Morris from America

As a chubby black boy, 13-year-old Morris (Markees Christmas) doesn't have it easy anyway. But having to move from New York to Heidelberg with his father Curtis (Craig Robinson) doesn't make his life any easier either. Despite tutoring in German, the foreign language is getting to him and he just can't seem to make new friends. Curtis tries his best to help the boy find his place in this strange world. But although the two have a rather close relationship, he doesn't quite want to succeed. Only when Morris meets the slightly older Katrin (Lina Keller), the tide seems to turn.

Morris from America is a very charming story about how an outsider tries to find his place in a foreign land. It's a humorous, yet emotional father-son story that strays far from the usual clichés and strives for realism without losing sight of some entertainment value. Especially the moments about falling in love for the first time are very well observed by director Chad Hartigan. He cleverly avoids the usual teen movie clichés, giving the story a credibility that many other works that focus on teenagers lack. Newcomer Markees Christmas plays with a refreshing naturalness that is positively evident even in the film's more tame moments.

But the chemistry between the young actor and his older co-star Craig Robinson (That's the End, The Office) works particularly well. There are a few moments between Morris and Curtis that work so well because of their unexciting, believable acting that you completely forget they're just actors and not really father and son. And it's moments like these - which are sometimes humorous, sometimes very serious - that make up for most of the script's weaknesses. Because it has some hangs and at times doesn't seem like a harmonious whole. Ultimately, this leads to the story being charming, but lacking the finishing touches to be something truly special.

So Morris from America offers nice entertainment with a lot of heart, a look at typical German foibles from the point of view of a young American as well as a really cute story about the first great love. These are many good reasons why this somewhat different youth film deserves a very clear "worth seeing" rating, despite minor flaws and lengths

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp