Música (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A coming-of-age love story that follows an aspiring creator with synesthesia, who must come to terms with an uncertain future, while navigating the pressures of love, family, and his Brazilian culture in Newark, New Jersey.

My Take – I got to be honest, despite being familiar with the hilarious Diego the puppet from Instagram stories and YouTube shorts, I was complete unaware of who Rudy Mancuso was when I decided to stream this new Prime Video release.

With my only source of pull being the excellent reviews it garnered at its world premiere at South by Southwest, and of course the presence of Camila Mendes, whose work on the loopy CW teen drama series, Riverdale, made most of us a fan of her.

For the uninitiated, in real life, Rudy Mancuso is an accomplished musician and puppeteer, who first found fame through platforms like Vine and YouTube, mainly through his Awkward Puppets videos, before branching out into the bigger world. However, nothing prepares you for this breezy and inventive mostly autobiographical coming-of-age story that not only sees Mancuso star, but also direct, co-write, produce, and compose.

Anchored in Brazilian American culture and synesthesia, the colorful film uniquely blends musical and rom-com moments to create something so refreshing, that despite following a mostly familiar formula, it ends up feeling like a unique representation that is not just quirky but also has a lot of heart.

Sure, due to a limited run time of 91 minutes, the film is at times marred with rushed pacing, particularly in the third act, yet Mancuso peppers the film with rhythm, music, and delightful sight gags to keep the story tripping along in a seemingly effortless way. And yes, there are puppets here too.

It may not reinvent the wheel, but it sure is a lot of fun to watch, making it a unique and necessary addition to the romantic comedy genre that feels fitting for this day and age. Mancuso certainly has made himself someone to watch out for, boldly defying the notion that social media stars can’t make good films.

The story follows Rudy (Rudy Mancuso), a Brazilian American college student who lives with his overprotective mother, Maria (Maria Mancuso), at Newark’s Iron bound neighborhood in New Jersey. For as long as he can remember, Rudy has been creating musical rhythms inside his head from everyday sounds.

The condition is called synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. A result of which Rudy experiences everyday sounds like kids playing ball, cooks tapping their utensils, bus and subway sounds, etc. as rhythms and music. While it certainly enhances his auditory life experience, it can also get overwhelming in busy public places.

On the verge of graduating, his long-term girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale), wants him to grow up and pursue a real career that isn’t busking with a puppet in a busy underground station. On the flip side, Maria is adamant he stops seeing Haley and find a nice Brazilian girl to marry instead. She even goes as far as to arrange blind dates with women she considers suitable candidates.

Conflicted with two opposing sides, Rudy finds himself almost as much a puppet as the one he made. That is until he meets Isabella (Camila Mendes), a young Brazilian girl who works in the fish market who fully understands Rudy and his unique relationship with rhythm, beats, and, of course, puppets.

As formulaic as the narrative sounds, the rhythmic dancing infused with bright theatrical set pieces shows how this little gem is cut from a cloth above the rest. Rudy’s ability to hear music via the most mundane objects proves to be a great way to tell this story.

While the film is about Rudy’s love life, as well as his relationship with his mother, it is also about what’s going on in his head and the way he lives and breathes sound. From the construction of mobile sets to the mixture of ordinary sounds and rhythmic choreography, as a director Mancuso relies on a fantastic crew to bring life to the depiction of synesthesia.

The film creates beats and dances to the tune of how his brain sees the world. There are no lyrics, only beats to provide sensations and emotions mirroring the dialogue and actions happening on-screen. It is seamlessly integrated, conveying Rudy’s experience without setting him apart from those around him. This is where the film shines the most: in making each scene, a display of culture and life, feel present rather than getting weighed down by exposition.

Aside from his synesthesia, Rudy’s struggle is between choosing the ladies of his love life. He’s been with Haley for the past four years and feels obligated to continue the relationship. On the other hand, Isabella is a free-spirited young woman who couldn’t imagine life away from the food, the people, and the sounds of Newark’s community. Rudy’s quest isn’t just about romance, but also about choosing which direction he wants to go as he’s becoming an adult.

While the narrative arc is familiar when it comes to the romance and the tensions that stem from it, the film increasingly feels more real and alive with how personal it gets with fleshing out Rudy’s world. Ultimately, it is no surprise that director Mancuso based certain aspects of the film on his own life. There’s also a lot of tenderness in the on-screen relationship between Rudy and his Brazilian mother. The real bond between them makes the relationship presented in the film all the more believable.

Brazilian representation in Hollywood has been scarce, but this film taps into the heart of its diaspora and makes it come alive in a way that not only feels authentic but also does not try to explain itself to those who are not from the community. These characters exist as they are unapologetically, naturally living inside the worlds they have always inhabited.

It helps that Rudy Mancuso delivers a compelling performance, playing the lead with a hapless charm the character calls for. There’s also plenty of chemistry with his two very talented co-stars, Camila Mendes and Francesca Reale, making the unlikely love triangle fun to watch. J.B. Smoove is hilarious as always. On the whole, ‘Música’ is a colorful and refreshing coming-of-age tale that is thoroughly delightful.