One Chance (2014)

Very well executed

good back-story, and good acting

Admirable film.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

There have been many deserving winners and stars that have come from Britain's Got Talent, including Diversity, Susan Boyle, Ashleigh and Pudsey, and Richard Jones, but everyone remembers the first ever champion in 2007, this film is all about his journey, directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me). Basically Paul Potts (James Corden, with the real Paul Potts as his singing voice) is a shy young man who suffers terribly at the hand of bullies, and damaged his teeth following an accident, he has a great love for operatic music. By day Paul works as a mobile phone salesman for The Carphone Warhouse, alongside incompetent manager and friend Braddon (Mackenzie Crook), but in his own time he dreams of being a professional operatic tenor, like Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli. Paul also has a romantic relationship with supermarket worker Julie-Ann "Julz" Cooper (Alexandra Roach), he travels to Venice to attend a professional singing school, where he is mastered at one point by his hero Pavarotti (Stanley Townsend), who unfortunately gives him hard feedback, and he suffers terrible ailments that put his singing ability into turmoil. But Paul, with the support of Julz and his parents, Yvonne (Julie Walters) and Roland (Colm Meaney), pulls through, and he finally plucks up the courage to prove his love for Julz and sing for her, they later are happily married, and Paul is amazed that his singing voice returns. Then Paul sees an opportunity to achieve his dream to become an operatic singer, he gets an internet pop-up advertising auditions for the new talent show, Britain's Got Talent, he and Julz flip a coin to decide whether to go ahead with it, and the application is sent. Paul takes his one chance to stand on stage, introduced by presenters Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, to perform before the three judges, Simon Cowell (producing this film), Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan, and the theatre audience, with his rendition of "Nessun Dorma", he stuns everyone and goes through to the next round, in the time that follows Paul becomes a YouTube sensation with his auditions, and goes on to win the whole competition, make a number one album, and perform at the Royal Variety Performance before Queen Elizabeth II, and the success continues for Paul . Also starring Jemima Rooper as Hydrangea, Valeria Bilello as Alessandra, The Inbetweeners' Alex Macqueen as Dr. Thorpe and Trystan Gravelle as Matthew. Corden is likable as the every man with a passion for opera and triumphs over adversity, the film is played out like a long version of the introduction video you get before a talent show contestant's audition, with sob story and stuff to tug at the heartstrings, it is cheesy in many places, but when you know the true story you can just sit bit and enjoy the amusing moments, the classic music and the feel good factor, all in all it is a nice biographical comedy drama. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Sweeter than Fiction" by Taylor Swift. Worth watching!

Well I have to say that I am very surprised that I see almost only positive reviews when this movie is pretty mediocre. Okay it might be a biography of Paul Potts but still when your life is dull and boring you can't expect the movie to be anything else then that. I normally do like James Corden as a comedian but here I didn't laugh once. Classifying One Chance as a comedy is just a farce. They should classify it as a musical because that's almost 60% of the movie. Endless annoying opera singing, and not even that good. I couldn't wait until he finally won Britains Got Talent so that this movie finally ended. I guess if you are friends or if you are related to Paul Potts you might like this movie but otherwise there are loads of better movies then this one. Boring from beginning till the end.

Starting with the movie synopsis, he was NEVER an opera singer 'by night' throughout the entire movie, and only sang for an operatic company near the end of the film when even then he only sang in the beginning of Aida until he went unconscious due to his stupidity which he demonstrates throughout the movie. It is disrespectful to those of us who have struggled against the odds to become something we truly wanted to be by implying he did the same. The only reason he even entered the contest at the end was because his wife was at her wits end with his lack of motivation to sing, although the movie does make it clear that he was well motivated to eat. Ironically, it is implied that his obesity was the main reason he was harassed while growing up, and only those who feel pity for him because of this would see some kind of justification for his eventual success in spite of his gullet.

I think the idea of this movie was to keep the audience in the cinema by firstly completely bemusing them before sending them to sleep in their seats.Directed by David Frankel, 'One Chance' follows the life of a dull, nervous, young boy, Paul (played by James Corden) who likes opera music, to becoming a dull, nervous, young adult, who sings opera music for a living.Firstly the title suggests that Paul only has one chance at something, when in fact he has at least five chances at several things. 1. He has the chance to progress from his choir to study music at a music but he blows this chance and chooses to leave school early and work as a mobile phone shop assistant, as this is obviously less difficult. 2. As a young adult in the word's capital of opera, Venice, he is heavily proposition by a very attractive, talented, educated, enthusiastic, rich young lady, who is also an opera singer, but he blows this chance because he's save a shop assistant girl back home in Port Talbot, the world capital of steel. 3. Also in Venice, he gets the chance to audition in front of his hero Pavarotti, but he blows this great chance by getting stage fright and drying up. 4. Back home he's offered the lead in a major production of Aida by his old music teacher – another big chance, but he falls ill on opening night, and is unable to perform, and looses that chance. 5. Although he was born and raised in Port Talbot, South Wales, and had no choice, when he comes into a lot of money later, he blow the chance of getting out of this depressive steel works town, by buying a house there to live. 6. He also enters a TV talent show. I won't spoil the ending, but just to say, it's another chance! Secondly, is this a film or an extremely long (and boring) advert for The Carphone Warehouse? We must have seen the shop at least 10 times, and had it mentioned at least twice this. The acting is competent from all, but a little caricatured: macho dad; batty mother; bully boy; wacky friend ('I'm positive this character was made up, and put in the film to counter the greyness of everyone else).Thirdly, and this will probably go amiss to non-UK residents, but Paul was born and raised in Port Talbot, Wales, but he has a Bristol, English accent! It's like a man born and raised in New York having a Texas accent. It's a little weird.Finally, and only because the list is almost infinite, light rock-pop dominates the soundtrack, and confusingly conflicts with the operatic theme of the film.So, if you want to spend 103 minutes watching a lot of uncharismatic 'non-steely' people simply 'milling' around all day, in an overly long mobile phone advert (and listen to 'Nessun Dorma' one more time), this is the film for you.