DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
 
 
 
'The Ultimate Playlist of Noise' Reminds Us to Listen and Live
January 15, 2021  | By David Hinckley  | 5 comments
 


The Ultimate Playlist of Noise
 sounds like a rock 'n' roll blowout. In the end, it turns out to be less about music than a lot of other things, some of which it tackles better than others.

The Ultimate Playlist of Noise, which premieres Friday on Hulu, stars Keean Johnson as Marcus, a high school student whose obsession with music has made him the school's resident audio geek.

He specializes in producing "ultimate playlists" for every occasion. If you're entering the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, Marcus can make you "The Ultimate Playlist For Eating 74 Hot Dogs." You get the idea.

Like a lot of music geeks or geeks in general, Marcus' social life is less successful than his mixtape skills.

Still, he doesn't seem unhappy. He has a likeable family and friends. Just no girlfriends.

Then he finds he has a bigger problem. After he's hospitalized from a seizure, he learns that to survive, he will need brain surgery that will render him deaf.

While this will shut off the most rewarding part of his life, he rebounds again. He will, he decides, spend his last hearing month recording 50 of his favorite sounds. Not songs, but sounds. The tide. The wind. Popcorn. A hundred soda cans opening at once.

The ultimate playlist of noise.

He figures out a way to record all this on a road trip from his Midwestern home to New York – where he also hopes to hear a long-lost song recorded by his older brother Alex. Marcus worships the memory of Alex, who died saving Marcus' life when their house caught on fire a dozen years earlier.

When Marcus tells his parents about the road trip, leaving out the Alex part, they say he can't do it. He does it anyway, and before he passes the city limits of his hometown, he runs into an aspiring female singer named Wendy (Madeline Brewer) that he briefly saw perform in a club and whose voice he thought was awesome.

What a coincidence.

Turns out she also wants to go to New York, seeking her big break as a pop star. As that might suggest, she's a cross between a free spirit and a wild child.

Suddenly this road trip has gotten a whole lot more interesting.

It doesn't take a psychic to predict Marcus and Wendy will bond and that each will learn important life lessons from the other.

So the plotline in The Ultimate Playlist of Noise holds few surprises until the kids get to New York, where Marcus meets Dennis (Oliver Cooper), who years earlier played in Alex's band and tells Marcus that Alex (Gordon Winarick) was not exactly who Marcus thought. This does not make Marcus happy.

Almost simultaneously, we learn Wendy has secrets, too, and may not be as carefree as she seems.

Suddenly these two fragile dreams have crashed to the pavement and shattered, except we know from the earlier tone of the movie that they will not end here.

Before it does end, it gets a little teary. More than a little teary. It also doesn't wind up exactly where the viewer may think it's going to end.

But The Ultimate Playlist Of Noise doesn't abandon its underlying tone of celebration, suggesting we should all appreciate the gifts of life and the value of everyday pleasures.

It's a road picture, it's a picture about family bonds and truth, and it's a picture about chasing your dream. Oh yeah, and it has music. It's not the ultimate movie about any one of those things, but it's not a bad mixtape.

 
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
UXMRK
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 1  | Go to page: 
5 Comments
 
 
Estool Cutting Tools Co. Ltd specializes in developing and manufacturing high-quality machining inserts. We have a full capacity machining insert sales, research, and production. We also produce cemented carbide cutting inserts, grooving inserts, customized inserts, and cermet inserts., welcome to our website to learn more about carbide inserts:https://www.estoolcarbide.com
Mar 1, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Estool cermet inserts can be used for turning, milling, threading, and grooving. It is suitable to use for the vapor deposition method to deposit a thin layer of harder materials on the surface of the blade to improve cutting performance., welcome to our website to learn more about carbide inserts:https://www.estoolcarbide.com
Jan 29, 2024   |  Reply
 
 
Good article and explanation.
Nov 17, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
Online platforms are the backbone of e-commerce businesses. Hence, knowing the ins and outs is paramount. For those invested in Shopify, it’s invaluable to grasp its full potential. The best place to start? Right here: Shopify Migration. The insights available could very well shape the future direction of any online enterprise.
Sep 20, 2023   |  Reply
 
 
The mentioned site, is one the most dependable and reliable site to rely on! And have the best solution for your problem!! I would suggest it to everyone! They are the best!
Nov 1, 2022   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 1  | Go to page: