Sing

On Christmas Eve my whole family went to see the movie Sing and we had so much fun!  Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), an impresario with a cash-flow problem, devises a singing competition to save his theater by promising a reward which is more than he can afford thanks to a mistake made by his secretary Miss Crawley (Garth Jennings), a green iguana with a troublesome glass eye.  After a lengthy (and hilarious) audition, several competitors are selected.  Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) is an overworked and underappreciated pig who gave up her dreams of stardom to be a wife and mother.  Gunther (Nick Kroll) is a flamboyant and attention-seeking pig who is partnered with Rosita to give her act some flash.  Mike (Seth MacFarlane) is a white mouse who is a talented, but extremely arrogant, street performer.  Ash (Scarlett Johansson) is a punk-rocking porcupine with boyfriend problems.  Johnny (Taron Egerton) is a mountain gorilla who wants to be a singer rather than a member of his Dad's criminal gang.  Finally, Meena (Tori Kelly) is an elephant with a beautiful voice but is debilitated by shyness.  Each of them must overcome enormous odds to get to an epic final performance.  There are over 85 classic songs as well as an original song by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande.  It was really fun trying to recognize all of the songs.  My favorites were "Golden Slumbers/ Carry that Weight," "Butterfly" (which Tashena sang out loud), "Bad Romance," and "Call Me Maybe" (which we all sang out loud).  Just like most animated movies for children, there are quite a few funny references that only adults will understand.  Both Marilyn and I laughed and laughed when one of the characters had a Sunset Boulevard moment (we were the only ones laughing in the entire theater).  The plot is definitely formulaic (I've heard it called Zootopia meets American Idol) but it is a lot of fun and it is especially appropriate for families wanting to see a movie over the holidays.

Note:  While the rest of us saw Sing, my Dad saw Rogue One at the same time.  He loved it!