I STUDIED THE ASSIGNMENTS AND WORKBOOKS over and over. The written portion of the testing did not concern me all that much; however, the practical portion, where we each would be leading portions of the workshop, is what scared me the most. The test was being held an hour away from me, which only added to my anxiousness because it would give me more time to think, which is not what I wanted to do. Upon reaching the location and parking, I found the registration desk to get signed in. Once I was registered, I was handed a small duffle bag filled with a variety of items, from power snack bars to wristbands to lip balm. I am a sucker for this kind of stuff even if I do not use all the items. From the registration desk, I was directed down a long hallway to a large conference room. Inside there were rows of chairs and desks lined up in half of the room. I took an empty place off to the side, halfway down the middle. Right at the start of 8am the doors were closed and two instructors stood in front of us and explained the activities for the day. They next went over some of the important parts of the test, like a quick refresher course. As they were speaking there were volunteers handing out the test books and telling us when we were told to open the book, the test would begin.      I MADE MY WAY THROUGH THE multiple-choice questions; if I were not sure of one, I would skip it then come back later. I wanted to get as many as I could answer, since we were under time restraint. By the time I completed the written portion, I had 20 minutes to spare before the time limit; so, I sat and tried to mentally go over the movements I would need to teach to an aerobics class. The test period ended, and we broke for lunch. The afternoon was the practical part of the test and all of us were directed to the other half of the room. The same two instructors warmed us up after starting the music. Throughout the afternoon, we would be broken into groups and within the group we would take turns leading the group. I was miserable; I was not wired to be spontaneous, plus the music did nothing for me. I did not pass, nor get my teaching certificate. From that experience, I spent the summer working on creating my own style of teaching, reinventing myself if you will and retested in the fall and passed. Because of not making it through the first time, I found the strength to create what I genuinely wanted to do and became successful at it. It is all about finding one’s inner strength and peace that makes it happen. And because of that, I appreciated watching the main character’s journey in this music, romantic comedy.      AFTER HIS LATEST ALBUM TANKED, A music celebrity decided to move to Cyprus to get away from everything. Unfortunately, the house he bought was at a site where desperate people would come to visit. With Harry Connick Jr. (Hope Floats, Will & Grace-TV) as John, Agni Scott (Persuasion, Bridget Jones’s Baby) as Sia, Ali Fumiko Whitney (Cabin Girl, The Road Dance) as Melina, Lea Maleni (Kalabush, Didyma Feggaria-TV) as Koula, and Clarence Smith (Leave, Emmerdale Farm-TV) as Jimmy; this film had beautiful outdoor scenes. I thought the acting was decent, but the script was generic and predictable for the most part. It seemed as if I was watching a mashup of other films that fall into this genre. It was pleasant to hear the music, and as I said, I thought the scenes of Cyprus were wonderful. In my opinion, the writers needed to do a rewrite of the script and add deeper drama and humor for this story to stand out.               

2 stars