by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
In between your Christmas blockbusters comes the usual counter programing trying to get award attention. But sadly, some of the award bait movies get lost in between the best of the year contenders and the must see action flicks. Sadly, The Tender Bar is most likely going to get lost by movie goers this holiday season. As of this writing, it has only been nominated for a single major award (if you count the Golden Globes). Without the nominations to highlight The Tender Bar, this may very well be the only time you hear anyone talk about it because there is not much to take away from this one.
Directed by George Clooney and starring Ben Affleck and Tye Sheridan, The Tender Bar, based on a memoir of the same name written by J.R. Moehringer, is about a boy growing up in the 1970s without a father figure. He’s trying to be the one person in his family who makes enough of himself to not have to go back to living with Grandpa (Christopher Lloyd).
We begin with Jr (not pronounced Junior but as J.R.) as a boy (introducing Daniel Ranier) as he and Mom (Lily Rabe) make a reluctant return to living with Mom’s dad after not being able to make it on her own. Ron Livingston’s voice suddenly jumps out in an almost startling fashion to introduce you in a voiceover to the group of characters that honestly should not be getting such a lazy introduction. The cast is talented enough that their actions should speak for themselves instead of telling us what kind of man Uncle Charlie (Affleck) is or how Mom hates her runaway ex-husband and father to Jr. The voiceover honestly adds nothing other than just reminding us that this takes place in the past, but the music and wardrobe do enough of that for us. I am honestly sitting here trying to remember how prevalent the voiceover was in the movie; it is that forgettable.
It is not long after this introduction we get a quick glimpse of Sheridan as older Jr, but without any explanation for this quick jump. It’s just Jr on a train, and then as quickly as we see him, we go back to younger Jr again. This happens a couple of times in the movie, each time with just a tidbit of detail on older Jr that I think this is how the movie is going to go. I believed that older Jr is reminiscing about being a boy on his way to an interview with Yale and that is the structure of the story, but midway through we jump to older Jr and never go back — it is jarring to say the least. It takes me too long to catch up that we are now following older Jr and we are not going back, and because of that, we lose what made this movie stand out.
Young Jr was learning the ropes of being a man from Uncle Charlie: don’t drink unless you are mentally together, take care of your mom, etc.; it’s the usual 1970s cliche advice. The first half of this movie works because Affleck shines as the male role model we all desire to have and to be. He speaks the truth to his family in a tactful manner that allows him to be blunt but also sweet, like when he tells Jr that he is no good at sports so he will have to find another talent. He sticks up for Jr when other adults diminish the young boy’s skills and personality. Uncle Charlie knows Jr desires to have a father figure in his life, so he steps up. Uncle Charlie doesn’t show emotion or feelings, but he will always be there for Jr, and that is all you really want from his character. Without Affleck shining in this award nominated role, this movie does not work. So when we finally jump to Jr in his early twenties, this movie misses out on the charm from the beginning.
Jr, now living his mother’s dream of attending Yale, sees a bit less of Uncle Charlie and does not rely on him for advice like he did when he was kid, essentially toning down Affleck in the back half of the film. We get a bit of fun new characters in Jr’s roommates Wesley (Rhenzy Feliz) and Jimmy (Ivan Leung), who thankfully have a bit of character to them that makes them fun to watch, but when Jr finds his first love, Sidney (Briana Middleton) they too are sidelined and the movie comes to a screeching halt.
There is so much time spent on Sidney that is relatable to anyone who experiences heartbreak, but just because it is relatable does not make it entertaining. It seems a majority of Jr’s motivations turn to getting back a girl who has made it clear he will never be a priority to her. And maybe this would work with another actor, but Sheridan does not have the charisma to pull off smarmy know-it-all. He is tasked with putting the movie on his back, and as much as I’m rooting for him, he falters. All of his scenes leave me asking when Affleck will come back, because he needs to be on screen for me to have a vested interest in where the story goes.
Because this is a memoir based on true events, there is not a central bad guy to fight off, no big competition to win at the climax, and no speech in the rain to remind the girl of what they once had. The final confrontation Jr has to have is with his father, which feels forced because this movie needs something. Real life is boring; that is why we go to the movies. But Clooney is able to nail the ending allegory to allow us to feel comfortable leaving Jr moving towards his future. Once all his demons are faced, he can move on with his life and the movie can end. The coming-of-age tale has come and there is no more to say.
Along with Affleck’s charming Uncle Charlie, Clooney behind the camera makes this movie worth watching. He may not have the story beats down, but he certainly has an eye for what makes a great shot. There are purposeful long takes that allow the actors to really just act, like when Uncle Charlie is dishing out life advice. Cutting from Affleck’s monologue would take us out of the movie and remind us that this is just an actor, but by keeping it one take, we are pulled in and are hanging on the life advice, much like Jr. Clooney also plays around with parallel shots with much different meanings than each other to play with the mood of the characters. As much as Affleck makes what we see on screen, Clooney’s eye for the art of filmmaking shines through just as much behind the camera.
This movie is going to get lost behind some real heavy award contenders, and to a degree, rightfully so. This coming-of-age tale is not all that unique and does not say anything different than any other similar story. Ben Affleck takes command of every scene and Clooney makes sure it is pretty to watch. But once we remove Affleck and focus on a boring love story that has to be conveyed by Tye Sheridan, you’ve lost me. This is certainly a movie worth catching on streaming, and that is the only way I suggest you view this one when it releases on Amazon Prime on January 7h
Grade: B
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