NYT While it would be easy to explain away lifes failings on an absentee father (in the film J.R.s father makes exactly that point), Wesleys cheerful countenance throughout is a sign of how lucky they all are. Handing out cash, cars, and Man Sciences advice with the same ready generosity, he is nothing but affectionate and supportive toward his nephew and the same goes for the interchangeable patrons of his bar, who never swear and always offer to buy him a drink. Thats pretty funny. We then see JR and Sidney together in their final year of college and the former hints that they should take the next step in their relationship. anna sees the red. But you have to wonder: if he was so ideal as a father figure, why didnt he have any children of his own, or even a long-term relationship? The bar provided endless material. However, his dreams of reconnecting with his father and being with Sidney remain unfulfilled, giving the film a very balanced you win some you lose some tone. This is one of the smartest things about Moehringers memoir: It deftly captures that moment when the party comes to an end, when its just not fun anymore and its time to sink or swim. He is honest with JR but also supportive in a way that only the best of friends can be. Adapted from a memoir by J. R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Tender Bar has all of those annoying aspects. In what becomes a slightly comical recurring theme, Sidney repeatedly breaks up with JR, each time in an infuriatingly matter-of-fact manner. [1], Bernstine has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego.[2][3]. As The Tender Bar gets its release on Amazon Prime, some viewers are curious to know more about the character JR Maguire. J.R. Moehringer was born on 7 December 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. He sees what Sidney is looking for. 24 Likes, TikTok video from (@parkers.wrld.fr.fr): "The Grinch Script - Dialogue Transcript Voila! Ben Affleck gives a terrific supporting performance in The Tender Bar as JR's Uncle Charlie. Moehringer. In the 2022 drama The Tender Bar, protagonist JR carries on a relationship with Sidney despite her abuse, and it reveals much about his character. | Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. 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No doubt this could be how he was written by Moehringer in the memoir, or by William Monahan in the script, but directors have a lot of leeway to shape the story theyre telling. [1] WebThe Tender Bar is a 2021 American coming-of-age film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay by William Monahan. She lives in Los Angeles and is most often found running or hiking with her German Shepherd, working on her books, or eating Indian food. Hes in many ways the surrogate father to J.R., and an honest one. And what do we learn? ------------------------------------------, With "Midnight Sky," George Clooney directs a visually arresting, post-apocalyptic yawnfest. Which is the point. The movie also tells the story of a bar owned by Moehringers uncle, Charlie, played by Ben Affleck. So do JR and Sidney finally end up together? So true. A boy growing up on Long Island seeks out father figures among the patrons at his uncle's bar. Then that cocktail is like 10 million of them, resulting in domestic violence.. We went there when looking for love or sex or trouble or for someone who had gone missing because sooner or later everyone turned up there. Though J.R.s roommates are ethnic (Jimmy is Asian, Wesley is black), Clooney doesnt ethnicize them. (His college roommate, Wesley (Rhenzy Feliz) seems to exist to mostly boost JR up). For instance, J.R.s granddad (Christopher Lloyd) is a grouchy old codger who farts a lot, but smartens up in order to accompany J.R. to his schools father-son breakfast. Based on a memoir by J. R. Moehringer, The Tender Bar is directed by two-time Academy Award-winner George Clooney and chronicles the relationships that influenced JR throughout his young years. An Amazon Original, the film takes a thoughtful look at the importance of paternal guidance as well as the effects of emotional abuse. The Tender Bar: A Tale of Drinking That Ducks Alcoholism, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/movies/the-tender-bar-alcoholism.html, Ben Affleck, left, and Tye Sheridan in The Tender Bar.. Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. On the screen they barely even exist. But still, these guys were better than nobody.. Eve Edwards. And when he was done, he felt better about his life.. A classic deadbeat dad, he disappears for years at a time, shows up to announce his sobriety, but explains that he can actually have the occasional cocktail because hes not really an alcoholic. In 2019, she won the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In college, JR falls in love with Sidney (Briana Middleton), a biracial lower-upper-middle class Yalie, and experiences heartbreak while also striving to become a writer. The fact that she chooses to marry Stinky seems to agitate the protagonist even more, and the dual blows of losing his job and his muse send him into a drinking spiral. As played by Max Martini (who has the perfect name for the job), he appears at first to be cut from the same cloth as Charlie: he is a laidback dude who smokes, drives a cool car, and dispenses dubious relationship wisdom. It doesnt seem fair, this thing that makes us feel so good can also make us feel so bad. This is unfortunate. I drank the way Steve drank at the end, to achieve oblivion., The Tender Bar, which has been adapted as an Amazon Prime movie, directed by George Clooney, isnt strictly about alcoholism. And, Moehringer said: I guess, in a way, having any role models is better than having no role models, with notable exceptions. But while the men may take center stage in much of the work, Moehringer says his mother is the true hero of the memoir. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Is this inevitable? Yes, he can be unsure of himself, but that doesnt stop him pursuing Sidney, or going straight from Yale to a job at the New York Times where, of course, his articles are terrific and outstanding. This relentlessly mellow mood may make for an agreeable comfort-watch, but terrific and outstanding it isnt. Affleck has only a supporting role in The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney and adapted from J. R. Moehringers 2005 memoir about growing up with an Rather than feed his nephew feel-good lies, he tells the wannabe writer to rein in his drinking. Charlie himself is lean and clear-skinned, and his hangovers are played for laughs. These are brave films that cut to the quick of alcoholisms cost. As with most coming-of-age movies, JR's love life is another important aspect of his journey. Hes at Yale after all. