With the Christmas season has come another rash of feel-good movies intent on bringing happiness and the family together.  "August Rush" is the tale of a musical family split apart. It grossed $9 million in its opening weekend. Even though it appears to have all the right elements, this movie proves that just because it has the right notes doesn't mean it will all sound sweet.

August Rush's real name is Evan Taylor, a small boy with a big gift.  He has grown up an orphan not knowing his parents but has always looked for them.  Eventually he decides to take the problem in his own hands and sets off to New York City to search for them.  Little does he know that his mother, the cellist, and his rocker father are doing the same thing. Others take notice of Evan's exceptional musical ability first, which lead him to the famous school, Juilliard.   And it is there that Evan finally has the ability to create music that will bring his family together.   

It's a story of love and renewal, but it's also a musical and the sounds of the world are the soundtrack.  There's a memorable scene in which an entire musical number is made completely out of sounds of the city streets.  Now as discordant as this sounds, not all of the movie consists of these grating noises.  Keri Russell does a beautiful job of portraying Evan's mother as does Jonathan Rhys Meyers as his father.  Both actors learned to play their respective instruments and it pays off.  Their music is the best within the entire movie.    

It is the time when the music stops that the movie fails.  It lags somewhat because of the purely introspective nature of the content.  The plot moves so slow sometimes that the plight of Evan is forgotten because you're fidgeting so much.  The only exciting part occurs in the last 15 minutes, but by the time you've realized it the movie is over, and all you're left with are the lingering sounds of music.  This story may feel good, but in the end some of it is rather out of tune.