THE TENDER BAR Trailer
A coming-of-age tale wanders in for a drink in The Tender Bar, the latest from director George Clooney.
Based on the memoir by J.R. Moehringer, the film goes back to J.R.’s childhood, a time when his single mother struggled to make ends meet and relied heavily on her family to get herself and J.R. through. He ends up finding a place at his uncle’s bar, a local joint where men while away time and provide J.R. with the direction his absent father won’t give. This gets him to a prestigious college with dreams of becoming a writer, but still, he finds himself turning to this old haunt when the going gets tough.
This looks like Male Bonding: The Movie to me, which isn’t a bad thing considering all the men seem to provide a steady, helpful base for the boy-turned-young man. Manly pursuits are something of a mainstay in the movies Clooney takes on as a director (most notably Good Night, and Good Luck and The Monuments Men) although he hasn’t dipped into coming-of-age stories before. It’s a well-worn genre, though, which should provide Clooney a solid blueprint for how to handle the material.
He stays firmly behind the camera here, bequeathing the role of the helpful uncle to Ben Affleck. Older J.R. is played by Tye Sheridan, making for a pairing that has been working in the young man/mentor dynamic a lot recently. Co-starring with them is Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe, and Christopher Lloyd.
Familiar? Sure, but this is a solid group taking on a charming genre, which should entice plenty to check it out.
The Tender Bar is directed by George Clooney and stars Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, and Daniel Ranieri. It will have a limited theatrical release in the US starting December 17th, 2021 before releasing on Prime Video January 7th, 2022.
Will you stop in to see this one? Let us know in the comments!
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