Música

Rudy is torn between 2 lovers and feeling like a fool. Pressured by his Mum and friends to sort himself out, but all he wants to do is make music and play with his puppets. Dumped by his girlfriend but then meets another girl who urges him on.

I had no idea what this was going to be like, and at first it sort of reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors in the way it combines theatre type performing, film acting and puppetry.

It deftly handles problems with breakups and the 'tween time' from the breakup to the meeting someone new. We've probably all been there and we've also been at that point in our lives when we have no proper clue what we are doing.

Isabella prompts him to pursue his dream and because of his amorous intentions to her he does just that. His mother, played by his real life Brazilian mother Maria Mancuso, is so perfect for the role it's untrue. Her first time ever in a movie too.

The cinematography is playful and I love the live action scenes where his synaesthesia is playing up. Everything about this film is great. Odd in parts, but likeable anyway.

This is Rudy's directorial debut and I believe he's struck paydirt instantly. Can't wait to see what else he does. A solid 7 from me.

This movie was very beautifully done. The cinematography, editing, and directing choices were on point.

Cami Mendes is gorgeous and she steals the movie. In addition, there were funny moments with the puppet.

However, there is something missing about this movie. It felt a bit boring at times. I think there needed to be more work on the conflict or building more character development in relation to the conflict in the story. Personally, I needed more buy in to what he was going through.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I've always like Rudy's shorts, and I think the years of creating short videos has really paid off.

You may have enjoyed Rudy Mancuso's YouTube and Awkward Puppets videos, but nothing prepares you for his breezy, endlessly playful and inventive feature film directing and co-writing debut.

The apparently autobiographical plot is a simple coming of age romantic comedy, but Mancuso peppers the film with rhythm, music, and delightful sight gags that tweak film conventions and keep the story tripping along in a seemingly effortless way.

Bonus points for terrific romantic chemistry between the two leads, pitch perfect pacing and casting across the board, wonderful use of color, and the feature film debut that Diego the puppet deserves!

What i absolutely loved about the movie was how the beat interpretations were filmed because it's not an easy job to bring so many people together and create a visual of how every note is being made and then those notes coming together to create music!!! Hats off to all those people who were dancing, playing, jump roping, stomping, clapping for those scenes.

And then the lyrics showcasing on the walls of the subway station and the ceiling, such a brilliant touch!!!

And the double dating scene !!! That will surely give u a theatre experience as i have never seen something like that in a movie, kudos to all the creative people for making that happen so smoothly !!!

And, Diego !!! I have been a fan of Diego for over 3 years so i was so happy to see him getting a movie and letting ppl see his origin story. To be honest, i would have enjoyed the movie more if it was just Diego and Rudy discussing life because the texting between Hailey and Rudy (Diego) was so hilarious. But the love triangle kinda fell flat. There was everything in the movie to make it a cutesy RomCom but felt something missing, like the last missing sprinkle of sugar on a dessert.

Musica is a strange film, because despite the fact it has a couple of strong leads, a relatively novel concept and decent plot, and an approachable runtime, it still feels a little empty.

I think ultimately the emotional core to this movie just doesn't resonate. All of the connections to the characters were are too surface level. It needed more. More passion. More drama. Maybe that is the real issue with this film. It strangely lacks passion given that the subject matter is a man pursuing his passion. It felt like it needed to raise its voice a bit more.

That being said there are some fun creative choices with the use of sound and music, and as mentioned the lead performances are pretty strong for the way the roles were written.

So although this film never quite dips into being bland, it flirts with the idea but just about manages to stay entertaining. It could have done with an injection of passion or something just to give it more of a spark, but it is a relatively easy and fun watch nonetheless.