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}, READ NEXT: Where to watch To Sir, With Love as fans honour Sidney Poitiers career. My name is Sidney with Denison Yachting, and Im excited to take you on a walkthrough through ADONIS, which is a 2019 78 Numarine. Charlie is highly learned, without being educated. Throughout JR's adult life Wesley is there to experience and help him with a lot of the ups and downs. While the difficulties and decisions the older JR faces in life are more intriguing, it is hard not to like the younger version of the character a bit more. The films screenwriter, William Monahan (The Departed, Body of Lies) hasnt put in any major obstacles or villains, and the incidental details arent interesting enough to compensate. In response, the latter, in an almost well-practiced manner, once again breaks up with him. By the same token, his drinking, and that of the Dickens barflies, is neither devilishly tempting or horribly off-putting. While they start out with a very sweet relationship, Sidney admits she is seeing someone else and breaks it off. After writing the book, Moehringer said, he started to feel better about his life, too. Let's take a look at the film's inspiration. That was the moment, a voiceover informs us, I knew I wanted to be a writer.. In keeping with its name, it has shelves of dusty leather-bound novels, one of which Charlie hands to his nephew. But thats all he is. One perhaps surprising example here would be George Clooney with his latest. It stars Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe, and Christopher Lloyd. Tye Sheridan plays JR in George Clooneys The Tender Bar, a coming-of-age story about overcoming abusive relationships like JR and Sidneys. Warning! SPOILERS ahead for The Tender Bar! Then there are the embarrassingly self-congratulatory scenes in which various relatives and colleagues pronounce that the lad is a prodigy who produces outstanding and terrific work. Hell be a writer. Related: The Most Anticipated Movies of 2022. Better yet, Clooney conveys so much optimism through Wesley. Wesleys optimism is clearly an antidote to the pessimism born of the bad deal J.R. has in his neer-do-well father. Release Dates Moehringer co-authored Open: An Autobiography with retired tennis starAndre Agassi. George Clooney didnt hammer on it, Monahan said. Real Stories is an ongoing column about the true stories behind movies and TV shows. Both as a boy in the 1970s and a young man in the 1980s, he seems boringly well adjusted, with no more angst than any aspiring writer. 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He takes JR to the school father-son lunch and admits that he sees something very special in his grandson. But he makes the movie. Seeking solace, the young Moehringer, fresh out of Yale, turns to his most seductive companion: booze. While at Yale, Wesley also introduces J.R. to Sidney, a beautiful, well-bred, lower upper middle class girl who comes from a grand house in Wesport, CT, and who takes a short-term shine to J.R. Sidneys black mother is particularly snooty, but thankfully here Clooney doesnt go the class warfare, class struggle route. Sidney is first introduced as the girlfriend of a rich Yale student nicknamed Stinky (on account of his wealth). Moreover, Clooney gives Affleck room to just be and it is key to the film's success. (Unfortunately, he looks nothing like Tye Sheridan, who is sweetly self-effacing as the older J.R.) Dorothy has lost her job, her home, and her latest boyfriend, so she is forced to return to her fathers suburban house in Manhasset, Long Island. Many of these films speak eloquently and thoughtfully to essential traits of the disease, from self-loathing to fundamental dishonesty to ravenous craving. Some of his first attempts came during school, in the form of short stories in English class. In the film adaptation, director George Clooney and scriptwriter William Monahan focus particularly on Moehringers real uncle Charlie, who was the bartender at Dickens. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Others belong to classic Hollywood. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. A look at what really happened with the characters of Andrew Dominiks 2007 Western epic. Thus, JR and Sidney do not end up together, and if their friend is to be believed, she ends up dumping our hero on about nine separate occasions! Over time, our hero eventually (and surprisingly) gets admitted to the prestigious university and even becomes a writer. | For instance, Flight, the 2012 film starring Denzel Washington as an alcoholic pilot who pulls off a daredevil landing while under the influence, is about the ease with which alcoholics lie to themselves and everyone else. But the J.R. character does definitely have a point where he realizes hes got to straighten up.. NEXT: 5 Reasons Gone Girl Is Ben Affleck's Best Movie (& 5 Better Alternatives). One perhaps surprising example here would be George Clooney with his latest. WebSidney is compared to Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Although JR Maguire is not a real writer himself, the character in the film is based on real novelist and journalist JR Moehringer. Though the memoir this film is based on confronts the issue of addiction to alcohol, the adaptation skirts the topic and its deeper implications. It is quite tender. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Tributes to the life and work of Sidney Poitier. Here are the details of that true story that inspiredThe Tender Bar: J.R. Moehringers memoir begins when he was eight years old, in 1974. Well as the effects of emotional abuse is based on real novelist and journalist JR.. Overcoming abusive relationships like JR and Sidneys with its name, it has shelves of dusty leather-bound novels one. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the Tender Bar as JR 's adult life Wesley is to... For an agreeable comfort-watch, but terrific and outstanding it isnt she won Obie. Ravenous craving aspect of his wealth ) clearly an antidote to the life and of. Experience and help him with a lot of the bad deal j.r. has in grandson. Work of Sidney Poitier Sustained Excellence of performance neither devilishly tempting or horribly off-putting his are... 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