CODA (2021) review

Up in good ol' Gloucester, Ruby (Emilia Jones) helps out her deaf family - parents Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and Frank (Troy Kotsur) and older brother Leo (Daniel Durant) - on their fishing boat because she's the only one able to hear and speak, but things get stressful when she discovers she has a superior singing voice and wants to attend the Berklee College of Music, which puts everyone in a bind.  Most of the time it's a pleasant - but familiar - extended episode of High School Musical, with Ruby dealing with bullying from other girls and starting a romance with her singing partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) ... and then has to contend with all the expected "pressures" of young adulthood mounting up on her - when she finally decides to have a fun day to herself, her Dad loses his boat (drama!).  It pushes all the buttons (sometimes at once), but Jones - daughter of Welsh singer Aled Jones - is a warm presence, and the ending is quite sweet, especially when Pop asks her to sing for him and he places his hands on her throat so he can at least try to comprehend her talent.