Eye Candy #99 - "August Rush"

August Rush: A modern day fairytale about a pair of young lovers, both of whom are musicians, who find true love yet only have a one-night stand together, before being driven apart by the girl’s father. She is also pregnant with their son who is given up for adoption without either of the two young people knowing it. He is raised in an orphanage and then escapes to New York City to find his parents (who don’t know exists, and it’s been over 11 years since they’ve seen each other). He falls in with a group of street thieves and musicians who follow, in a very Oliver Twist fashion, a petty crook Wizard (Robin Williams), who teaches the boy about music. The boy takes as his name “August Rush” and begins to perform on street corners. Both his parents, at the same time, also find themselves inexorably drawn back towards one another, as well. Through a series of fairly extraordinary events, August finds himself at Juilliard composing a symphony, believing that the music he is writing will bring his parents and him back together again for the first time. A very sweet, sweet film, about both true love and the power of music. I’m typically not a big fan of either Jonathan Rhys Myers or Keri Russell, but both here are spot-on, it’s also a much better showcase for Myers’ singing ability than say, “Velvet Goldmine”. Freddie Highmore, who could very easily be his generation’s Christian Bale, delivers another solid performance. As in the movie “Once”, the music here is exceptionally and is an integral part of the film. One of the songs was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song (but I think it was the wrong song; don’t get me wrong “Raise It Up” is good, but “This Time” is better). Sure, it may seem schmaltzy to some, and I wasn’t expecting a whole lot (nor was I in the mood for a romantic drama when I watched it), but I did enjoy it. Woodchuck sez, “Worth a look.”