POSITIVES…
The familiarity to this Father-Son story has that nice comfortable feeling for a family drama that I appreciated. It knows what it is, and it does it really well. Kudos to Writer-Director Prentice Penny.
While the story feels derivative, this movie isn’t above changing things up and subverting expectations, that it kept me engaged all the way until the end. I actually wanted more, by the time the credits hit.
Speaking about changing things up. The premise is about the son wanting to be a Sommelier! How often do you see movies about that subject matter?! That in itself also kept my interest quite a bit.
Excellent cast here, with solid performances by Mamoudou Athie as the Son, Courtney B. Vance as the Father, and the scene-stealing isn’t-she-just-fantastic-in-this Niecy Nash as the Mother.
I really enjoyed the interactions and the dialogue among the characters. A lot of that felt authentic enough for me, which really brings these characters to life, and got me truly invested with what happens to them.
There’s a scene that demonstrates some of the clever writing this film has, when different types of wines were compared to several hip-hop artists.
I really liked the themes and lessons learned in this story. You’ve heard them before, but this film is a wonderfully charming way of telling it to us again. People need to be reminded.
As somebody who isn’t much of a wine connoisseur, I learned things here about wine that opened my eyes as to why some people can be so into the art of tasting it. I don’t even like wine all that much, but I kinda want to go get a bottle now, which is quite the achievement that this movie was able to accomplish.
NEGATIVES…
Despite some tweaks to the tropes, it’s still a very familiar and conventional feeling story that you’ve seen before, and you may just very well dismiss the whole thing for that.
On that note, it still has those big cliches you come to expect too, which shows some of the derivativeness to the story.
There’s a plot reveal in the movie involving one of the primary supporting characters that I felt like was a manipulative cheat, that just didn’t feel earned.
It takes chances, but it never truly feels like it goes for big bold changes that will blow your mind.
The movie also has a very relaxed pace, narrative, and plot progression, that some people might get bored with, and may make the 104 minutes run-time feel even longer.
P.S…
lovedit ENJOYED IT iikedititsokayitsmehitsterrible
