Patti Cake$

I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival 2017.

This movie is the typical youth dreaming of becoming a star and then we route for him/her as they are rejected by the establishment only to rise like a phoenix. Why so they keep making them? Because we love them is why. The beauty here is the parallels with the star Danielle MacDonald.

Danielle is a Sydney girl, who could not get noticed down under and went State-side to find her niche. Her talent is unstoppable and she does dirty Jersey (their words in credits not mine) proud.

The rapping is brilliant. I can't understand most of the stuff they play on the radio but given the context, the lyrics are poignant cries to the world of her plight.

Go - be inspired by Killer P and try stop singing P B N J days after you see the movie.

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!

I don't hate rap, but let's just say the only rap song I know goes "Now this is a story all about how / My life got flipped turned upside down..."

Patti Cake$ is a quintessential underdog story, but I give it major points for being possibly the only true underdog story out there. This is because, rather than pulling the Hollywood stunt of using a glamorous moviestar in the lead and uglying her down for the first half only to enact a--surprise!--transformation to glamorous moviestar at the end, Patti Cake$ doesn't pander to that cheap device. It's the story of a very unglamorous girl who's trying to break into the rap scene even though she can't even afford the 'b' in 'bling', let alone wear it.

What makes this story particularly interesting is that it's not just a chronicle of her attempts at cracking the music biz, but it's equally about her struggles with a sinking life, stuck in one of those faceless Jersey towns within sight of NYC but feeling like a million miles away. She is the youngest in a tri-generational home where the grandmother is bedridden, the mother is an alcoholic, and she, Patti, seems to be the sole bread earner. And thus it's an interesting portrayal of a family life that got flipped turned upside down.

Just as much as I enjoyed the storyline about her musical aspirations, I loved the storyline about her family: the love-hate relationship with her alcoholic mother (herself a failed rockstar who released one album but got pregnant with Patti, thus ending her own career and harboring a lifetime of resentment) and the grandmother, EXPERTLY played by the legendary Cathy Moriarty (from "Raging Bull"), who is a tough old hag with a really soft heart who encourages Patti's dreams and keeps her sane.

The tri-generational cross section (tough but kind grandmother, utter failure of a mom, young kid growing up confused) reminded me a lot of the excellent film Chocolat. If you liked that one, you'll love Patti Cake$ even if you're not a rap fan.

Which leads me to the rap part. The songs are really catchy with sly lyrics and great delivery by Patti, played by Australian actress Danielle Macdonald who had to take a 2-month crash course for the role, essentially training how to rap in dirty Jersey style. The film actually gave me a newfound appreciation for rap, the unique style, rhythm & rhyme scheme of each rapper as well as the impressive production that goes into making good beats. It's not just about a bunch of juvenile delinquents loitering at the gas station making noise with their mouths (although that scene does happen), but it's an art form like any other. And the song that ties it all up at the end does a great job of bridging the generational/musical gap between rap fans and classic rock fans.

The last bit I'll mention is about a great theme that runs under the surface of this flick. And that is: chasing dreams (both positive and negative connotations). Throughout the film we see Patti slipping into alternate realities as she imagines her fantasy success. These scenes are done with a wonderful, vivid, surrealistic style of cinematography which contrasts well against the gritty Jersey reality that make up the rest of the story. The question being presented is whether it's better to keep it real or to chase potentially false prophets.

If you like a good underdog story that's more than the predictable Hollywood trope, then this is the flick for you. I... would... rate this flick around 7 or 8. And I yelled to the cabbie 'yo homes smell ya later'

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.

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.