Praise This

Last updated
Praise This
Praise This.jpeg
Promotional release poster
Directed by Tina Gordon
Screenplay by
  • Tina Gordon
  • Brandon Broussard
  • Hudson Obayuwana
  • Jana Savage
Story by
  • Brandon Broussard
  • Hudson Obayuwana
  • Jana Savage
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySidney Sidell
Edited by
  • David Moritz
  • R.C. Hill
Music byJermaine Stegall
Production
companies
Distributed by Peacock
Release date
  • April 7, 2023 (2023-04-07)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Praise This is a 2023 American musical comedy romance film directed by Tina Gordon and starring Chloe Bailey and Anjelika Washington.

Contents

The rebellious Sam, a young woman with dreams of being a superstar singer-songwriter, joins an underdog Atlanta praise-team choir when sent to live there from LA, hoping to lead them into the national competition

The film was released on April 7, 2023 by Peacock. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Atlanta, Georgia's Praise Team The Oil Factory bombs at their first attempt at a large competition, as what they have prepared is too conservative. When they try to improvise to recover, they get booed off the stage.

Sam is driven by her father Darius to stay with her aunt Liz, uncle Larry and cousin Jess in Atlanta, due to getting in trouble with the law in Los Angeles. Upon arriving, as a psychiatrist Larry has everyone sit to talk about why Darius felt the need to pull her out of LA. He explained she opted to 'take a gap year' to work on music, lying about applying to college. Sam got charged with a misdemeanor when the recording studio where she was recording was raided.

Liz tells Sam she could attend Georgia State in the spring, as she works there and has pulled some strings. After insisting she will not go, Jess shows her their adjoining rooms. The enthusiastic Jess wakes Sam with coffee and an off-key song. Then she loans her a dress, forcing her to go to church.

At the makeshift church, set up in a warehouse, Sam sees their Praise Team. Afterwards, she comments loudly how unimpressed she is with both them and the building. Pastor Googman introduces himself, and insists the group needs to try again.

A follower of Atlanta-based rapper Ty, Sam gets Jess to join her in crashing his party. She eventually gets his attention with her voice, just as the police shut down the gathering. Officer Troy, one of Larry's patients, takes Jess and Sam home. Liz and Larry force Sam to join the Praise Team as punishment as she is caught lying about the party.

Sam improves the church singing team and even helps them get into the regionals, despite Melissa abandoning their group for Champion Life without warning. Improvising, Sam sends Jess to play the drums during their performance and they all improvise with spirited dancing and singing.

Doing an impromptu session with her crush Ty, Sam helps with the lyrics to a song he plans to release as a single. But she complicates things with him when she uses his song without his permission. Ty finds out, as he comes to the competition by surprise. As Sam changes to his song at the last minute, as the group did not have time to rehearse it, they do not get into the top three.

When the team finds out Sam used Ty's song without permission, Jess comes down hard on her. Sam lashes out, declaring she is no longer her sister-cousin, and storms off. Going to a cocktail bar, she soon discovers it is Natalie's. Sam discloses what happened and is told to count her blessings.

Arriving home late, Sam apologizes to Jess, then tries to apologize to Ty in the morning, but he refuses to speak to her. The Oil Factory end up entering the nationals, as one of the top three pulled themselves out due to a sex scandal.

Darius comes in time to see the Oil Factory win the National Finals. Which surprises the host and even the lead singer of Champion Life. Ty has come, so Sam is able to apologize, and he suggests he is interested in future collaborations.

Cast

Production

In June 2019, it was announced Tina Gordon would be directing Praise This from an original pitch by Tim Story's The Story Company. [2] In April 2022, Chloe Bailey had signed on to star in the film. [3]

Release

In May 2022, it was announced the film would premiere on Peacock. [4] The first trailer was released on March 6, 2023, revealing the release date of April 7, 2023. [5]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 50% based on 10 reviews. [6] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed reviews". [7]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2023 Black Reel Awards Outstanding TV Movie/Limited SeriesDerryck Big Tank ThorntonNominated [8]
Outstanding Musical ScoreJermaine StegallNominated
Outstanding Production DesignKeith Brian BurnsNominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards Best Song - Onscreen Performance (Film)"Praise Nationals Finale"Nominated [9]
UB HonorsBest ActressChloe BaileyWon
2024 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Music Supervision for a Non-Theatrically Released FilmDerryck Big Tank ThorntonNominated [10]
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Chloe BaileyWon
Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or SpecialTina Gordon, Brandon Broussard, Hudson Obayuwana, Jana Savage, Camilla BlackettNominated

References

  1. Grobar, Matt (July 7, 2022). "'Stargirl's Anjelika Washington, Migos Frontman Quavo, Druski & Tristan Mack Wilds Among Final 14 Set For Universal's Youth Choir Comedy 'Praise This'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  2. Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 11, 2019). "Tina Gordon To Direct Universal Musical Comedy 'Praise This'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  3. Grobar, Matt (April 26, 2022). "Chloe Bailey To Star In Youth Choir Comedy 'Praise This' For Will Packer Productions & Universal Pictures; 'Little' Helmer Tina Gordon Directing". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  4. "Peacock Will Get Bravo Shows Next-Day, NBCU Streamer Inks Lionsgate Movie Output Deal". Variety. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  5. Remley, Hilary (March 6, 2023). "'Praise This' Trailer: Chloe Bailey and Anjelika Washington Take the Lead in Musical Comedy". Collider. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. "Praise This - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  7. "Praise This", Metacritic , Fandom, Inc. , retrieved 2023-06-14
  8. Complex, Valerie (June 15, 2023). "Black Reel 7th Annual Television Awards featuring Gender Neutral Categories Announces Nominations; 'The Best Man: Final Chapters' leads with 18 noms". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  9. "Nominations unveiled for Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2023". Shoot Online . November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  10. Bechara, Diego Ramos (2024-01-22). "'Barbie' Leads Music Supervisors Guild Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-15.