Customer Reviews
I won't be there - By: E. A Solinas, 22 Mar 2007 
There's a reason why they talk about the "Voice of an Angel" -- it's because Charlotte Church certainly doesn't have the acting presence of one. Her acting debut "I'll Be There" is proof enough -- only the presence of its star got this tepid little drama into theatres, where it rapidly dropped out of sight. Rightly so.
Seventeen years ago, Paul Kerr (Craig Ferguson) of the Love Rats had a fling with a groupie at a concert. Fast forward to the present: Kerr discovers that unknown to him, his ex Rebecca (Jemma Redgrave) gave birth to a daughter, Olivia (Charlotte Church), who is now a well-adjusted paper girl.
The problem is, Olivia has been kept a secret from her dad. Rebecca is embittered, but Kerr wants to get to know his daughter, & similarly Olivia wants to get to know her father. Music seems to be the thing that will bring the angel-voiced girl & the burned-out rocker together, but Rebecca doesn't want her child to follow in her father's footsteps.
"I'll Be There" was hyped months in advance as being inspired by the life of actress Liv Tyler, who, despite being only in her twenties, has had an immensely interesting life. Well, maybe someday she WILL get a biopic, because "I'll Be There" is only similar in one way: It involves a rock star & his daughter. Otherwise, it is boring in about every way that Tyler's life is interesting.
With a forgettable script, not much humor & a goofy premise, the movie doesn't have a lot going for it -- it reads like a disgruntled teenager's absurdist fantasy, scripted for Church to act out. And not a terribly interesting teenager, either. It gets increasingly ridiculous when Olivia decides to pursue music to bond with Daddy Dearest; it's an obvious ploy to show off Church's vocal skills.
The best that can be said of Church's performance is that at times she looks sweet. As for acting talent, she is bland at best, but she does perform some good songs, & her voice is as pretty as ever. Just watch the songs & fast-forward her actual scenes. Redgrave does as good a job as she can, & Ferguson wrings some pathos from his performance as an aging rocker. His is the only memorable role in the film, & it's a shame that the movie didn't focus on him rather than the dull Miss Church.
Miss Church appears to have chosen a role that glorifies her in the middle of an atrocious film -- also known as the Britney Spears approach. "I'll Be There," but I promise I'll get out as soon as I can.
my IQ has been halved by watching this film - By: , 31 May 2005 
I decided after reading some reviews to watch this film, even though it had charlotte church in it. I can't believe anyone can watch this film & actuallly think it's been worth the time it takes to watch. The acting, scripting & casting is appauling, I'm embarrassed for the cast & crew & hope at least they were well paid.
You don't have to be a Charlotte fan to enjoy this film - By: Daniel Jolley, 29 May 2005 
I put off watching this movie for some time. I've had a hard time accepting the fact that the Charlotte Church so many of us fell in love with, seemingly one of the last remaining bastions of wholesomeness & alll-around purity in this world, has caught a virulent case of Britney-itis (and has actuallly sunk even lower than Britney in a fair number of ways) & is seemingly lost to us forever. I'm reallly quite saddened by the whole situation. Nevertheless, I can still adore the girl Charlotte Church used to be, and, happily, there are traces of that girl immortalized forever in this film. I was actuallly quite surprised by I'll Be There; Charlotte's no Jodie Foster, but she's a far better actress than I expected her to be, & this reallly & truly is a good movie. It doesn't take us anywhere we've haven't been before, but it's a fun ride.
Charlotte plays Olivia Edmonds, a teenaged girl who finds out that her father is actuallly famed aging rock star Paul Kerr (Craig Ferguson), just after he makes headlines for driving his motorcycle out a second story window of his home. Olivia's mother never told her the truth about her father because the relationship was short-lived (Kerr never even knew he had a daughter) & she resents the fact that her own still-rocking father was never there for her growing up. She wants Olivia to join her hairdressing business & stay away from musicians at alll costs. We alll know Charlotte has the best singing voice in the whole bloody kingdom, but her mother does not realize just how talented her daughter Olivia reallly is. Anyway, Olivia & Kerr slowly develop a relationship with one another, helped immeasurably by Kerr's decision to stop drinking - but dear old Mum wants nothing to do with the man she's obviously still in love with. Everything comes to a head when Olivia's talent is made manifest, & you can probably fill in the rest yourself.
As I said, I'll Be There doesn't break any new ground, but it's a feel-good movie that succeeds extremely well. Craig Ferguson makes it alll work & injects a lot of comedy into everything he does. As writer, director, & star, this reallly is Ferguson's baby & should have enjoyed more success than it achieved. It even supplies the somewhat disconcerting sight of the Buffyverse's Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) playing a smarmy music agent - earrings & alll. Of course, you also have the added attraction of several Charlotte Church songs (even if they do represent her early foray into pop). All told, I'll Be There is a surprisingly entertaining, heart-warming motion picture - & those are few & far between these days.
fun fun fun - By: R. Peters, 02 Dec 2004 
What a change from crime, murder, violence, terroists, car chases etc. 90+ minutes of pure enjoyment & fun. Some of the jokes are a real scream - laugh aloud stuff. The sound track is great. Miss Church's voice of course is lovely. Joss Ackland is amazing. Why this failed in the cinemas I just don't understand. Well worth watching more than once!
What's wrong with it? - By: Nicola Jarvis, 03 Mar 2004 Critics are being awful to this film & it flopped at the cinema & after I watched this DVD I asked myself why. Despite what you may of heard, this film is actuallly quite good. Its a good British film & beats a lot of other comedies out there. Craig Ferguson was aboslutely brilliant in his role & wrote a fantastic script, he has the best lines. Jemma Redgrave wasn't the best I had seen. It was painful to watch her sometimes. As for Charlotte, she was awkward in parts but mostly, she fitted into her role well. Other great characters, Ralph Brown & the bands manager (from buffy) were also great fun to watch. This film is just so charming I dont understand why it has done so bad. Its a film for anyone, but uses explicit language a lot (mainly from the rockers). There are laugh out loud moments & the directing I thought was reallly thoughtful. The best scene of the whole film is the first one, with the mixture of Olivias singing in the church & her long lost Father rocking about alone in his mansion drunk off his face. Its not a perfect piece of cinema of course, it has flaws, like some of the acting (ok, just Jemma Redgrave) & Craig putting flashbacks in but its an original british film which should be appreciated by alll, not just Charlotte fans.
