Stet Tate is tough and living with his struggling single mom. His teacher tries to get him to audition for Carvelle (Dustin Hoffman) but he takes off only to find his mother had died. His biological father Gerard Owens (Josh Lucas) would rather keep him a secret from his family. Gerard puts him in the boarding school National Boychoir Academy run by the headmistress (Kathy Bates) and choir master Carvelle. Drake (Eddie Izzard) is infuriated by the lowering of entrance standards. However, Stet's natural singing talents and drive put him in the touring group. Soon, he's in conflict with Devon, the star of the group.
Hoffman takes a similar tack as Whiplash but ends up being more like Mr. Holland. The young lead shows some capabilities but it may be asking too much. It's also may be asking too much to make choir singing compelling. It does a relatively good job to make this particular competitive world interesting but choir singing is not exactly toe tapping. Overall, it works up to a point.
Hoffman takes a similar tack as Whiplash but ends up being more like Mr. Holland. The young lead shows some capabilities but it may be asking too much. It's also may be asking too much to make choir singing compelling. It does a relatively good job to make this particular competitive world interesting but choir singing is not exactly toe tapping. Overall, it works up to a point.