Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane
Familiar to audiences from his celebrated comedic turn as Ron Swanson on popular US TV comedy Parks and Recreation, Nick Offerman gets a plum dramatic role here as a father determined to forge a new bond with his daughter.
Frank Fisher (Offerman) has been running a record store in Red Hook, Brooklyn, for over a decade. At one time a musician himself, his life changed after a family tragedy that saw him raise his daughter Sam (actress-singer Kiersey Clemons) alone. Sam is soon to leave the nest for college; meanwhile, Frank’s record store is losing money and he is forced to face the prospect of closure. Aside from hanging out at the bar owned by his buddy Dave (Ted Danson) and taking care of his ageing mother Marianne (Blythe Danner), he doesn’t seem to have much to look forward to.
But after an impromptu jam session one evening with his also-musical daughter, they spend a night recording a song that Frank impulsively uploads to Spotify. A seemingly throwaway action, it in actuality leads to consequences neither expect – delighting Frank, though what effect it will have on Sam, whose academic ambitions are already being complicated by her growing relationship with Rose (Sasha Lane), is less clear. As the summer comes to a close and college beckons, Frank and Sam must make choices and find a way to welcome change into their lives.
Tender and wistful, Brett Haley’s (I’ll See You In My Dreams) feel-good drama is elevated by the believable father-daughter chemistry created by Clemons, as a young teen trying to define and assert her identity; and Offerman, as a loving father facing a new and uncertain future.