This was a good film. There are only six characters in the whole film. Frank (Nick Offerman) owns a record store despite the lack of business. Sam (Kiersey Clemons) is his only daughter, preparing to go off to UCLA and eventually med school. There is also Leslie (Toni Colette), Frank's landlady and potential love interest, Dave (Ted Danson), Frank's friend and local bartender, Rose (Sasha Lane), an artist and Sam's girlfriend and Marianne (Blythe Danner), Frank's mother who occasionally shoplifts because her mind is going, or is it? She doesn't have many scenes but seems lucid in the few she does.
The plot is also fairly simple. Frank and Sam record a song and Frank puts it online. He also wants them to become a band, while Sam has many reservations, including Frank's extreme lack of funds.
Despite the simpleness of the plot, the film is nevertheless worthwhile with brilliant performances all around and good music.
The ending is solid, with Frank and his daughter still writing songs thousands of miles apart and she does to college. Frank and Leslie mend the fences and he takes over Dave's bar so Dave can go to Woodstock to enjoy the trees and get high.
I do have problems with the film, like why bring up Sam's birth certificate if nothing comes out of it, what is with Leslie and Brian and why do have Marianne shoplift when she appears to not be loosing her marbles.
Thank goodness it is nevertheless a great film and Clemons will have a great career ahead of her. I also liked that race was never brought up (Frank's late wife was African American) and neither was homosexuality. Everything was down with grace, which is so refreshing. Grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment