Movies in Review: "Morris from America"

Soooooooo, I a little late reviewing this one. As a matter of fact, I'm so late, this movie is actually making its way out of theaters at this point...oooops. I never heard of this movie, until it was recommended by two of my friends on Facebook, as a movie I needed to review. You guys know I'm not one for reviewing movies that have already been in theaters for weeks, but since this one came highly recommended, had Craig Robinson starring in it, and there wasn't much released this Labor Day weekend, I gave it a go. I enjoyed the trailer...so why not...

I was told in advance this movie explores hip-hop, and I gathered that from the trailer. But that wasn't all that the story was about. Yes hip-hop was integrated into the story of a misunderstood black kid living in Germany. I did enjoy the hip-hop vibe, although the story was so much more than just music. The hip-hop music they selected for this film were on point. I was vibing throughout. I also enjoyed the old school rap and artist references, it was like being taken back to when hip-hop was great. Robinson was great to watch as a single father of a teenage boy. Robinson has great comic delivery, but held back just enough for this mildly serious role that he played exceptionally well. The young kid who plays Robinson's son Mo, was also well cast. It was easy to fall in love with him, and feel his pain as a young teen in love. The young woman cast as his tutor was definitely my favorite character though. She added humor and a level ground for the story.

The story was cute, and at times emotional. It is not all about hip-hop, but hip-hop music is definitely well incorporated into the story. I'm sure you won't find this film in theaters at this point, but you should definitely be on the lookout for it on cable TV or Redbox...A-