Praise This

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

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 an 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

* Chloe Bailey as Sam, a rebellious aspiring singer-songwriter who joins her cousin’s Praise Team when moving to Atlanta
* Anjelika Washington as Jess, Sam’s cousin and a member of her church’s Praise Team
* Quavo as Ty, a popular rapper In Atlanta and Sam's potential love interest
* Druski as Aaron “Big Love”, Sam’s good friend and a member of his church’s Praise Team
* Koryn Hawthorne as Fallon, a gospel singer and opposing member of Sam’s Praise Team
* Tristan Mack Wilds as P.G.
* Kiara Iman Heffner as Jackie
* Ilario Grant as Jermaine
* Birgundi Baker as Melissa, the leader of the Praise Team
* Loren Lott as Kelly
* Jekalyn Carr as KiKi
* Crystal Renee Hayslett as Natalie
* Cocoa Brown as Cora
* Vanessa Fraction as Prisilla
* Michael Anthony as Bishop Headly
* Kountry Wayne as Painted Duck DJ
* Kendrick Cross as Uncle Larry
* Janora McDuffie as Aunt Liz
* Jayden Braddock as Church Goer (uncredited)

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. In April 2022, Chloe Bailey had signed on to star in the film.

Release

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

Reception

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

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{Peacock (streaming service)

2023 comedy films
2023 films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s musical comedy films
American musical comedy films
Films about religion
Films produced by Will Packer
Films set in Atlanta
Films shot in Atlanta
Peacock (streaming service) original films
Universal Pictures films
Will Packer Productions films
English-language musical comedy films
2023 musical films