'The Tender Bar' - A Realistic Portrayal Of Family And The Insecurites Of Growing Up
Actor George Clooney is in the director's chair this time with his new Amazon Original Movie The Tender Bar. the film is based on J.R. Moehringer's memoir about his time growing up on Long Island as a kid and the tribulations caused by an absentee father leading him to find a male role model in his Uncle Charlie (played to perfection by Ben Affleck) and his bar buddies.
So much more than a coming of age story, The Tender Bar is a realistically poignant look into finding out who your real family is, how we are shaped by those closest to us, and the struggle to grow beyond the mistakes made by those before us to become a better version of who they are.
The film starts with a booming soundtrack of Radar Love by Golden Earring, as a young J.R. (newcomer Daniel Ranieri) in a car with his mom (Lily Rabe), watching the world whip past him. A smooth voice begins to speak from the car stereo which mom quickly turns off in a huff. We learn that J.R.'s dad is a famous, though selfishly carefree radio DJ nicknamed The Voice. Looking to start over, J.R. and his mother are moving back in with her parents and siblings back on Long Island.
What follows is a series of getting to know your character moments that feels believable and lived in. The performances are stellar. Christopher Lloyd plays the seemingly cantankerous Grandpa who spends his days passing gas in his recliner. Uncle Charlie works at the town bar The Dickens and is the surrogate dad for J.R. throughout the piece. He gushes with sage advice one might have gotten from an uncle back in the 1970s, how to order a drink, what books to read, how to treat a woman decently, old school "Man Code" stuff. Ever honest with his nephew, Charlie encourages him to read and learn as much as he can from the writers of the past. What blossoms is a powerful bond that extends to the other guys at the bar who become J.R.'s extended family.
Everyone shines in this film, especially Affleck who gave me flashes back to his role in Good Will Hunting. A loving individual, who, despite making some wrong turns in his own life wants nothing but the best for those around him. His times on screen with Ranieri hits with pitch-perfect accuracy, playing off one another with a familiarity that is lived in and real.
Skipping ahead, the story takes an interesting shift when the character of J.R. is played by Tye Sheridan as a teenager going to Yale to study writing. He makes fast friends with his roommates, meets his first love, and questions if he can even be a good writer. It is at this point that the story of J.R. becomes more adult, especially with his relationship with Sidney (Briana Middleton) who spends the film stringing him along like a lovesick puppy. Their time together is very reminiscent of his relationship with his father, who jumps in and out of his life selfishly garnering false hope of them becoming father and son.
The film is a true study of the interpersonal relationships that come our way throughout our lives, told with heart and passion by everyone involved. It shows the pain that comes with not being wanted as well as the bonds we form with those who might not be blood but mean more to us than if they were related. J.R. is in a constant state of confusion which comes from not knowing his place in the world, never having stability at home or in life, but eventually learns who he is through the help of his broken family who stays together, literally and figuratively, as a crutch for one another.
This is one of the finest films about family, friends, and finding oneself even through the heartbreak we all eventually endure. Affleck and Ranieri are amazing on-screen and the surrounding cast is engagingly fun and quirky in all the best ways.
The Tender Bar is definitely one of the best films of this year, from performances to the soundtrack, exuding all of the heart the cast brings to it. A definite recommendation when it streams on Amazon Prime December 22, 2021.
