Memoir Mush - The Tender Bar
It can be hard to tell a story. To convey events in a way that connects and appeals while also remaining authentic and earnest. Any one individual can only speak to their experiences . We accept that about storytelling. And yet there will always be at least some expectation that stories be universal and accessible—focusing on the in-common elements of an experience rather than the isolating. That is the toughest thing about taking The Tender Bar and its saccharine sweet messages seriously. This is a particularly narrow slice of the global experience. The interesting aspects of the world are right there for exploration, but it consistently chooses to navel gaze instead.
JR Maguire is a kid growing up on Long Island without a father. The dissolution of that relationship and the sacrifices made by his mother are central themes of the movie as he tries to still become a successful adult. In his father’s stead, he has an Uncle Charlie (played by Ben Affleck), who tries to instill certain values and characteristics JR might not otherwise learn. Uncle Charlie runs a literary bar where JR receives an ‘off the books’ education.
We follow JR through adolescence, young adulthood, and the early stages of his career. All the while, he meets lots of interesting characters in a scene scape that starts to feel like Wikipedia bullets rather than pieces of a complete story.
Ben Affleck is extremely famous. One half of the newly revived Bennifer, he carries the film. With an all-time charm offensive, he subsumes every scene he’s in. The problem with that is that the remaining scenes seem stale and empty as the rest of the cast seems content to wander. Couple that with how little interest the overarching narrative has in any of these people and you get a tough watch. Equal parts navel-gazing and likely revisionist history, the whole thing just feels hollow. Like the concept of a literary bar itself, it all feels forced.
JR no doubt had a fascinating life. There’s an alternate version of this story—one that delves a bit deeper into themes other than “the father who bailed”—that would be immensely watchable. There was probably a real life here, one with meaning and depth. It just didn’t make it onto the screen.
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