Guys. Guys, I think I like musicals, guys. And this has been a really disappointing revelation in my life.

I guess I always wanted to be one of those people that was “too cool” for musicals. “Why is everyone just busting out until song?” I’d ask. “Why are the extras in the background happily partaking in their music?”. It all seems so odd, right? Aliens blasting away national monuments? Easy to wrap my head around! People singing? Abject nonsense!

If I’m being honest, it all started several years ago when my wife dragged me into the cinema to see Les Miserables, starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. And while Crowe’s singing tried its hardest to dissuade me from liking the movie, it turned out that I really did anyway. It’s a powerful story, and the singing and the tale really affected me as I sat in the theater.

But I brushed that experience off and never considered it again. Until this past year-plus, where two of my favorite movies I’ve seen have been La La Land and A Star Is Born. Something was changing, and I wasn’t sure what it was. Did I start liking musicals somewhere along the way?

Leading up to today’s watch, I had made a Spotify playlist of songs from “fictional” bands–bands that exist within the universe of a movie or TV show, but that you can’t, in our real world, go see touring. And one of the most recommended songs for such a playlist was “Drive It Like You Stole It” from Sing Street.

Sing Street, it turns out, is the story on Conor, a fifteen year old boy in 1980’s Ireland who is watching his parents’ relationship disintegrate. As times become tough, Conor is pulled from his expensive and posh private school, and he is enrolled in a rowdy, lower-class Catholic one. Conor’s early days at his new institute are full of bullying–both from his classmates and from the headmaster.

Early in the movie, he meets the up-and-coming wannabe model Raphina. To impress her, he tells her that he is in a band. To follow through with impressing her, he decides to actually start one with the few friends and outcasts he meets at the school.

From there, Conor’s life revolves around music, often with the help of his stoner older brother. Will music be Conor’s key to a better life?

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ This movie earns an extra half star to a full star for the music, which is exceptional. Both the original songs (which are extraordinary) and the songs pulled from pop culture (which are fun, nostalgic blasts). It’s a truly great soundtrack. I have been enjoying “Drive It Like You Stole It” on the aforementioned playlist for a bit now, but after watching the flick, I also added the tune “Brown Shoes”.

But yeah, in addition to the original songs, we have bops like “Rio” from Duran Duran, “Maneater” from Hall & Oats, “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson, and more. It’s definitely in the running for one of the best movie soundtracks around.

+ The movie is a very solid coming of age story that makes you ponder your own life and the choices you’ve made and the chances you’ve taken (or not). Loads of heart and depictions of realistic life struggles. 

Conor is dealing with his parents’ impending separation, bullying, abuse from the school staff, and his first love. And he copes with his troubles through his art and the few relationships he has cultivated. It’s a lot of relatable stuff, whether you have ever lived in Ireland or were a teenager in the 1980’s or not. Director John Carney takes these very specific settings and crafts a tale that can be appreciated by virtually anyone.

– It’s really Conor’s story, and that’s fine. But there are 5 other members of the band, and we get absolutely no arcs on any of them at all. The movie might have felt more complete if they had gotten fleshed out even a little.

The only other band member I can even name is Eamon, who is Conor’s number two guy in the band and his songwriting companion. And all we really get in the way of characterization from Eamon is that… he owns a lot of pet bunnies? It’s not really an arc, you know?

And yeah, I can’t even name the others. They are just there because Conor’s story needs them. Which is fine, I guess, but like I said… the film might have been more well-rounded if they had characterization, too.

– To almost that same end, the arc with the bully that Conor and his friends have to deal with has a satisfying conclusion as someone who is emotionally invested in the characters, but less so if you are waiting for something that feels “bigger” or more impactful. Ultimately, after he has threatened them and harassed them all movie, Conor shows up at the bully’s house and… asks him to be their roadie? And he agrees? That’s it.

We do see the bully has an abusive home life, and again, if the movie had focused on that, it might be more rewarding, but really, he just tells his parents off and goes off with the band to roadie for them. It feels like a cheap resolution to that angle.

OVERALL

Okay, okay, okay. So I like musicals, I guess. It happens! Because Sing Street is really damn good. I genuinely cared about Conor and his brother and Raphina, and I absolutely loved the music. The movie is interesting from the opening moments, and it never lets up.