'Musica' understands sound better than words
Prime Video
It probably wouldn’t be hard to find someone who thought “Musica” was a light and appealing coming-of-age story and someone else who thought it was a thin, repetitive ripoff. If those two people met, realized they were both right, and fell in love, then we’d really have something new to work with.
Until then, the film starring, directed, and co-written by YouTube star Rudy Mancuso is an enjoyable but familiar means of bringing different exposure to someone with 7 million YouTube subscribers and 16 million Instagram followers. It’s just barely grid-worthy, even without much of a story.
Mancuso plays Rudy, who’s only pursuing a marketing degree to please his mom (played by Mancuso’s real-life mother Maria) and daydreams broadly about a life in puppet-driven music, which currently involves performing shockingly short puppet-show songs on subway platforms. (Sample song about Starbucks: “It’s expensive.” End of lyrics.) Mom also prefers Rudy date a Brazilian girl and doesn’t care much for basic white girl Haley (Francesca Reale), who likewise doesn’t care much for the constant distraction that prevents Rudy from planning the future or focusing on conversations with his (soon-to-be-ex) girlfriend. Mancuso really has synesthesia, a condition I didn’t know about until just now that involves hearing all sounds as music. The movie opens with onscreen text indicating “Based on a true story. Unfortunately,” which is a dramatic overstatement for what follows.
In short: Rudy meets Isabella (Camila Mendes of “Riverdale,” who became Mancuso’s real-life significant other thanks to the movie), who is not only Brazilian but supportive and patient where Haley is frustrated and pushy. Who will the perpetually decision-phobic Rudy choose? If the setup sounds dry, the execution clangs and brushes, rings and dances, turning everyday life into a mellifluous snippet of amateur “Stomp.” It sounds awfully corny to say that this is a movie about finding someone who makes you hear beautiful music; it’s more accurate that “Musica” is about the flow and musicality of relationships, with bolded words on screen like “Dynamics,” “Tempo,” “Dissonance,” and “Harmony” reiterating how pacing, conflict, and vibes inform interactions in hearts and ears. Mendes’ relaxed performance and her chemistry with Mancuso elevate “Musica” far above other Mendes efforts like “Upgraded,” though that’s not saying much.
Despite the filmmaker’s promising visualization of the noises in his head, his semi-autobiographical story contains virtually no surprises as it at times resembles a mashup of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Big Sick.” It’s lively and infectious to see Rudy bringing Isabella into his musical mindset and equally tiresome to see him dashing around a restaurant when both Haley (whose clueless family contributes to a potent scene of racism feebly masked by its supposed mildness) and Isabella wind up in the same place. While Rudy’s affliction might be inherently cinematic, his indecision sure isn’t, and 84 minutes should feel much breezier in “Musica,” which is too low-stakes while barely connecting the dots between Rudy’s condition and its effect on his life.
Yet whether it’s Rudy turning his bacon and toast into a breakfast piano or the connection that makes him and Isabella feel bonded, the movie manages to capture likability even if you’re overall not entirely sure that you liked it. (Side note: Rudy’s puppet is much funnier than the overrated and insufferable JB Smoove, here playing Rudy’s friend who runs a food truck.) That’s not a case of a movie being more than the sum of its parts, but at least adding up to something to help quiet the noise for a little while.
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