Synopsis
A heartwarming and crowd-pleasing coming-of-age comedy with a unique spin, Morris from America centers on Morris Gentry, a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his cool, rebellious, 15-year-old classmate Katrin. Morris sets out against all odds to take the hip-hop world by storm and win the girl of his dreams.
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Cast
- Markees ChristmasMorris Gentry
- Craig RobinsonCurtis Gentry
- Lina KellerKatrin
- Carla JuriInka Meinert
- Jakub GierszałPer
- Levin HenningBastian
- Eva LöbauKatrin's Mother
- Patrick GüldenbergSven
- Leon BadenhopRainer
- Marie LöschhornBirgit
Recommendations
- 83
The Film Stage
A culturally specific story is being told, but the film’s familiar structure helps to add a commonality for any viewer. - 83
IndieWire
The climax feels a bit under-realized, but never less than genuine. More than anything else, Morris From America excels at conveying the inherent power of companionship in a largely indifferent world. - 80
New York Magazine (Vulture)
This understated, generous film quietly sneaks up on you. - 80
Variety
This coming-of-age dramedy explores how the challenges of being young, black and misunderstood can be compounded in a foreign environment, but goes about it in a grounded, character-driven way that never smacks of manipulation or special pleading. - 75
Slant Magazine
Chad Hartigan's film is especially perceptive about the effect of external influence on personal development. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Mostly lighthearted and, especially in its closing reels, rather clichéd, the character-driven film nonetheless manages to gently resist the temptation to turn into a full-throttle and heart-warming crowdpleaser. - 70
Screen Daily
Markees Christmas is an appealing, sensitive find as Morris, with Robinson striking all the rights notes as his struggling father. - 67
Consequence
At points the film simply observes the smaller, more innocuous moments of a coming-of-age story; much of it is framed in intimate medium shots and close-ups, and there’s a distinct kinship between the numerous wayward souls in its world that carries it along.
