Little Voice (1998) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski) and Tuna

"Little Voice" is a cool little movie, in which three of the four principals were nominated for acting awards, and the fourth is Ewan McGregor, who wasn't so bad either. It's about a young woman who hasn't left the house since her father died. She is meek and totally browbeaten by her loudmouth alkie mum, so she withdraws into her beloved dad's favorite music. Turns out she can perfectly mimic all the singers on those albums (Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and others), so a sleazebag third-rate talent agent (Michael Caine) sees her as his way out, and will do anything to con and exploit her into performing publicly. 

The Brits seems to have a knack for these oddball films filled with quirky characters. Jane Horrocks is dazzling in her singing role. The girl can sing, too, I mean really sing - she did all her own songs for the film. Michael Caine got that charity Oscar for The Cider House Rules, but it made up for the fact that nobody noticed how good he was the previous year in this offbeat role.

I don't like musicals that much, but I liked it a lot. Elya and my daughter loved it.

I have no idea how I missed this film when it came out. I rented it based on the fact that it was rated R, hoping for some nudity, but with no expectations. Had I checked IMDB first, I would have noticed that it is a foreign comedy, yet has an amazing 7.1/10 score from IMDB readers.  Brenda Blethyn received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actress, and the film garnered a Golden Globe for Michael Caine for his role as a sleazy talent promoter. UK gross was £8.054m, but US release was a total flop (3 screens, $93,722). Hmmmmm, maybe that is why I missed it.

Blethyn plays a widowed mother of "Little Voice (LV)," a young woman who is a recluse, and only lives for the records her father liked. At times, she sings to him (or his memory), and does it well. Blethyn meets Ray (Michael Caine), and brings him home. When Caine hears Little Voice (Jane Horrocks of Absolutely Fabulous fame) sing, he thinks he has discovered his goldmine. He convinces Jim Broadbent, sleazy nightclub owner, to give her a try. The only trick is to get LV to do the show. Ewan McGregor plays a telephone man who is more interested in homing pigeons than people, and becomes LVs love interest.

I had no idea watching this that it was originally a stage play -- the adaptation was that good. Blethyn was "bloody fookin' hilarious," with lines like, "Whats a matter with you lot, ain't you ever had a shag in a Chevy?" The most amazing thing about this film, however, was Horrocks voice. The first item in the credits was the tidbit that all of Jane Horrocks songs were sung by Jane Horrocks. She sounds every bit as good as the stars whose hits she performs, including Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland, Ethyl Merman, and even Marilyn Monroe. Granted that the film peaks when Horrocks is singing, but between Blethyn and Caine, there are no dead spots.

Post script:

The soundtrack from Little Voice, for some reason known only to them,  features the original artists on all but two tracks. The good news, is that there is a British import available that is all Jane.