The Tender Bar
The Tender Bar
Starring Tye Sheridan, Ben Affleck, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe
Directed by George Clooney
Starring Tye Sheridan, Ben Affleck, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe
Directed by George Clooney
There's those exceptional films that really stand out due to incredible twists, outrageous performances, and exceptional storytelling - ones that stick with you years after watching them, and ones you tell all your friends to see. Then there's others that are so bad, so incredibly awful, that you never want to see it again, but unfortunately they stick with your mind as well due to their absolute awfulness. Finally there's those films in the middle: ones that maintain a typical narrative, follows all the cliches of their craft, and plays it safe. These are the ones with great performances and solid stories, but remain wholly unmemorable because we've seen the likes of these time and time again. When you categorize "The Tender Bar," it will undoubtedly fall in the middle. It's safe, it's comfortable, it provides the good-natured feels for the moment, but it's not one you'll remember in any capacity after it ends.
Young JR Maguire (Daniel Ranieri) lives in Long Island in the 1970s with his mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe) and the two of them end up homeless after JR's deadbeat dad, known to him as "The Voice" (Max Martini) because he only hears him on the radio, abandons them. Dorothy takes residence at her father's (Christopher Lloyd) house with her brother, Charlie (Ben Affleck), whom becomes a surrogate father for the young JR. He teaches JR the ways of life as he runs the local bar called The Dickens, and encourages his nephew to pursue his love of writing while his mother pushes him to get into Yale or Harvard to be a lawyer.
Years later, a now grown-up JR (Tye Sheridan) is well on his way to accomplishing his dreams. He got into Yale and is working on a memoir, even though he doesn't think he's good enough for either. While at school he meets and falls in love with wealthy Sidney (Briana Middleton), but their relationship is strained at best. After attaining a job at The New York Times, JR writes stories about The Dickens and his uncle, which ultimately leads him to North Carolina to confront his father to deal with unresolved issues of the past. All of this shapes the real-life JR who eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.
"The Tender Bar" is a feel-good autobiographical film based off the memoir of JR Maguire, and pretty much you'd be forgiven if you never heard of the guy before. He is one of those rags-to-riches stories where he starts out as a poor child with an abandoned father who used his intellect and tenacity to make something of himself despite his obstacles, all the while being led by the well-meaning but foul-mouthed uncle. Basically his life is a walking cliche, and the film equals that sentiment. But that's not necessarily true, because JR doesn't really move forward due to his tenacity, because throughout the entire film he feels like he's not good enough, he's not a good writer, and he doesn't feel like he deserves to be at Yale, and honestly we don't get it either - how he gets into the school, how he gets a job at The New York Times and anything else in his life comes so suddenly and simply it's literally like it all lands in his lap by happenstance.
What makes the film somewhat memorable is the repetitive dialogue that proves the adage "repetition is key," as it's easy to remember something that's repeated ad-nausea. "What does JR stand for?" "Where's my thirty bucks?" If you played a drinking game just by hearing these two phrases, you'd be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning before the second act. If Maguire's memoir was as simply written as the script, it should be a very simple read.
While I'm knocking on the simplicity of the film (and how JR seems to be the luckiest person in the world), I actually enjoyed it enough during the runtime. It hit all the right notes with its traditional coming-of-age story, and basically the thing that made it great was Ben Affleck's performance as Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie is the cool uncle every kid wished they had - he owns a bar, he smokes and curses, and is very protective and kind to his nephew, serving as the father JR never had. Affleck performs stronger than the script provides, and it's probably due to the work he's done with director George Clooney in the past.
Likewise, young upstart Daniel Ranieri shines in his debut role as the young JR, a kid that everyone loves because he's just so lovable. He has that youthful doe-eyed look and inquisitive nature that every adult can relate to because they remember when they were that age (at least I do). Being able to ride around with the cool Uncle Charlie to go bowling and spending time with him at the bar, JR enjoys his youth and the audience enjoys hearing the story told through Ranieri's performance.
On the other hand, Tye Sheridan just breezes through the role as the more adult JR with a passe performance, where he doesn't even seem to care to be there in the first place. His dialogue repeats from having a deadbeat dad and wanting to love the rich girl who won't love him back, along with his repetitive dialogue as to how he's not a good enough writer (seriously, if this is his real memoir, it'd be a real dull read). Any connection you had with JR at the beginning is lost with Sheridan's performance, as he robotic performance has absolutely no emotional resonance at all, even when you're supposed to feel something.
