julianameen
Perfect harmony is really a movie that u didn't really realize that u were going to watch it someday....When it was the first time i ever saw the movie i first thought "this movie is really cool" after that.. i heard them sing and that caught my attention real fast! As soon as i saw that i also thought how could they sing that high?? that was really amazing to me b/c i never actually seen a movie with singing that i was actually interested in and it had a very catchy story as well. Taylor (justin whalin) and Landy where really great friends and they didn't care at all that they were two different colors.Paul seemed like he really hated landy and didn't get to know him from the inside first b4 actually being bad to him. un like Taylor, Taylor saw inside of landy and not the outside. He really treated him like a family member or even like a brother.Perfect harmony was my favorite movie. And i give that movie a 10. I watched that movie about 14 times in three days b/c i loved it so much. I recommend this movie to everyone that is into that kind of music like classic like and is interested in movies that happened in the olden days like around 1959. So other then that i give Perfect Harmony a 10!
Bill Mann
Perfect Harmony is one of those perfect films that you occasionally come across by accident.As a former teacher and a lover of Chorale music, especially boys choirs, I watched the film basically because of the choir. I thought that the film would be very much like Disney's 1960's film Almost Angeles, spotlighting the Weinersangerknaben (Vienna Boys Choir), long on music but very short on story line.I was very pleasantly surprised to find a very believable, moralistic story with a deep meaning to me. As a very conservative person, I have a very liberal streak when it comes to social issues. Especially race relations.Justin Whalin was a standout, as were most of the other young actors. I was disappointed with Darin McGavin's performance as I feel that racist tendencies are very deep rooted. Darin just seem to be too shallow in his beliefs.Overall I can honestly say that this was one of the movies that really stand out in my mind, especially as this post is being made in December 2004, several years after seeing the movie.
willzj2000
Honestly I started watching this film with the attitude that the cheese was just going to squeeze out of my VCR, but I would get out some good laughs. But much to my suprise the movie is well written and very believable. Justin Whalin (D&D and Lois and Clark) gives the best performance. The music is really for those who appreciate all forms of music, otherwise...you probably will laugh. All in all this is definately one for the family, with good acting and a heartwarming story.
esrob
Perfect Harmony is a somewhat simplistic morality play about the tensions between whites and blacks in a small South Carolina community in 1959. There are scenes at the local swimming pool and on the 'wrong side of the tracks', but most of the action takes place on the campus of Blanton Academy, a fictitious, lily-white, private, boys' school world-renowned for its vocal music program. The high point of the Blanton school year is the picking of the 'Lead Boy' from among the seniors in the vocal music program. The Lead Boy is then featured at the graduation sing.The majority of the action involves the two top candidates for Lead Boy as well as a black youngster whose grandfather is the maintenance person for the school. While both of the white boys are southern, one is a rabid racist; the other is more open and tolerant. Marc, the yankee roommate played aptly by Skye Ashley Berdahl, brings additional conflicts to the production.Eugene Byrd as Landy Allen was the most believable of the characters to me. His interactions with blacks and whites were unstrained and natural, making his performance the most believable. Justin Whalen as Taylor Bradshaw came in a close second. He seemed well suited to the role; he, too, brought realism to his performance. David Faustino's racist character, Paul, was easy to dislike; I guess that means he did a good job, too. Moses Gunn was well-placed as Landy's grandfather, Zeke. Cleavon Little brought realistic energy and a masterful performance as Pastor Clarence Johnson of the blacks' church. (It's hard to believe that this actor could display so much energy and talent in this film, yet die of colon cancer hardly more than a year later. What a loss!)The plot is liberally sprinkled with vocal music, most of it classical. I recognized Mozart, Schubert, and Handel, but there were others as well. The singing in the blacks' church and at their community gatherings provided an interesting counterpoint. To me, the music was by far the best part of the movie. In a no doubt carefully planned twist, the lyrics of each piece fitted like a glove the action of the moment, focusing a Christian microscope on the racist underpinnings of the story.The school choir was loaded with clear, pure, youthful sopranos, and their singing was technically and emotionally exceptional. In contrast, the sheer energy, exuberance, and faith expressed by the blacks' choir showed that there's more than one way to express one's religious beliefs and social convictions. The appearance of Richie Havens singing "C. C. Rider" and "I Shall Not Be Moved" at a fundraiser for the black community was a special treat.Unfortunately, the music also provided lows. Peter Scolari as choir master Derek Sanders had plenty of great lines, but it was obvious that he'd never directed a musical performance, and his character was too often insipid when intensity was expected. Darrin McGavin (head-in-the-sand-Headmaster Mr. Hobbs) suffered from the same shortcoming in an otherwise believable performance. We're asked to believe that the seniors in the choir are still sopranos. In real life they were all 17 when this movie was filmed; their conversational voices were mature. Please!In spite of this, I found myself with belief suspended, immersed in a believable world with believable characters, thoroughly enjoying myself. I rated Perfect Harmony a 9.
