X
- 2016
- R
- A24
- 1 h 31 m
- 2016
- R
- A24
- 1 h 31 m
Summary Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas) is a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis (Craig Robinson) to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his c...
Directed By: Chad Hartigan
Written By: Chad Hartigan
- 2016
- R
- A24
- 1 h 31 m
- 2016
- R
- A24
- 1 h 31 m
Morris from America
75
6.8
Where to Watch
Summary Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas) is a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis (Craig Robinson) to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his c...
Directed By: Chad Hartigan
Written By: Chad Hartigan
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
75
86% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
14% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 29 Critic Reviews
75
86% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
14% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
I wish there were more films every year like Morris From America, the kind that surprise you by revealing a hidden side of something—an actor, a genre, a situation—you thought you had figured out.
The climax feels a bit under-realized, but never less than genuine. More than anything else, Morris From America excels at conveying the inherent power of companionship in a largely indifferent world.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.8
65% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
29% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
6% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 User Ratings
6.8
65% Positive
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
29% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
6% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
The one thing that stuck by me after watching was: Everyone in this flick does totally relatable, understandable thing, no-one does stupid crap. That Morris is somewhat hostile towards the somewhat stereotyping Germans? I get that.
That the Germans stereotype with "Kobe Bryant" etcc? I get that, they were clumsily trying to make a connection.
That the teacher tattles on Morris? Any responsible adult would.
That the father gets angry at the teach for sticking her nose in? I so get that.
While with a movie made by whites about blacks, there's a built-in danger of too much positive stereotyping, as well as too much negative stereotyping, this movie doesn't do that, or when it does do it a bit (White girl asks black boy if he's got a large **** ??) it's so innocent, I'll forgive that. Some black people wouldn't, but I will.
What's nice about this one, is that it portrays blacks from the non-struggling middle middle class. Usually in Western made cinema, it's very poor, criminal blacks or very rich ones (Power, plus that Taraji P. Henson vehicle)
But this one does not. Perhaps it takes a European indie production to give that viewpoint. Hollywood is surely to segregated to do it, that's for sure.
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Funny enough, but ever since my success with my review of the highly stylized and powerful street-drama Kicks, it seems that I have become the unofficial urban/hip-hop critic of the city of Toronto. Which isn’t a bad thing, especially when you are reviewing some kick ass, cutting edge coming-of-age stories.
Coming-of-age stories are a dime-a-dozen in independent American cinema, let alone for films that have been accepted in the official line-up of the Sundance Film Festival. I mean, Sundance, almost being the unofficial “coming-of-age” film festival, is not only known for its dedication and glorification of youthful coming-of-age stories, but also discovering new, almost obscure talent, both behind the scenes, and in front of the camera. If you don’t believe me, think of Quvenzhané Wallis from Beasts of the Southern Wild, RJ Cyler in last year’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Gabourey Sidibe in Precious and director Damien Chazelle to name a few. Luckily for us, Chad Hartigan’s newest film, Morris From America is a very authentic tale of of an outsider of a very urban-contemporary America, growing up in the very proper and white-washed setting of Germany.
Morris From America begins with three of its most powerful characters; Markees Christmas playing the young Morris Gentry, Craig Robinson as his father, Curtis Gentry, and the powerful and overwhelming music of hip-hop. As Morris rocks his head to The Sun Rises in the East’s (considered one of the quintessential hip-hop albums of all-time) track Come Clean by Jeru The Damaja, Morris complains to his father that the beat is a little slow, it lacks a hook and the song, overall, is very boring. Outraged with his son’s taste in music, Curtis ground Morris for having poor taste in music. Our next shot of Mo in his room, is a tour poster of up and coming rapper from Los Angeles, Schoolboy Q, that hangs at the very centre of his room, showing Mo’s love and appreciate for new age hip-hop. At this exact moment, it becomes quite clear and evident that Mo’s analysis of his father’s song is very much an analogy of Hartigan’s newest film as well as a very clear clash of how the differences of opinions, experiences and tragedy affect two very formidable men following the tragedy of their lead female matriarch.
We never really find out what happens to Mo’s mom throughout the film. Essentially, the tragedy of her absence, although quite pivotal to our main protagonists, isn’t the driving point behind their actions. Sure, there’s a scene where Curtis calls a European phone sex line, one of the many scenes where he finds himself stuck in an empty and cold home, lusting for attention and meaning. Robinson’s longing for love is one of the many factors that make his role as Curtis one of the mot memorable of his career, especially set against that of Mo, whose friendship and crush for his only friend Katrin (Line Keller) is the driving force of Mo’s motivations. Katrin, who sets course a path for Mo that not only allows him to grow up quicker than most thirteen year-olds, but also allows him to experience the stark cultural differences of growing up in a predominantly white Germany, against a childhood and adolescence in urban America.
As the very simple narrative of Morris flows through each and every scene, it seems that writer/director Hartigan is interested in one thing, and one thing only, and that’s the authenticity of his star and his characters and most of all, their raw and highly relatable experiences. During the early drafts, Hartigan had a script in mind that included a white father and son, but it wasn’t until Robinson and Christmas involvement that the characters were changed to a African-American father/son duo, navigating life away from the United States with a very interesting and dynamic one/two punch. Never glorifying or emotionally manipulating the trauma of Curtis’ and Mo’s loss; never romanticizing Katrin and Mo, and never polishing Mo and Curtis’ bonds, Morris From America is your average joe character film tightened by simple and real people narrative choices.
