MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

LBSRmcr To tell the truth- this is one of my favorite films. I've watched it time and time again. Two ex-sales people get recruited to become A&R people for a new record label. In their journeys they learn to sell dreams to hopeful artists until the main character's conscience wakes up and he doesn't go through with a sale out of compassion for a talented singer. Along with being a commentary on sales in general and a callousness and/or naiveté that is apparently needed to be a salesperson, it also is a sort of parody of the current state of the music business or indeed the arts in general. This is made clear through glimpses of the life of the salesman's girlfriend-she is an artisan who makes crafts for the love of it, puts hard work into them and sells them at craft fairs and as a character she is stable, creative and carefree. He however endeavours to sell the dream of instant fame, believing it sincerely. Until he realises that the people he work for don't- they only do it for the money. In a time where most pop music is brought into the fore by shows such as x-factor, American idol, etc. it is a really thoughtful film, along with being amusing.

BobMustgrave This movie is disarmingly good. I first saw it at the Atlanta Film Festival (where it won top honors) and got to participate in a Q&A with the director and one of the producers. He said some of the music performers in the movie answered an actual ad promising record label auditions. Some of them are also legitimate talents who knew they were acting in a movie. Also, his father actually was a "song shark" in the 70s for a bogus company like Great World of Sound. Also, the two leads are amazing. I'm officially watching anything with Pat Healy in it (Just caught In Memory of My Father and loved every minute of it). I'm unsure as to why this didn't take off like Little Miss Sunshine and Napolean Dynamite. I know it premiered at Sundance and got bought. It even has a strong musical element and I feel like Once was a big sensation that year as well. Very puzzling.Regardless, this one outlives the hype --- definitely a must see.

airfoyle One good thing about this movie is that the cheap indie feel for once works in a flick's favor. The record-company executives are seen to be scam artists (by us) from the very beginning. We see gold records being spray-painted as the opening credits roll. But the men sucked into the scheme only gradually become aware that they're conning people. You have to suspend some disbelief to accept that it takes them so long to figure it out.The plot focuses on two of the "record producers," played by Pat Healy and Kene Holliday, who go on the road to audition local talent and persuade the bands to make a contribution to the production of their records. One of them gets really good at it, and is more reluctant than the other one to get out of the game.The movie has a lot of rough spots and a few bright spots. Kene Holliday's performance is quite good.The brightest spots were the auditions of all the local acts. I loved every one of them. It seems clear that they really were amateur performers -- bands, singers, songwriters, some good, most not so good -- and I could not imagine how they were lured into making a movie about exploitation of bad local bands, and having their performances immortalized on celluloid. The editing of the auditions was perfect, so we never get bored with them. The dialog between Healy's and Holliday's characters as they sell their operation to the suckers seems improvised, and skillfully improvised.The movie as a whole just sags too often, and when it does Pat Healy is always the main character on screen. He goes through the entire movie as if drugged, and at the end his character loses all credibility. Well, that's not his fault, I guess, since the script was the script; too bad he didn't get to improvise more.I predict most people will not be able to sit through the whole movie, but don't give up before the auditions start.

rasecz A musician talent search company, Great World of Sound (GWS), trains salesmen to go out and find talent. Once found, the deal pressed on the budding musicians is that they have to commit to paying 30% of the costs of producing and distributing CDs. Some of that money is extracted before the artist sets foot in a recording studio. Cash or a check payable to GWS, which also happens to be the initials of the owner. Sounds fishy? You bet it is.The point of this comedy is that the musicians are not the only suckers in this scam; the salesmen are too. The ultimate crooks are the company bosses who close shop and disappear when enough money has been collected. The salesmen are lucky if they get their last paycheck.The performers you see are actual musicians. Eighty percent of them did not know ahead of time that the auditions given in cheap motel rooms were fake. What you see and hear is the real thing. Twenty percent knew they were filmed but did not know what the filmmaker's project was about. Only two of the performers were scripted.There are a lot of auditions. The film comes close to having one too many.Best word play: one of the bosses talks about GWS begin a "conduit for talent". Read "con-duit".