August Rush is Hogwash

The tagline calls it 'An incredible journey at the speed of light', as the PR girl dishes out production stills and feel-good vibes to all unsuspecting who file through the preview theatre door. What follows over the next two hours is possibly the most eye-popping daft, saccharine-soaked, half-baked dribble ever seen on the silver screen.

August Rush, launching in theatres near you on St Valentine's Day (in probably a desperate last-ditch salvaging effort by the guys over in Marketing), comes with fairly decent credentials on paper. Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bend It Like Beckham, Matchpoint, and Mandrake in the upcoming 2008 Chuck Russell spectacular) and Keri Russell, the film leaves no cliché unturned.

The story: Young orphan boy is a musical prodigy, roaming New York streets, hoping to find parents. Intercut to flashback (a super helpfully says – Eleven Years Ago) when an Irish band fronted by Rhys Meyers is up on stage playing a gig with a guest cellist (Lyla Novacek, played by Keri Russell).

Later in the evening, the two meet and exchange some inane philosophical talk that culminates in sex. Cut to her impervious father, and next thing we know, the two are separated, and what's more, she has given birth to a love child without really knowing she has.

More banality etc carries them through the next 10 years of their lives, while the kid (played by Freddie Highmore) struggles through life on the streets. Until he finds a rag-tag Robin Williams, who works a network of street kids. It is under Williams that August discovers his immeasurable gift for music, and the next thing you know, he is a scholar at the prestigious Julliard School of music.

What's more, he composes his own masterpiece overnight, and is the top-billed artist at the Concert At The Park, the annual Central Park summer special! As expected, his mom is the guest cellist, and dad, disillusioned with selling real estate out in the west coast, also saunters back in town, catches a billboard, and shows up at the Park. The rest? Well, never mind.

The predictable story, the ineffectual performances, and the sheer inexperience in direction could all have been tolerated if the central premise of the film, the music, was on the level. Unfortunately, on this note too, we are treated to excruciating insipidia. The '90s boy-band style oeuvre is dull and totally out of time, and as for the boy-genius' stuff, all we get to hear is some beginner's acoustic guitar riffs.

Interestingly, the Academy seemingly did not think so. The song Raise it Up has been nominated as an entry in the Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song category. In any case, you have been warned.

Verdict: Avoid, unless you have nothing else to do on Valentine's Day!