Hearts Beat Loud

Empty nest syndrome (when parents have feelings after their child has left home for college/a new life) can be endearing to watch in comedies/dramas. The lengths adults are willing to endure in order to solidify the bond with their offspring before they embarking to adulthood can range in terms of outrageous activities depending on whether the film in question is a standard big budget Hollywood flick or if its an independent one where the script must be good enough to make up for the low budget. There are a good handful of these that audience members hold onto based on the impression and impact made on their lives, which brings us here to Hearts Beat Loud, another Sundance premiered film that launched into US theaters in June. The marketing campaign showed what appeared to be feel good father-daughter comedy, which was something I need to get the darkness and bizarre nature from First Reformed out of my system. There hasn't been much buzz surrounding this film but it did receive a positive critical reception. I entered the auditorium not knowing what it would bring me but ready for something cheerful and I left it satisfied by the pleasant experience.

Plot: The story follows a record store owner who attempts to convince his daughter to start a band with him after their recorded song goes viral. This premise follows the predictable structure you would expect but thankfully the execution mostly delivers. There's a bit of tension between the two and it's easy to figure out why once you observe their interactions with one another. With it taking place during the summer, it allows the leads their own respective arcs that come together in the central storyline. The best of these storylines is this teenager who embarks on a romance outside of the music work her dad's coercing her into, which was to be expected but was nicely composed in the heart warming scenes.

There are some noticeable issues to find that could get in the way of the viewing experience if they are your pet peeves. For starters, while the daughters arc is good, the dad's is somewhat weaker in that it needed more screen time or more fine tuning in terms of the writing. As a result, it feels kinda rushed in the conclusion but it's nothing terrible at all and worth pointing out. While the execution of the story is pretty nice, none of it feels strong or urgent enough to warrant a large screen viewing but instead compares to most modern plots that take place during the summer season that's been done to death.

Characters: The people to focus on are Frank (Nick Offerman) and Sam (Kiersey Clemens). Frank is a record store owner and Sam's well-meaning father trying to connect with her through the passion of music that runs in their family while attempting to get his personal life on track. Nick is one of the best reasons to watch this as his capabilities to balance humor and seriousness is mastered quite well. In fact, his fatherly appearance comes with a large beard and funny moments where he looks crazy when his eyes widen up in excitement. Sam is Frank's daughter whose realistic views occasionally clashes with her dad's impulsive decisions and finds herself a summer romance along the way. Kiersey is another highlight as she carries herself well through her awkward mannerisms and solid acting chops that makes her scenes with Nick that much better (accompanied by great chemistry between the actors). Honorable mentions go to Lisa (Toni Collette) and Rose (Sasha Lane) for the latter being allowed to relax and smile instead of screaming in Hereditary (feels like a break for the actress) while the latter has a nice charisma and soft spoken nature that's more than welcome here.

Overall Consensus: Hearts Beat Loud delivers a feel-good father-daughter viewing that's bolstered through the chemistry of its actors, a good script, and balanced with humor as well as familiar predictable drama.⭑⭑⭑3/4💻 Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy light hearted feel-good films. You want to take a break from mainstream big budget blockbusters. You don't mind predictable cliched dramas. You are a fan of family members bonding through music.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You are bored by light hearted feel-good films. You prefer mainstream big budget blockbusters. You have an issue with predictable cliched dramas. You aren't a fan of family members bonding through music.

Coming up next: July has found a sweet independent film to calm the nerves from the dark and cold tone of the previous entry. An opportunity has come up recently where I attended an advanced screening for an animated superhero adventure that will be making its debut to the big screens next week. As a result, the planned schedule of my reviews has shifted changed. Since I had been keeping up with a lot of these comic book adaptations this past year thus far, it's only fair that I take on this feature (despite my feelings involved with this one that will be explain during the next review). Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will review the animated comedy flick, Teen Titans Go to the Movies!!!