Great World of Sound

This Sundance favorite is Salesman meets American Idol, with a flavoring of Glengarry Glen Ross for good measure. Two fellows are recruited as A&R men for the fly-by-night music producing company of the title, which is obviously a scam but which the men buy into with forlorn hope, traveling to cities like Biloxi and Birmingham to audition musicians, who come to their motel room in response to ads in the local paper. Then the musicians are asked to demonstrate their commitment by putting up in advance 30% of the cost of producing a record. Writer-director Craig Zobel does a lot with a little, and the cheesiness of the sets and flatness of the lighting are perfectly appropriate to the story. The performers really were answering ads in the paper and were filmed with hidden cameras, and used with their consent after the fact. Pat Healy is the nerdy white partner and Kene Holliday is the buoyant black partner, and they bond nicely on the road, until the house of cards starts to fall apart. Deadpan humor melds with sorrowful authenticity in this very promising debut. (2007, dvd, n.) *7-* (MC-72.)