“I’ll Be There” is different from most romantic comedies in that the main relationship is between a father and his daughter….wait a minute, that didn’t come out quite right.
The story revolves around Paul Kerr, an aging rock star who ends up in a hospital following a drunken ride on a motorcycle inside his own mansion. There is a concern that he may have thoughts of taking his own life. And then to top it off Paul learns about a daughter that he sired during a relationship that he had with a groupie 16 ye…rs ago. Unlike other “relationships” that rock stars have with groupies, this one actually did mean something to them both, but destiny kept them apart until now.
Many people come to visit Paul during his recovery but none leave the same impact on Paul as does the visit from his 16 year old daughter, Olivia. Both have a desire to play music and both have the talent to pull it off.
There’s nothing deep in the story here – a father and his daughter establishing bonds and demonstrating the effects that this relationship has on both of them. The acting is quite believable and there are some scenes with a great deal of emotion, which newcomer Charlotte Church was able to deliver.
Given that it is a story essentially about music, how is the soundtrack? Very entertaining indeed. There is a good mix of classic and oldies rock with a great performance by Charlotte Church thrown in. The girl can sing.
Video
I’ll Be There is presented in a Widescreen 1.85 format. The colors are remarkably bright and the image sharp. While this may have been a lower budget picture, one would not be able to tell by the presentation of the image. There was a good mix of indoor and outdoor scenes and the brightness of the picture corresponded well to the ambience. Skin tones are well reproduced and the black level was well set. There were no noticeable transfer artifacts.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix was well done with great separation of sound. The dialogue came through quite clearly through the centre channel and the music (which played a major role in the movie) came through quite powerfully through the right and left speakers. The surrounds were well used for ambient environmental sounds – be it in a crowd, hospital, or on a motorbike ride in the country. There is a wide dynamic range and the sub woofer was used properly throughout.
Special Features
The special features consisted of 18 additional/extended scenes, outtakes, director’s commentary and the trailer. The additional/extended scenes actually do add a little to character development and would have made a couple of scenes make more sense. But this can only be applied to about 4 of the 18. The director’s commentary is not particularly illuminating and should be avoided to unless you are really bored. The outtakes are only mildly amusing but are worth watching.
Final Thoughts
I’ll Be There is a warm story about a father and his daughter and is worth a rental. I would only buy if you are a die hard fan of Charlotte Church (and I honestly don’t know how many there are of those out there).
Special Features List
- 18 additional/extended scenes
- Outtakes
- Director’s commentary
- Trailer
Screenshots