Filled with cliches and that saccharine feel-good feel, "The Tender Bar" is enjoyable for the moment, but much like any other artificial high, you'll come crashing down soon after and almost completely forget it existed in the first place.
The Score: B
Young JR Maguire (Daniel Ranieri) lives in Long Island in the 1970s with his mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe) and the two of them end up homeless after JR's deadbeat dad, known to him as "The Voice" (Max Martini) because he only hears him on the radio, abandons them. Dorothy takes residence at her father's (Christopher Lloyd) house with her brother, Charlie (Ben Affleck), whom becomes a surrogate father for the young JR. He teaches JR the ways of life as he runs the local bar called The Dickens, and encourages his nephew to pursue his love of writing while his mother pushes him to get into Yale or Harvard to be a lawyer.
Years later, a now grown-up JR (Tye Sheridan) is well on his way to accomplishing his dreams. He got into Yale and is working on a memoir, even though he doesn't think he's good enough for either. While at school he meets and falls in love with wealthy Sidney (Briana Middleton), but their relationship is strained at best. After attaining a job at The New York Times, JR writes stories about The Dickens and his uncle, which ultimately leads him to North Carolina to confront his father to deal with unresolved issues of the past. All of this shapes the real-life JR who eventually went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.
"The Tender Bar" is a feel-good autobiographical film based off the memoir of JR Maguire, and pretty much you'd be forgiven if you never heard of the guy before. He is one of those rags-to-riches stories where he starts out as a poor child with an abandoned father who used his intellect and tenacity to make something of himself despite his obstacles, all the while being led by the well-meaning but foul-mouthed uncle. Basically his life is a walking cliche, and the film equals that sentiment. But that's not necessarily true, because JR doesn't really move forward due to his tenacity, because throughout the entire film he feels like he's not good enough, he's not a good writer, and he doesn't feel like he deserves to be at Yale, and honestly we don't get it either - how he gets into the school, how he gets a job at The New York Times and anything else in his life comes so suddenly and simply it's literally like it all lands in his lap by happenstance.
What makes the film somewhat memorable is the repetitive dialogue that proves the adage "repetition is key," as it's easy to remember something that's repeated ad-nausea. "What does JR stand for?" "Where's my thirty bucks?" If you played a drinking game just by hearing these two phrases, you'd be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning before the second act. If Maguire's memoir was as simply written as the script, it should be a very simple read.
While I'm knocking on the simplicity of the film (and how JR seems to be the luckiest person in the world), I actually enjoyed it enough during the runtime. It hit all the right notes with its traditional coming-of-age story, and basically the thing that made it great was Ben Affleck's performance as Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie is the cool uncle every kid wished they had - he owns a bar, he smokes and curses, and is very protective and kind to his nephew, serving as the father JR never had. Affleck performs stronger than the script provides, and it's probably due to the work he's done with director George Clooney in the past.
Likewise, young upstart Daniel Ranieri shines in his debut role as the young JR, a kid that everyone loves because he's just so lovable. He has that youthful doe-eyed look and inquisitive nature that every adult can relate to because they remember when they were that age (at least I do). Being able to ride around with the cool Uncle Charlie to go bowling and spending time with him at the bar, JR enjoys his youth and the audience enjoys hearing the story told through Ranieri's performance.
On the other hand, Tye Sheridan just breezes through the role as the more adult JR with a passe performance, where he doesn't even seem to care to be there in the first place. His dialogue repeats from having a deadbeat dad and wanting to love the rich girl who won't love him back, along with his repetitive dialogue as to how he's not a good enough writer (seriously, if this is his real memoir, it'd be a real dull read). Any connection you had with JR at the beginning is lost with Sheridan's performance, as he robotic performance has absolutely no emotional resonance at all, even when you're supposed to feel something.
Filled with cliches and that saccharine feel-good feel, "The Tender Bar" is enjoyable for the moment, but much like any other artificial high, you'll come crashing down soon after and almost completely forget it existed in the first place.
The Score: B
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