August 24, 2016 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: ‘Southside with You’
Revisits Barack and Michelle First Date
FILM REVIEW: ‘Morris from America’ a
Bittersweet Coming-of-Age Dramedy
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
W
Newcomer Markees Christmas plays Morris, a teenager trying to adjust to life in Germany.
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
I
t’s hard being Mor-
ris Gentry (Markees
Christmas) just now.
The lonely 13-year-old
is not only mourning the
loss of his late mother,
but is having a diicult
“
wants to it in and even
has a crush on a girl a
couple years older.
Katrin (Lina Keller)
can’t help but notice and,
lattered by the atten-
tion, she invites Morris
to hang with her crowd,
a rebellious lot that
dabbles in drugs and
Markees Christmas’ big
screen debut opposite
funnyman Craig Robin-
son in his irst serious
lead role.
The support cast also
acquits itself quite ad-
mirably, the upshot
amounting to a poignant
coming-of-age tale which
The character-driven dramedy revolves
mostly around the very-convincing fa-
ther-son relationship, featuring the talented
Markees Christmas’ big screen debut opposite
funnyman Craig Robinson in his irst serious
lead role
time adjusting to life
in Germany. He had to
leave his hometown of
Richmond and pals be-
hind when his father
(Craig Robinson) landed
a job in Heidelberg as
a professional soccer
coach.
Now, the troubled
youngster inds himself
in the awkward position
of being the only Black
kid in a school where
classmates have stereo-
typical expectations of
him as an African Amer-
ican. For instance, they
are surprised that he
isn’t any good at basket-
ball or dancing.
At least he does con-
sider himself an aspir-
ing gangsta rapper, al-
though the only person
he can impress is his
father, since he only
performs in English.
But even his translated
words would probably
sound out of place so far
removed from the ghet-
to, given how he writes
lyrics about, “[F-word]-
ing all the bitches two at
a time. all you can take
for $10.99.”
Despite getting daily
German lessons from a
tutor (Carla Juri), Mor-
ris fails to make new
friends, and stoically
asserts that he doesn’t
need any in the same
macho manner that he
spits out his rhymes. Yet,
under that tough facade,
is a sensitive kid who
alcohol. He accepts the
overture, though he ini-
tially doesn’t know that
the object of his afection
already has a boyfriend.
That means she’s more
likely to remain a frus-
trating fantasy than a
conquest he could boast
about in his next song.
Written and directed
by Chad Hartigan (This
Is Martin Bonner), “Mor-
ris from America” is a
bittersweet
bildungs-
roman which never hits
a false note. The char-
acter-driven dramedy
revolves mostly around
the very-convincing fa-
ther-son relationship,
featuring the talented
resonates as realistic
from its heartbreaking
beginning clear through
to a satisfying resolu-
tion.
Very Good HHH
Rated R for sexuality,
brief nudity, teen drug
use and partying, and
pervasive profanity
In English and German
with subtitles
Running time: 91 min.
Studio: Beachside Films
Distributor: A24
To view the trailer for
Morris from America,
visit TheSkanner.com.
SHOWTIMES
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: THE
MOVIE (R)
Fri-Tues: 12:10, 7:15
THE BFG (PG)
Fri-Thur: 11:30, 4:55
SWISS ARMY MAN (R)
Fri-Thur: 9:35
FINDING DORY (PG)
Fri-Thur: 12:00, 2:20, 6:50
TICKLED (R)
Fri-Thur: 2:10, 9:20
ho would ever think of
making a movie just about
Barack (Parker Sawyers)
and Michelle Obama’s (Tika
Sumpter) irst date? Richard Tanne
would, that’s who, and he makes an im-
pressive directorial debut with this in-
spirational biopic chronicling a very
eventful day in the lives of the future
President and First Lady.
The story unfolds in Chicago during
the summer of 1989 when Michelle
was already employed as an attorney
and living back home with her par-
ents (Vanessa Bell Calloway and Phil-
lip Edwad Van Lear). Barack had just
inished his irst year at Harvard law
school and had landed an internship as
her assistant at her prestigious irm.
Apparently, he was so instantly smit-
ten with Michelle that he could barely
contain himself. When she refused to
consider a romantic rendezvous, he
pitched her on the idea of attending a
business meeting with him.
Once Michelle grudgingly agrees,
Barack arrives late, yet is too cocky to
be embarrassed about either his tardi-
ness or the gaping hole in the loor of
his rusty jalopy. What the skeptical
object of his afection doesn’t know is
that he has added a picnic, a museum
and a movie to their planned itinerary.
Again, Michelle balks, but consents
only ater reminding her self-assured
suitor that “This is not a date.” Nev-
ertheless, the smooth-talking chain
smoker presses on with his own agen-
da, with the Art Institute of Chicago
being their irst port-of-call.
The two continued to get to know
each other over sandwiches in the
park, with the discussion touching
on everything from family to faith to
blackness to the meaning of life. So,
Michelle had a decent measure of the
man by the time they headed to the
South Side rec center where Barack
had once worked as a community or-
ganizer.
The icing on the cake
proves to be an inspi-
rational speech that’s
nothing short of pres-
idential which he de-
livers there to the dis-
couraged denizens of
the crumbling ‘hood.
Michelle’s loodgates
inally open, undoubt-
edly helped along by
The Week of
Friday, Aug. 26 through
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (PG-13)
Fri: 2:00
LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (PG)
Fri-Thur: 7:30
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
(PG-13)
Fri-Thur: 4:15
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS
(1963) (G)
Fri-Wed: 4:35, 9:05 / Thur: 4:35
$4.00 adults, $3.00 senior citizens (65+)
7818 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
503-252-1707 • AcademyTheaterPdx.com
Babysitting: Available for children 2 to 8 years old. Fri: shows after 3:30pm and before 8:00pm. Sat - Sun: all
shows before 8:00pm. $9.50 per child for the length of the movie. Call to reserve a spot, no drop ins.
‘Southside with You’ chronicles Barack and
Michelle Obama’s irst date
one woman’s (Deanna Reed Foster)
approval of her as the irst sister she’s
ever seen Barack with. Next thing you
know, the two lovebirds head to the
theater to see Spike Lee’s “Do the Right
Thing,” before capping of the evening
with a little canoodling while sharing
an ice cream cone.
“Southside with You” is a syrupy
soap opera readily recommended for
ardent Obama admirers. The predict-
able love story has a tendency to tele-
graph its punches, since its familiar
plotline sticks to what’s already pub-
lic knowledge. Overall, this plausible
account of the blossoming of love be-
tween Barack and Michelle serves up
a pleasant, if sanitized version of their
romantic launch en route to an histor-
ic rendezvous with destiny!
Very Good HHH
Rated PG-13 for smoking, a violent im-
age, brief profanity and a drug refer-
ence
To view the trailer for Southside with
You, visit TheSkanner.com.