Morris from America

Morris from America is a coming of age story of a black kid growing up in Germany, what part, honestly I forgot (my German doesn't exist). The movie was great. It's a coming of age story and who doesn't like that. I liked how Morris is constantly trying to find his footing in Germany. He's angry but he still find a small glimpse of hope in his new found friend, Katrin. Katrin is what I'm guessing is a typical German teenage girl. She hates her mom, does what she isn't supposed and has a strange thing for Morris. By no means is this a love story. If anything it was a cautionary tale of what unrequited love can do to someone. All in all it was a decent move and worth the watch.

This is not a film about race or racism. Could easily have been done with two white leads instead of black leads. It's a film about a 13 year old boy discovering sexuality and entering an adult world by way of a love interest, as well as how his father deals with this without his wife. Great acting by them both and the lead female. Subtle but not overly complex screen play. Interesting and not trying to be over emotional. Not a superb film but worth watching. I really liked the way they portrayed the father's efforts to do well by his son and manage his adherent behaviour without alienating him. Son was also not reckless but simply unaware of the world he was growing into.

Review: I quite enjoyed this simple but entertaining movie, which is based on an American thirteen year old, Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas), who lives with his single dad, Curtis (Craig Robinson), in Germany, after losing his mum. With his dad teaching football, Morris is taught German on a daily basis, and his tutor recommends a summer school, so he can meet other teenagers and make some friends. Although he is the only black student in the school, he soon becomes friends with a young girl called Katrin, (Lina Keller), who leads him up the wrong path, and has a boyfriend. He teaches her about rap music, and she takes him to some wild parties, behind his dad's back. Katrin then pushes him to rap at a talent competition, and his adult language gets Morris kicked out of the school. With his dad away, Morris goes to another wild party with Katrin and a few of her friends, and after an alteration with her boyfriend, he becomes stranded in the middle of nowhere, so he calls his tutor for help, who calls his dad against his wishes. Its quite a simple tale but it's one that every teenager can relate to. The acting is pretty average from the whole cast but the relationship between Curtis and Morris is quite sweet, even though Morris finds it hard to be honest, because of his love for Katrin. Its not the type of movie that will become a worldwide hit but it's a good insight into how difficult it is, for different cultures to mix. Average!

Round-Up: This movie was directed by Chad Hartigan, 35, who also brought you All The Stage Is A World, Date and This Is Martin Bonner. I personally haven't heard of them films before, so this is the first movie that I have seen from this director. He certainly got the most out of Markees, in his first feature film, and he showed a different side to Craig Robinson, who is known for his comedic roles but the film is pretty small in scale and it didn't get wide distribution. Its a shame that this movie will go under the radar because I have seen worse, in this genre.

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $100,000 (Terrible)

I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/romance/dramas, starring Craig Robinson, Markees Christmas, Carla Juri, Patrick Guldenberg and Lina Keller. 5/10

I do not understand why this movie is getting such a low rating when it easily deserves more.

Usually when I watch a "coming of age" movie I immediately see what the outcome will be, they mostly go along the same line but with Morris from America I didn't get that. What I got was much better. Albeit some missing plot holes but nothing that hurt the over all story.

The movie gives you that coming of age story without the tacky, over played scenarios. Where those movies fail, this movie excels. I never got that feeling. The feeling of a fairy tale life for lack of a better term. It's funny, nostalgic, romantic, emotional, entertaining but over all, it feels REAL.

I have never seen Craig Robertson (Curtis) play this type of role and I am happy I did because he did very well, especially with a cast full of rookies. I hope to see more of this from him in the future. Markees Christmas was surprisingly good but I could not end this without saying something about Lina Keller and Carla Juri.. They both played their roles flawlessly and Keller's role was not an easy one.

Definitely give this a watch, it is obviously not of the same caliber as The Breakfast Club but it does entertain. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

13 year old Morris Gentry is the new kid in his Heidelberg, Germany school. He likes to rap with his soccer coach widower father Curtis (Craig Robinson). Father and son struggle to make new friends. Morris speaks limited German and has private lessons with Inka. Classmate Katrin takes a liking to him but he gets picked on by the bullies. She volunteers him to rap in the school talent show which only exacerbates his teacher's dislike. He gets pulled into her world of drugs and parties.

Markees Christmas is a young amateur in the lead role. There's a quiet charisma about him. The story is pretty simple. There is a healthy dose of subtle racism and it's your basic White Girl Siren. Craig Robinson surprises me with a bit of German although he's not doing really big acting. It's a nice solid coming-of-age story.