Making his transition in Germany as painless and smooth as possible for his son and himself, Curtis enlists the help **** student/tutor Inka (Carla Juri). Inka and Mo share some tender scenes of truth and heartache, sometimes simplifying one another’s life through the simple stories surrounded by their love lives. Mo, who has taken a liking to Katrin, discovers aspects of himself he never knew he was capable of; while Inka makes some serious life choices, thanks to the stark truth and frankness of Mo’s young adolescent, real world perspectives, sometimes blending in aspects of an episode of “Kids Say the Darnest Things” for good measure.
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Much like the father-son bond at its center, the comic drama is warmhearted but never cloying.
It is Christmas who steals every scene, and rightfully so. The teen actor is so engaging and endearing (despite his character’s penchant for foul language); his screen presence at such a young age is a wonder.
I gradually grew more interested in Curtis, who has his own solitude to cope with. This represents the first non-comic leading role for Robinson (moviegoers will know him from “Pineapple Express” and “Hot Tub Time Machine,” among other films), and he commands it with a gruff and amiable ease.
It’s disarmingly spirited, especially when its teen star, Markees Christmas, is sharing the screen with Craig Robinson.
Focused on fetishizing rather than intimately depicting, director Chad Hartigan has produced a warm-hearted yarn that treats its two African-American leading men like props in his white-washed game of chess.
I can't say this movie hit the spot 100% of the time in its depiction of a 13 years old black kid in Germany with its father.
But it hit the right places well above 90%.
The ending is a bit abrupt.
The actors are spot on in a simple depiction of life.
I especially enjoyed Craig Robinson's role as a father.
In the end I did not know quite what to expect when I began this story, but got hooked up with the genuine life tenderly and honestly depicted by its protagonists.
Give it a try, gently.
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A very sweet, well-rounded, and well-intended coming-of-age comedy! Craig Robinson delivers some of his best work yet and Markees Christmas as the title character is perfectly humorous and charming as well with both of their combined talents making for irresistible onscreen chemistry! Overall, despite some cliche moments many of us have probably seen in other coming-of-age films, this one has enough unique moments, along with it's fun mix of comedy and hip-hop music and themes to make it stand out! I'd say it's definitely worth a view!
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Morris from America is an alright coming of age film. Sporadically funny and insightful to the struggles of living in a new country, Morris from America offers little new insight on the minefield of youth and is not as funny as it could have been. That said, the acting is terrific - even from the youth characters - and Craig Robinson really steals the show. Every time he is in the frame, the scene is guaranteed to be included in the film's highlight reel
Though typical, the film finds much of its charm in the relationship between Curtis (Robinson) and his son Morris (Markees Christmas). Highlighting the struggles they face together as black men living in Germany, as well as having lost their wife/mother, the film really soars when they bond. Though the film never satisfactorily dives into the emotional drama enough with the deceased wife/mother, the film does show some good father-son bonding. Here, the film winds up being deeply affecting, particularly in the final sequence when Curtis begs Morris to be on his team and not continue causing problems for him. Of the entire film, the writing is strongest in this area.
However, the second strongest area of the film is Morris' relationship with Katrin (Lina Keller). Though he falls into the cinematic trap of thinking she is actually into him when she has a boyfriend, Morris still learns a lot about life through his encounters with Katrin. Not only does he gain the confidence to become a rapper, but he learns to go with the flow and experience new things. Above all, even if he does not yet realize it, he learned a lot about German culture and took a step toward adjusting to his new homeland.
That said, the film does struggle at times with its comedy. While the film can be injected with a lot of fun energy and comedy from Robinson or even Morris himself, the film does heavily rely on cringe comedy. Since I hate cringe comedy, this does not work for me too much. In particular, the scene when Morris "raps" and then gets kicked out of the youth center really caused me physical pain. I can only imagine it was intended to be comedic since it was so poorly put together and really just caused me to look away from the screen. This was hardly the only scene where I had to cover my eyes, unfortunately.
Additionally, the film's characterization of Katrin left a lot to be desired. As is usual, we are left looking at her character negatively even though Morris is the one who obsessed about her and just assumed she would be into him. In fairness, she dropped a lot of hints (even asking him if it is true what people say about black guys and their...members), but she equally owed him nothing. Even worse, he is the one who assaulted her boyfriend when he got mad and decided to fight over Katrin. Really, if anybody misstepped in this relationship, it is certainly Morris, which is why it is unfortunate to see her painted negatively to the audience.
All-in-all, Morris from America never really provides satisfactory looks at certain emotional elements and its entertainment is quite fleeting. However, it is fun while it lasts, even if I already largely forgot about it and what I remember will only include scenes with Craig Robinson.
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Production Company
Beachside Films,
Lichtblick Media,
INDI Film GmbH,
Südwestrundfunk (SWR)
Release Date Aug 19, 2016
Duration 1 h 31 m
Rating R
Tagline Nothing rhymes with Germany
Awards
Sundance Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Black Reel Awards
• 2 Nominations
Indiana Film Journalists Association, US
• 2 Nominations
