American Harmony (2009)

I love this movie so much

Simply A Masterpiece

Great Film overall

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

"American Harmony" is a first-rate documentary of barbershop quartet singing. I'm not a particular follower of this type of music, but enjoy all kinds. I've enjoyed the shows I've attended and old films of vaudeville that have barbershop quartets. This film focuses on four groups over a three-year period. It follows them to regional and international competitions. It ends with the 2008 international event held at Denver. It is an interesting documentary about the genre, its history and its following.One weakness of the film is that it has too much repetitive dialog. We see similar interviews with the same singers two, three and four times. It could have used more full scenes of singing early and throughout the film. We only see the top three or four groups sing a full number each at the end. The producers might have cut some of the repetitive interviews with the main characters. Adding some short comments from a few other singers would have broadened it a bit. Still, it's an interesting film.

I sat down to catch a few minutes of this documentary, to see whether I might want to make real time to view it at a later date. An hour and a half later, I unglued myself from the couch, having been thoroughly entertained and, in the process, educated a little about a world I knew absolutely nothing about. You should know this IS a documentary, not a music or concert movie; probably it will leave you wishing you could have heard more of the singing, including complete songs rather than snippets. But the film's center of gravity is the personalities and drive of the singers, the joy they bring to audiences and themselves, and the rigors of barbershop competition. If you're like me, you'll find the subject way more fascinating than you imagine going in, and the competitors a delight to get to know.

Of course, even though it is "international" the most and the best Barbershop singing is in the USA. And for those not familiar with Barbershop, it isn't just four guys singing harmony, it is a particular type of harmony. And it is mostly without vibrato, the only way to blend four voices into one.This film is mostly a documentary of a small few groups in the 2004 through 2007 period. The focus becomes the group known as 'Max Q', a quartet made up of four of the best Barbershop singers, some with international wins as part of different quartets, and now trying, rather 'planning', for their own international win.But new groups are always breaking out, coming up with world-class performances, so the task isn't easy at all. We see year after year Max Q finishing second, then in 2007 they finally get theirs and must retire from competition.The film is not just a lot of singing by any means. In fact considering the running time there is rather little singing. Mostly it focuses on the individuals, their preparation, the role of the coach each group has, the venues, the audiences. Barbershoppers will naturally identify with and love this film. I would also hope non-Barbershoppers would enjoy it for the glimpse it gives them into the extreme dedication and time it takes to get good enough to compete at the international level.

As their trailer says "It's the greatest singing competition - you've never heard of." Each year, quartets from around the world compete for the gold medal and the right to be called the best in barbershop.If you have ever heard a barbershop competition you know what a blast it is. If not, this movie will show you what you have been missing all these years. These are consummate showmen. They are incredibly entertaining and the sound is unequaled.It has won several Film Festival awards this year including one best documentary award and a silver medal.This could be the next sleeper documentary hit. Unfortunately, it has not had good distribution yet.