Premise: A former football star who just served a 12-year prison sentence somehow becomes a father figure to a young boy who is more free-spirited than the small town is ready for.
Are we running out of time to make Justin Timberlake a star? That feels strange to ask, because he isn't even 40 yet. I feel like he should be a real movie star by now though if it's going to happen. After a few years of taking some serious roles in forgotten movies like Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan, he had a huge moment around 2010-2013. He turned fringe Oscar consideration for The Social Network and rapturous praise for SNL hosting gigs into every kind of movie he could be in, in search of an identity that worked. He did comedies (Bad Teacher, Friends with Benefits), action (In Time, Runner Runner), and drama (Trouble With the Curve, Inside Llewyn Davis). And even those were different kinds of roles: some lead - some supporting; some singing - other not; Sci-Fi, romance, thrillers. He was decently praised in some of these too, but nothing stuck. Bad Teacher broke $100 million barely with him in a supporting role, and that was his biggest success. Of his lead roles, none got above $55 million. He mostly retreated back into music after that run, and there's no more urgency to make him a star at this point.
All that said, I think Palmer is the right direction to go if he's looking to be more than a pop star who dabbles in films. The energy that he brings to SNL doesn't translate to fleshed out movie characters. He doesn't ooze with the right charisma for movie star franchise roles. He's been at his best in dramatic roles. Previously, I wondered if it was just that David Fincher and the Coen Brothers can make anyone look good. And he was supporting characters in those movies. Palmer though, is a leading role with a less lauded director (sorry Fisher Stevens) and Timberlake is still really good in it. I think what it comes down to is that Timberlake is at his best when no one is expecting him to bring anything; when he doesn't have to bring the SNL energy or translate the pop star fame into onscreen charisma. In Palmer, he's just acting and letting the film figure the rest out.
Look, Palmer is a trite movie. It's cleanly messy. The characters' lives have a lot of complications, but the story moves forward in very familiar ways. No one will accuse it of being too experimental with the storytelling. It works though. Justin Timberlake dials it back a lot. I believe him as a reformed criminal. Prison didn't harden him. It just made him more cautious. Palmer is a former high school football star and he seems genuinely humbled by life. I love June Squibb as his grandmother. It's the first time I've seen her since that Oscar nomination for Nebraska in which she was written as a human and not cheap laughs. She's really lovely with the young boy played by Ryder Allen who she watches over because his mom (Juno Temple) is a train wreck. Timberlake seems to inherit her decency around the boy.
I was so pleased with how the movie handles the boy, Sam. He's a 10-or-so-year-old kid in a small town who likes dressing like a princess and other traditionally girly things. 9/10 movies would make him a complete reject who only Timberlake grows to understand. Instead, many people in the town take the kid under their wing. Sam has several friends in school (all girls, but so what). Other moms try to make him feel included, as does his teacher. June Squibb is kind to him, even if he challenges some of her old school notions. Sure, he has some assholes who mistreat him, but it's a much more realistic ratio of people. Compared to how often I see these lazy depictions of small towns in things like The Prom, Palmer was so nice to see. Here's proof that it's not that hard to make a movie that doesn't look down on people who don't live in a city.
I've gone on way too long about a movie that I just liked. It's a sweet movie. Justin Timberlake and the rest of the cast are good. It gets a little melodramatic, but that's part and parcel with this kind of movie. I really just liked how nice the movie is.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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