Written by Sylvie Baggett, Photo courtesy of IMDB
Set in Nowheresville, New Jersey, Patricia Dombrowski is an overweight white girl with a capital-d Dream. She works two grudgingly mundane jobs to chip away at her Nana’s hospital bills, appease her alcoholic mother, and to fund her dream of becoming a rapper. “Patti Cake$” is brutally honest when it comes to depicting the Northeast working-class, infusing the storyline with industrial shots of factories and worn out suburbs with the New York City skyline glimmering like a mirage in the distance. It’s a story we’ve heard a million times before, but not quite like this.
Danielle Macdonald’s portrayal of Patti is honest and unflinching. Every loser in Patti’s hometown [and they’re all losers, it seems] ridicules her for her weight, race and gender—sometimes all at once. Her alcoholic mother, played by Bridgette Everett, is a washed-up singer and constant source of shame for Patti. The only people she’s able to be herself around are her best friend, Jheri, played by Siddharth
The film has every necessary aspect for a story about a wannabe artist: a ragtag group of diehard supporters, a self-proclaimed Antichrist and Patti’s love interest [I guess], a disapproving parental figure who eventually comes around [of course], the antagonistic thugs who probably repeated 10th grade once [or twice] and an ending positively overflowing with self-acceptance and commitment to the Dream. It’s rife with cliche, but that doesn’t take away from its charm.
It’s clear that the director, Geremy Jasper, got his start in music videos. Those harsh, cement-infused shots of New Jersey are juxtaposed with fantastical daydreams of rap royalty—grills and green smoke everywhere—that help Patti Cake$ visually set itself apart. But it’s the soundtrack that’s the real lifeblood of the film.
Nearly every scene has an original rap written by Jasper, and Macdonald spits them out like her life depends on it. Watching Macdonald is absolutely captivating. While other characters ring hollow [like Basterd, who feels like a last-ditch effort to diversify the cast], Patti is a force to be reckoned with. It’s almost embarrassing to watch the desperation flicker across her face during a rap battle or improvise for her idol in a chance encounter. But when she succeeds, and you know she will, you can’t help but celebrate with her.
Patti Cake$ isn’t revolutionary. It won’t leave you with a newfound respect for film, music or sense of self. But it will remind you of that small town you left behind, that side project you abandoned in light of more pressing matters and inspire you to pick up the pen, the brush and pursue that capital-d Dream.
