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The product of a “magical” one-night stand between concert cellist Lyla (Keri Russell) and Irish rocker Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), 11-year-old musical prodigy Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore) escapes his upstate New York orphanage to search for the parents he’s never known. Washing up in Manhattan, Evan’s taken in by Robin Williams’ Faginesque Wizard, who dresses like Bono, renames him August, and puts him to work busking. Things get even mushier when Evan’s accepted to Julliard, Lyla miraculously becomes aware of her son’s existence, and Louis picks up the guitar for the first time in a decade. Packing every cliché, coincidence and contrivance known to man (well, Hollywood screenwriters) into one glossy, saccharine, syrupy package takes some doing; but Highmore’s open-faced charm makes Evan’s sappy story tolerable.

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