The Tender Bar: Film Review
Ben Affleck scored a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in The Tender Bar earlier this week and it’s clear to see why.
The coming-of-age film, directed by George Clooney, tells the story of real-life novelist and journalist J.R. Moehringer. We are first introduced to J.R. when he is a child (Daniel Ranieri) in the ’70s. He and his mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe) move in with her parents and her brother Charlie (Affleck) in her childhood home in Long Island, New York as she is broke. J.R.’s father disappeared shortly after he was born and reaches out very occasionally when he feels like it, so the boy finds a father figure in his uncle Charlie and the patrons at his bar, The Dickens.
This film, based on Moehringer’s memoir of the same name, tells a relatively simple yet sweet, feel-good story that should warm your heart and leave you with a smile on your face. There isn’t a great deal of plot but there’s joy to be had in watching J.R.’s bond with his uncle grow and grow and the bar’s patrons embracing him so warmly. This was the film’s biggest strength.
So it’s a shame that the story falters when the older J.R. (now Tye Sheridan) goes off to Yale. The narrative became less about him and his uncle and more about his new college life, his on-off love interest Sidney (Briana Middleton) and his subsequent job at The New York Times. The story does eventually circle back around to his uncle and the bar and comes to a satisfying and heartfelt conclusion but my interest did dip in the middle.
Affleck gives a charming performance as the cool, fun uncle with buckets of personality. He helps shape J.R. into the man he becomes and ensures he reaches his full potential by giving him life lessons, feedback on his writing and making him read classic books. Rabe is the supportive mum who is constantly stressed about money and making sure her son has a better life than her. Newcomer Raineri was super cute and it was lovely watching him bond with Affleck. Sheridan was simply fine.
The Tender Bar is a sweet but forgettable story with a banging soundtrack and excellent cast.
In selected cinemas from Friday 17th December and on Amazon Prime Video from 7th January