Morris from America: Movie Review

When a film contains a mix of a good story and classic hip-hop, I am in heaven.  Writer/director Chad Hartigan pulls of exactly that.  A smart, funny, and charming coming-of-age film that is also quite honest.  What helps make “Morris from America” so good is that the film’s title character (played by Markees Christmas) is so very relatable. Anyone who has ever had trouble fitting will instantly connect Morris.

“Morris from America” is a fish-out-of-water comedy about a 13-year-old American boy who has just relocated to Heidelberg, Germany with his single father (Craig Robinson).  Neither Morris or his father Curtis are fans of living in Heidelberg. The main reason for the move was so that the father and son could get a fresh start after the loss of Morris’s mother.

When Morris isn’t learning to speak German with his tutor, Inka (Carla Juri), he is spending time with Katrin (Lina Keller) a 15-year-old girl who he has developed a crush on. She is also his only friend. Morris also wants to be a hip-hop star.  However, when Inka comes across a notebook filled with the young rapper’s explicit lyrics, she brings it to his father’s attention. I found how Curtis deals with this situation to be quite interesting and not at all in the way I would have expected.  It’s actually also the same way I probably would have dealt with it if I was a parent.

Craig Robinson who is a gifted comedic actor also gives a good performance here as a man trying to not only get over the loss of his wife but also raise his son the best way he can in a world where they both feel out of place.  I loved the scenes between the father and son.  I also felt Curtis’s frustration when he played Jeru the Damaja’s classic hip-hop song “Come Clean” for Morris and the kid just didn’t show that song the respect it deserves.  “Morris from America” touches on all the coming-of-age points, excitement, discovery, resentment, and heartbreak, but it does so in such a refreshing way.

By: Marc Ferman