Director: Geremy Jasper
By Alex Watson
Likened to 8 Mile and Hustle & Flow, Geremy Jasper's Patti Cake$ is a movie that shows us that talent is not defined by a person's sex or skin color. A star making turn from Australian actress Danielle MacDonald is the firing pin in this fine indie effort. Jasper makes full use of the bleak industrial New Jersey backdrop and we yearn for our heroine to escape the dive she lives in. With a catchy and infectious soundtrack, you will wish your life could be told through lyrical verse.
Patricia 'Dumbo' Dombrowski is a blue collar girl simply trying to make ends meet. Forced to live with her alcoholic mother Barb (Bridget Everett) and her sick Nana (Cathy Moriarty), it looks she has hit a dead end. One talent Patti excels at is rapping and despite being a talented writer and performer, her male counterparts looked down on her. Her best friend Hareesh (Siddharth Dhananjay) believes that she only needs the right producer. Could reclusive African-American punk rocker Basterd the Anti-Christ (Mamoudou Athie) be the answer?
There is far more to Patti Cake$ than just having some fine beats. The relationships she holds in this picture are shown with some raw power. Barb is the bane of her existence, an almost famous 80's singer who gave it all up to have Patti. Forever sozzled and having her daughter hold her hair back while she vomits, you can feel the strain a mile away. Though there are almost moments of lovely tenderness between the pair. Her sharp tongue Nana is slowly crippling the family financially with medical bills and Patti's boss refuses to give her any extra work. Nicknamed Dumbo by her male rapper acquaintances, the very idea of a plump white girl wanting to make it big is sneered upon. "You look like a pig in shit!" mocks one of her enemies during a rap battle. No matter how high or low on the rap artist chain the people she encounters are, the reaction is always the same.
Her friendship with Hareesh is what gives the movie its sparkle and Jasper gives us some memorable moments featuring the two. Watching their lengthy introductions about each other via a pharmacy P.A system has us cracking a smile instantly. One of the few positive voices in her world, Harreesh believes his friend 'Killa P' and her 'pen game' are destined for greatness. Few friends in cinema are committed as this guy and unlike the heavily sexist wannabe gas station battle rappers, he looks past what the others see. Socially aloof Basterd proves a tough figure to track down, but when his woodland shack is finally revealed it looks like it was inspired by Tobe Hooper. From his bizarre first performance consisting of him screaming at everyone and calling them 'sheep' it is clear his talent runs a very different (and more frightening) path. However, he does possess the 'fire beats' that the pair desperately needs and together they form rap trio 'PBNJ' Trouble is the element that makes the group so great is also fails to get them forward.
The hopelessness of her situation gives Patti Cake$ a gritty reality and set against the decaying New Jersey scenery we can feel her desire to get out of her surroundings. Hearing the music is what makes this piece come alive and when Patti raps we can only sit in amazement. Seeing a packed house go from mocking and hostile and being unable to resist cheering is something to behold. Jasper makes out her talent as the real selling point. Yes, this is still your typical underdog story and perhaps not a perfect one at that. Despite this, the sheer amount of heart and soul is impossible to hate and seeing our heroine continually dismissed for her looks and image makes us root harder. There might be some minor setbacks such as the unconvincing side story of Basterd and Patti possibly becoming an item, but there are enough good tracks for us look past this oversight.
Danielle MacDonald is perhaps the biggest find cinema will have in 2017. The Australian will be registering on everyone's radar after a performance like this one. Channelling the frustration and desperation of someone wanting to get ahead, MacDonald makes us feel every inch of her character's restlessness. Bridgett Everett also rings in a deep turn as the drunken and conflicted Barb. A middle aged woman still clinging to her glory days, she is the type of mother everyone prays they do not get! Known to most of us for her appearances on 'Inside Amy Schumer', Everett shows her dramatic chops and this could open some interesting avenues for her.
Patti Cake$ is a great coming-of-age story and Jasper makes you work hard to love its heroine. If you're not repeating the letters PBNJ as you walk home, then you have no musical bones in your body.
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