The Tender Bar

So very plain. To be honest: I found <em>'The Tender Bar'</em> to be a bore. I felt like I had seen this film before, such is the predictable and monotonous nature of the story. It almost felt like a (poorer) rerun of 2020's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/hillbilly-elegy/" rel="nofollow">Hillbilly Elegy</a>'</em>. I will say, though, that Ben Affleck gives a very good performance in this, to the point that I actually would've liked to have seen a story revolving around him and his character - as opposed to who this 2021 flick is about. Aside from Affleck, I didn't care for any of the other performances and therefore any of the other characters. It's not even a bad film, it's just so, so boring - for me, anyway.

It's not often I find myself writing this, but Ben Affleck is comfortably the best thing about this otherwise rather lacklustre adaptation of JR Moehringer's autobiographical coming of age tale. It depicts the story of his childhood - through the eyes of the engaging young Daniel Ranieri - before he heads to Yale in the guise of Tye Sheridan. The first half hour, maybe, is quite entertaining. This young lad living with his mother (his selfish father is estranged from them, living the mobile life of a late night radio talk show host) in the home of his mildly eccentric grandfather (Christopher Lloyd) and their home is a lively, buzzing environment in which the youngster thrives. Chief amongst the residents is his charismatic, worldly-wise uncle "Charlie" (Affleck) who runs a local bar populated with a decent, working-class clientele who take to the young man and encourage his obvious academic talents. That half hour peters out, though, and the rest of the film is really a rather uninspiring story of a young man, his "first love", a youth who is looking for some sort of positive male "role model". I find Sheridan a rather sterile actor. Sure, he is pretty, but he doesn't ever stand out with his performances. They are all just a little bit by the numbers, and here is no different. He speak words of passion, but his acting conveys none of that adequately on screen. The soundtrack is left to do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to dialogue, and it feels longer than the 1¾ hours it takes to watch. I am glad I watched it - on a big screen in London with just one other person - but I don't think I would ever bother watching it again.