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Patti Cake$

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United States · 2017
1h 48m
Director Geremy Jasper
Starring Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay, Mamoudou Athie
Genre Drama, Music

Frustrated with her life in New Jersey, aspiring rapper Patti Cake$ hopes to follow in the footsteps of her idol and hit the road to achieve stardom. With help from her best friend and her grandmother, Patti leads the charge against an army of haters, unpaid bills, and the broken dreams that are holding her back.

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What are critics saying?

40

The Guardian by Benjamin Lee

Patti Cake$ is by no means a hopelessly bad movie, it’s just hampered by its desperate need to be a crowd-pleaser.

63

Slant Magazine by Elise Nakhnikian

The obstacles and opportunities that Patti encounters are often rote, but her struggles and triumphs are detailed with a gravity that honors and elucidates her feelings.

83

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

One could argue that Patti Cake$ doesn’t break any new ground, but that would ignore the infectious attitude of its determine young heroine, and how much it stands out from conventional variations.

80

Screen Daily by Fionnuala Halligan

Debut director Geremy Jasper has said Patti is part-modelled on his own life, and there’s a real empathy on display here for her internal and external struggles, a gift which Mcdonald makes the most of in her own debut.

50

The Film Stage by Jordan Raup

While there’s an infectious energy to the process of musical creation and an impressive lead performance from newcomer Danielle MacDonald, the feature debut of Geremy Jasper is ultimately hindered by predictable story beats and a cynical outlook at the world it’s capturing.

80

Variety by Peter Debruge

In the end, it’s the ensemble’s collective attitude, plus the palpable chemistry between Patti and her friends, that defines the experience, not the stock desire to be discovered. Though if Patti Cake$ really did exist, this movie would certainly make her star.

40

The New Yorker by Richard Brody

Jasper hits every note of sentimental manipulation in a tale that’s as fleetingly affecting as it is insubstantial and mechanical.

80

The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

Geremy Jasper’s dynamic debut crackles with energy and grassroots authenticity. But it wouldn’t have worked at all without the right leading lady, which it found in Danielle Macdonald, whose rapping seems convincingly born of her character’s rough life experience.

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