Patti Cake$

What a shocker! I didn't think I would enjoy this but had time to kill. I was impressed enough to post a review, which I never do. The characters pulled me in and really made me feel something. Make me feel something, angry, sad, happy, scared, confused, anything. A good movie (for me) takes me away from my life and lets me see the world through others eyes for an hour and a half. This is not a prospective I would ever have imagined I would enjoy but I did. By the end of the movie I was rooting for Pati and her friends. I really felt vested in what I was seeing all a while through their eyes. Great acting, great story, great idea all around. Watching this movie was time well spend. Kudos!

From early on in "Patti Cake$," it seems evident that director Geremy Jasper's energetic style and tone to this story of a woman from 'dirty Jersey' trying to make it big in the rap scene will likely make this independent film appealing to mainstream audiences as well. First of all, the film's music is excellent. It is well-written, authentic and filled to the bone with genuine passion. If you're a rap fan, this would make the film most certainly worth the price of admission alone. The film has some notable performances as well, with Danielle Macdonald's role as Patti particularly note-worthy. The depiction of New Jersey is gritty and realistic, while still keeping a sense of dry humor when necessary, and the characters--while offbeat--are generally developed nicely.

However, the film is not without flaws. The main reason why this is the case is because of the film's rather generic script. While the script feels a bit bundled in parts and seems to work a little overtime to make the movie feel like a 'crowd-pleaser,' that's not the main problem with it. The real concern here is that the film contains a number of clichés that have been done many times before in films about performing arts. This makes the movie feel very slightly tedious and containing a bit of narrative 'filler' due to the presence of these tried-and-true events. As a result, it could have been about 10 or 15 minutes shorter without really losing anything.

While the movie is enjoyable and amusing throughout, it really rises to the occasion during the scenes Patti is rapping. In those scenes, the energy is truly both electric and infectious. Due to this (and the film's characters and accessibility,) this could also be an independent film that breaks out and finds a real audience in wide release, much like "The Big Sick" did earlier this summer--although unlike "The Big Sick," people will also run to iTunes when they get on their computers after arriving home from the theater to download the soundtrack. Recommended. 7/10

Disclaimer: I have not yet seen "The Big Sick," although I do plan on watching it on Redbox, and am not attempting to compare this film to that one in terms of quality. I was only using it as a comparison on the nature of accessibility/mainstream appeal.

What to say about this movie.

Reality sure does bite in NJ.

Patti is trying to do it all help care for her Nana and look after her mother.

The fact that they put her Nana up to singing the hook was fantastic!

Many laughable but gritty moments throughout the entire film.

If explicit language won't bother you the film is worth a watch.

It is amazing that the lead actress took two years before filming to hone her rapping skills!

The characters. The situations. The ladder of emotions. And the wise version of American Dream. A film defined by inspired realism, beautiful performances, smart story and art to explore details. A film about ages, loneliness, friendship and succes. About family and fights. Surprising good actors and a film about rap with powerful flavors of jazz.

Love films centred around music. Being someone who grew up with music being a huge part of my life, who sings and who graduated last year with a degree in Vocal and Operatic Studies, so considers music very important and that it wasn't appreciated enough or sadly not cool to like as a subject in my school years.

Am not a big fan of rap, with a few exceptions, often finding it simplistic, repetitive and preachy, but have a high appreciation, if not quite love, for blues. So wasn't sure how good 'Patti Cake$' would be, despite it being positively received, but there are good music-following your dreams films out there and there was the hope that 'Patti Cake$' would be one of them. Seeing it, it was. Not as amazing as the best reviews have said it is, but for its flaws there is a lot to like here and it was quite the pleasant surprise.

Sure, 'Patti Cake$', being a film that treads familiar ground, is very predictable with not much new and characters that fall into cliché territory. The looking up to the rap god subplot is contrived and underdeveloped, feeling like filler. Agree too that the script has its clunky moments.

However, there are good things. The budget is not a huge one and 'Patti Cake$' is not a grand in spectacle film, nor does it need to be. It's hardly a cheap-looking film and is shot well. The music is catchy and tune, yes even the rap despite some simplistic lyric writing.

Most of the writing has humour that's a mix of gentle and witty, a warm heart and heartfelt poignancy. For its clichés and predictability and one subplot that falls flat, the story has freshness too and told in a way that has vibrancy and heart, with a lot of energy and creative spark, the very definition of feel good, it's very sweet, heart-warming and uplifting and the underdog/following your dreams story as a result just about works.

Geremy Jasper keeps things moving beautifully, with great direction of his actors and the drama and great, near-seamless synchronisation of visuals, staging and music. The characters, despite being clichés, are both fun and not hard to like, with the lead character being proof that one doesn't need to look like a supermodel to be an inspirational role model. In no way is that meant to cause offence, actually think lowly of people who think it's alright to make shallow comments about people's looks.

The cast do a great job, with Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay and Mamoudou Athie providing zesty support and Cathy Moriaty registering strongly too. Best of all, the backbone of the film and the best thing about it, is Danielle MacDonald, a brilliant star-making turn and she deserves to be a big star after this.

All in all, a very nice film that made me feel good, regardless of not completely loving it. Am aware that this review is going to be very unpopular, despite being a subjective person that the very eruditely written and in my mind honest positive reviews have so many negative useful votes is a surprise to me. 7/10 Bethany Cox