Morris From America

Chad Hartigan's slight but engaging fish-out-of-water and coming-of-age tale stars Markees Christmas as Morris Gentry, a chubby, rap-loving 13-year-old African-American who has moved to Germany with his widowed soccer coach father Curtis (Craig Robinson). Morris's tutor Inka (Carla Juri) encourages him to connect with classmates at school, but most of his peers make assumptions about Morris based on his ethnicity, and he resists until he meets Katrin (Lina Keller), a pretty, free-spirited older girl. Unfortunately, she already has a boyfriend, but she prods Morris to perform his raps at a student center talent show (which doesn't turn out well) and even invites him to join her and her boyfriend on a road trip (with equally unfortunate results), experiences that certainly leave Morris wiser. No less predictable is Morris's developing relationship with his dad, which is initially loving but obviously tense, although they will eventually come to a more mature understanding of both their interdependence and the difficulties they share in dealing with an environment that neither of them finds entirely congenial. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Chad Hartigan and costars Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas, a “making-of” featurette (12 min.), casting tapes (5 min.), bloopers (3 min.), brief deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a pleasant if also formulaic comedy.] (F. Swietek)