Le Bar de la Tendresse

I really enjoyed this one. It has a phenomenal soundtrack, with some heartwarming moments and great performance by Ben Affleck as Uncle Charlie - the Uncle we all wish we had.

In some ways, it reminded me of Hillbilly Elegy. It's a solid coming-of-age film with a refreshing softness. The atmosphere of the film is infectious - we could all do with some of those bar characters in our corner.

Ron Livingston was well suited as narrator. It was also great to see Christopher Lloyd as the farting Grandpa - he's on a roll these days. I also thought Tye Sheridan held his own alongside the likes of Affleck. Lily Rabe really excelled at being JR's loving mother who just wants him to do well in life.

There are some laughs, some emotional moments, and a few thought-provoking lines. It's not short on inspiration for aspiring writers either. It's about life. It's about the people who help shape us, and it's about the importance of a writer finding their voice.

This is an Amazon original movie, my wife and I watched it at home streaming on Amazon. It is set mostly on Long Island and in Connecticut but was filmed in various Massachusetts locations.

The movie is really two parts and they cut back and forth. The older part is in the early 1970s when young JR and his mother deal with their situation by moving back to her parents' home, dad is a radio voice and mostly absent. JR's uncle (Affleck in a good role) operates his own bar and gives young JR some life advice. Mom wants JR to go to Yale and become a lawyer, but JR decides he wants to be a writer.

The other half is in the 1980s when JR is at Yale, then later when he starts to get jobs as a reporter. Woven in are his frustrations with the girl he falls for but she never seems to be able to choose just him.

All in all a good and interesting movie ultimately about JR's coming of age.

There is a group of people who have troubled the cinema, and this mass is fed only by spreading negative energy.

George Clooney and Ben Affleck have been targeted by such people throughout their careers.

The film, which Clooney did a very clean job, attracts people especially with its 70's texture.

Intelligently chosen actors and actresses, excellent selection of songs, cinematography, art direction are very good.

The script is already a book adaptation.

Tye Sheridan is my favorite generation Z actor. He showed her talent in this movie as well.

A very good 'Coming of Age' movie is waiting for you and the movie gives you more than what it promises in this sense.

There is Uncle Charlie, bartender ( Ben Affleck) in a bar named "The Dickens" inspired by Charles Dickens and instead of liquor bottles in the cabinet he has a collection of books. Something more unusual is that he doles out serious advice to young 10 year old boy JR ( Daniel Ranieri) on how an ideal man should behave. This movie is based on the memoirs of famous journalist JR Moehringer, and chronicles his growth from a boy to a young man studying at Yale and later aspiring to be a writer.

JR has gone through a troubled childhood without a father, has been through a turbulent manhood ( getting dumped 9 times, getting rejected for a job) but learns a lot from Uncle Charlie constantly. ( Later in life Uncle Charlie tells him to select philosophy as a subject since there are no right answers in this subject). JR's mom however has been supporting him throughout and this keeps him going as he navigates his ups and downs. A heart-warming scene has young JR attending a " Breakfast with dad" session in school with his grandpa standing in for his missing father.

A warm, sentimental film embellished with some good acting by Ben Affleck who carries the film well and gives it class. Young Daniel Ranieri is lovable and plays his role like a seasoned professional. Credit to the handsome hunk behind the camera, that is director George Clooney who has done a competent job. The movie has a foot tapping soundtrack of, believe it or not, around thirty numbers which add to the entertainment value of the movie. The movie ends on a positive note for JR as he says that unlike the selection process to become a lawyer, one has only to have self belief and can become a writer when one is ready.

This year's entry in the poor kid who makes it as a writer awards bait entry. Like last year's HILLBILLY ELEGY, George Clooney's movie laddles on the woes and miseries while always trying to assure the audience that it will be all right in the end -- it's a memoir, after all (J. R. Moehringer).

Ben Affleck plays Uncle Charlie (literally "Uncle Charlie") who becomes a mentor to the author, JR (Daniel Ranieri as a tyke; Tye Sheridan as a college student). Affleck is good here, even if the character is idealized - yes, he's a bartender still living with his father, but he's also wicked smarht! Ranieri is a decent child actor, but Sheridan is more annoying than heroic here. Briana Middleton is winning as JR's on again, off again girlfriend, but one never gets why she's be attracted to him. Lily Rabe and Chrisopher Lloyd do fine, but they are playing cliches.

More crucially, the viewer never gets a true glimpse of JR's supposed writing talent. It's all second hand - "that kid's got it!" William Monahan's screenplay plays it safe and to the middle, and Clooney doesn't really give it much style, either.