Rappin’ Rockette

From the kingdom of Springsteen comes the story of an aspiring rapper, a movie more indebted to Sundance audience-baiting tactics than to the blue-collar epics of Bruce.

This debut film from writer-director Geremy Jasper stars Australian actress Danielle Macdonald as the Jersey-bred Patti, aka Killer P, an ample twenty-something woman who works two go-nowhere jobs and still lives with her alcoholic trainwreck of a mother (Bridget Everett), yet dreams about meeting her hero and attaining hip-hop superstardom.

The film essentially sutures the story arc and milieu of 8 Mile onto the character details and chintzy dream sequences of Precious. For a generous portion of its excessive 108-minute running time, Patti Cake$ is colorful and irresistible entertainment, driven by Macdonald’s magnetic lead performance, a likeable ensemble cast and a credible sense of place (Jasper was born in the small town of Hillsdale, New Jersey). But about halfway through, the film abandons any pretense of authenticity to become an aggressive crowd-pleaser (so did 8 Mile and Precious, of course).

Full disclosure: the screening audience ate up every single pandering second-half story beat, compromised message and logistical improbability, and presumably so will the ticket-buying crowds that Patti Cake$ was designed to please. Macdonald’s Patti certainly makes for the sort of self-doubting, Rocky-esque underdog that tends to rally audience sympathy, and a strong rooting interest carries us through when the film’s integrity starts to crumble.

Just like any of the Rocky movies, Patti Cake$ wastes little time placing its protagonist at a low point. As the film opens, Patti still lives in the same New Jersey town where she grew up, still surrounded by the same kids who cruelly dubbed her “Dumbo,” still watching her booze-grubbing mother slur through karaoke night at the local bar. Spitting hardcore rhymes becomes Patti’s only escape, but her platonic best friend Jheri (YouTube rapper Siddharth Dhananjay) is the only person who knows about her skills.

That all changes after a rap concert headlined by a few of Patti’s most persistent bullies, a group of emcees mainly notable for their lack of flow and lyrical over-reliance on pathetic misogyny. An unimpressed Patti engages in an impromptu after-hours rap battle with the lead rapper, proving her superiority so soundly that the cowardly shmuck can only respond with violence. Filled with new-found confidence, Patti sets about assembling a crew, a group that includes Jheri, a mysterious rocker and her own ailing grandma, played by the wonderful character actress Cathy Moriarty.

I’m always happy to see Moriarty, but it’s also dispiriting to see the smoky-voiced 56-year-old already shuttled into the rappin’ granny role. The disappointments don’t stop there—starting with the scene where Patti accosts her rap hero, Patti Cake$ eagerly leaps down a rabbit hole of self-indulgence, never to return. It’s clear that Jasper didn’t care how he got to his stand-up-and-cheer finish, just that he got there.