George Clooney the Director strikes again.
A long time ago in a blogging site far, far away, I wrote a wholly biased appreciation of the first five cinematic efforts from George Clooney the director, as he told tall tales of a TV Game Show Host believing, rightly or wrongly, to being a murdering asset of the CIA, a black and white noir of a McCarthy era of supposed American Communism and the presumed impartiality of the news media, a knockabout comedy about the creation of professional football in America, an intriguing political sideswipe (but no more and not deep enough sadly) at American politics and the soldiers and men who ensured the safe collection of monuments and artefacts at the end of World War II. In my myopic view, these are five gems of varying quality, all helmed by Hollywood’s very own “Gorgeous George” and now that I’ve whetted your appetite, here’s a link to a trimmed, slimmed and shiny transfer here to Medium from last year:
George Clooney “Behind the Lens” Part 1
From 2002’s A Dangerous Mind to 2014’s The Monuments Men, here’s 3 more gems in the middle for your spoiler free…medium.com
In the seven years between The Monuments Men and The Tender Bar here, Clooney also helmed Suburbicon in 2017 and The Midnight Sky in 2020 and, being the honest amateur film critic that I aspire to be, I didn’t particularly care for either one and have no particular memories of seeing or enjoying either. The Tender Bar is different, much different. Again Clooney reverts to being wholly behind the camera, leaving the stage clear for Ben Affleck and Daniel Ranieri to dominate with such differing performances early on before Tye Sheridan picks up the gauntlet thrown down to him by the youthful Ranieri to take their collective character to a Good Will Hunting style ending that left your honest amateur film critic with tears gently rolling down his cheeks.
But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves.
“When you’re 11 years old, everyone needs an Uncle Charlie”, so says the youngest of the three inhabitants of the “JR” character in this beautiful film, and it’s quite the performance from someone so young, and in his debut feature length film performance from Daniel Ranieri. Director Clooney forever frames and focusses in on Ranieri’s eyes and even alongside his cinematic Uncle in the guise of Ben Affleck, Ranieri is just incredible. Affleck takes somewhat of a backseat in the middle of the film but before and after is the brilliant inhabitant of the pivotal “Uncle Charlie” role and somewhat role model for his much younger nephew. Charlie surrounds himself in both his own hard worked for self education (as he masks his loquacious tongue with a fast talking New York bartender/wise guy exterior) and with a love of books both at the cramped home he shares with JR and the huge gaggle of extended family, and behind him on the shelves of the “Dickens Bar” he proudly manages. Directing his young protégé to a cupboard filled with books Charlie states emphatically “If you read enough books, maybe, if you’re lucky, you could become a writer” and with a supportive if overly emotional “Mom” (Lily Rabe) behind him, JR is going to Harvard or Yale and will become whatever he dreams to be.
The third and future JR character is inhabited by Ron Livingston in a narrator role throughout the film (though my ears mis-took his dulcet tones for Kurt Russell!) but the far more important central role of the shy adult teenager on his way to a University interview and the wider working world is brilliantly realised by Tye Sheridan. The rough timeline of early 1973 through to 1986 and beyond to the end of the decade is regularly twisted but forever twined too around the central characters within JR’s life. The busy, loud and cramped household is headed by Christopher Lloyd as “Grandpa” and in typically, tongue in cheek fashion Lloyd is wonderfully cheeky as he admonishes his young grandchild by saying “Don’t tell anyone I’m a good grandfather or everyone will want one!” and whilst JR aches for an absent father known only as “The Voice” (Max Martini) as he’s a national radio DJ, and takes the wise counsel of his friend “Wesley” (Rhenzy Feliz) JR only has eyes for “Sydney” (Briana Middleton) and an unrequited love affair that ends so spectacularly and so brilliantly and so laugh out loud hilariously. Pencil in JR’s Christmas breakfast with the prospective in-laws just after the halfway mark of the film! It’s brilliantly done.
With a screenplay by William Monahan based on the memoir of JR Moehringer, The Tender Bar isn’t a normal, straight ahead story of Father/Son angst and nor is it really the story of a kindly uncle stepping into the vacant shoes. Not really. It’s certainly a coming of age tale for JR, from the creation of “The Family Gazette”, the brilliantly amusing dismantling of his girlfriend’s obnoxious family before, with typical Long Island brio and with heart and spirit to spare, the young boy leaves another family, the family of the bar run by his uncle, and an uncle with a familiar cinematic pride of seeing his bird fly freely away.
Add in a sublime period soundtrack including Jackson Browne, Paul Simon and The Isley Brothers and you have yourself one hell of a film.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta see about a girl.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles (with 300+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“Aftersun” (2022)
The unreliability of the persistence of memory.medium.com
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
Dark, disturbing psychological drama.medium.com
“Prisoners” (2013)
Incredible first hour rather let down by what follows.medium.com