments of light comedy, feel-good musical interludes from the warble-happy gob of classical music rebel, Charlotte Church... Oh, yes - the Welsh lovely makes her film debut here in the non-too-taxing role of Olivia, a Cardiff teenager with a cracking voice.

In a wishy-washy first half, nice-but-cretinous rock star cliche Paul ditches his leopard-print pants and bottle of Jack Daniels to leap aboard the wagon bound for righteousness and father-daughter bonding. It's only when the erratic beginning has calmed down, and the characters have been allowed a bit of breathing space, that I'll Be There almost (but not quite) comes into its own.

It doesn't play it for laughs all the way, though, instead pausing for the odd moving moment. Unfortunately, these weighty scenes don't sit easily alongside weak visual gags and unsatisfactory one-liners, resulting in a film that - though very nice - is too disjointed to satisfy.

The musical twist makes it more than your bog-standard rom-com, but it isn't sufficient to provide any necessary stand-out quality.
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