PATTI CAKE$: An Underdog Fairy Tale
A Girl Can (and Does) Dream
Patti Cake$, the debut film from director Geremy Jasper, will feel familiar to anyone who has ever read a fairy tale or rooted for the underdog, but it’s also a story that makes a point to do things differently.
Patricia, also known as Patti, also known as Killa P, is an aspiring rapper played by Danielle Macdonald. Though faced with daily obstacles like a lack of job opportunities, family debt, and an alcoholic mother, Patti is not a person who has been damaged by darkness. Her actions, voice and lyrics make it clear that she has confidence in her talent and is focused on one exact outcome: being discovered and becoming a star.
She starts out in New Jersey with her best friend and fellow aspiring artist by her side (Siddharth Dhananjay plays her dedicated hype man) and collects a few more sidekicks along the way, including a mysterious anarchist (Mamoudou Athie) and her ailing grandmother (Cathy Moriarty).
Together this motley crew crafts a few songs and puts together a demo they’re proud to share, and from there the momentum around their unlikely but somehow perfectly believable project begins to build.
The strength of the movie lies in the confidence and heart of the hero and in Jasper’s refusal to poke fun at her dream or her character. Though she faces plenty of challenges and setbacks, Patti is never subjected to the kind of humiliation audiences have come to expect in stories that feature women who don’t fit a certain mold.
Macdonald is a natural in front of the camera, and it’s impossible not to be won over by her. The scenes she shares with Bridget Everett, who plays her mother Barb, are the most memorable. And it’s a joy to see their relationship emerge as the true emotional touchpoint.
A talented singer whose professional career never quite took off, Barb is both an inspiration and cautionary tale to Patti. They clash and fight but also hold each other close. Having gone through so much, they’ll always be each other’s biggest fan.
Like any fairy tale, the journeying hero has moments of doubt and fear. For the most part Patti stays in touch with her truth, though, and never stops believing she is good enough. Or to put it in her words, she never doubts that she’s a bad bitch whose success is just around the corner.
