Nobody dies. You should know that. Well … let me back up. Nobody dies during the course of this film which is important to know because while teen death has been romanticized and exploited since Romeo & Juliet, it has been caressed, stroked, wooed, and –hence- decapitated to the max in the past ten years of filmdom. Since we found fault in all of our stars, a teen needs only cough gently to have a shelf life of 98 minutes (130 if a Nicholas Sparks film). So presenting me with a teen destined for brain surgery in the opening credits doesn’t make me confident that there won’t be a graveyard scene before we’re done.
Marcus (Keean Johnson) is destined to lose his hearing. This is compounded by the fact that Marcus is something of a deejay and mix tape engineer. Obsessed with a music-loving older brother who –once upon a time- sacrificed his own life for the younger sib, Marcus has paid tribute by overusing the Hell out of his older brother’s record collection. But that is only of slight relevance. What’s important now is that Marcus has a tumor so large –and yet benign- that it will claim hearing in both ears when removed. And it’s going to happen in eight days, no thoughts of shrinking the tumor or alternative cures or second opinions. Eight days. Enjoy hearing, kid.
Don’t get me started on the bad science/bad medicine right now. Bad medicine is what I need.
So although propped up by a stupid plot, the film asks a pretty good question: what is your hearing worth? And if you knew it was going away, what would you do about it? Marcus has an idea: he pens and sets out to create The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, sort of a “best of” from things life has to offer, like the roar of an ocean, the prattle of an auctioneer, or a cow’s moo (which can be had with a classic Fisher Price See ‘n’ Say).
And to complicate the plot, the film decided to make Marcus obsessed with going to NYC by himself, intervene in this plan with a helicopter mom, and add a love interest in the form of professional musician Wendy (Madeline Brewer) – a woman Marcus only knows because he saw her headline at a club.
Here’s the thing: I like Marcus, I like his quest, I like his quest, I like his determination. OTOH, I don’t like Wendy. The screenplay insisted on calling her a “9” (my guess is before the part was cast). But that’s not the reason. Wendy is a classic pushy femme fatale – or the not-so-fatale high school version. Although written and imagined in great depth, Wendy is still a construct of one of three classic tiresome female aide film tropes – the broken street-smart bad girl who can only be fun by “breaking the rules.” I find the trope excessively frustrating; a smitten teen boy can be talked into almost anything, so why deliberately get him into trouble? And why can’t she be fun without police involvement? The kid’s in enough trouble with mom as is.
I’m being generous to t
his film. I’m being generous because I like coming-of-age, I like romance, and I like exploration of sound. The Ultimate Playlist of Noise is a classic mixed bag – the film comes with a smattering of smiles and an equal amount of headslaps. I’ve decided I liked Marcus enough to suffer the headslaps, the contrived controversy, the unnecessary reveal, the annoying love interest, and the fact his mom apparently speaks for both she and dad at all times. That’s a lot of baggage for a film I’m recommending.
This is my first film with an official 2021 release. You have no idea what a relief it is that this film isn’t a crappy horror. Obviously I cannot claim without researching that the following is true, but I swear the first film of the new year is always something like “Annabelle 6: The Garage Sale.” Having it be something else … anything else … is a relief.
Marcus wasn’t much of a rebel
But found a tumor the size of a pebble
So he faced all his fearing
And the docs clipped his hearing
Now he can no longer get into treble
Not Rated, 99 Minutes
Director: Bennett Lasseter
Writer: Mitchell Winkie
Genre: Dead teen romance?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of random sound
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Deaf people
