MOVIE REVIEW: Patti Cake$

Drama centering on a young girl, who suffers with obesity, but dreams of one day being a high earning rapper.  She’s got the skills but can’t break loose of the New Jersey town and her alcoholic Mother.  When she meets a young outside called Anarchist Antichrist she embarks on bringing their unique jams to the public.

I’ve never seen 8 Mile, but from the reactions that the other people at the screening had were that this was better, and I have to be honest I enjoyed the film to a point.  But I don’t know that much about this music scene, the RnB, Hip Hop, and Rapping music.  It is not that I’m 42 and don’t really listen to much music or keep up with any scenes, I never liked Rap, I understood the appeal, but it was never for me.  If you don’t like rap before this film then I’m pretty sure you are not going come away with that love anew.  What is going to come out of this film is the love for the main star who brings every ounce of talent to the screen and makes a stunning performance one of the best of the year.

The story is pretty simplistic and if you’ve seen 8 Mile you are going to know it all too well.  Because of the way that this film is presented it gets a mark for a more interesting take on the tired old story.  Music based films often suffer from the same old cliché ridden scripts.  With Patti though her make-believe moments where she is the apprentice basically to a huge star called OZ it brings the film into a fantasy and then we’re back to the harsh reality of her life.  The reality of the life in New Jersey is probably typical for a lot of families.  Alcohol addiction, crippling medical bills, not enough money to live day-to-day, and dreams that are shattered.  Working several jobs and still trying to make their dreams come true.  The friendships that Patti makes and the hurtful and all too common remarks that big people, myself included, are that double-edged sword that builds her up and yet one word of insult can destroy you.

The music ,if you like that music, will make you happy and the lyrics that Patti spits out, which I’m told is a phrase, are really clever, and the finale song did almost have me in tears of sadness and joy.  Playing Patti, and what is possibly an Oscar-winning one at that, is Danielle Macdonald and Patti is that girl that you want to get everything that she wants, it’s rare that a performance gives you that feeling.  Probably going to get the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress is Bridget Everett who plays Mom Barb.  Barb’s dreams of being a rock singer were shattered when she got pregnant with Patti, her Father marched her down the aisle with the now missing Father, the resentment has spilled into alcohol abuse.

Often in a three star movie I can’t find that stand out performance, they are usually perfectly fine entertainment for a night and that’s about it.  You can take them or leave them.  Here is a three star film that you shouldn’t avoid, you should go see Danielle and Bridget giving performances that should be recognized by everyone as some of the best performances of the year by any performer.  The film goes on a little too long and there is some tolerable repetition but thankfully it’s a good enough old hat tale done in a way that gives it a little freshness.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!

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