directed by:
Stephen Sorrentino written by: Stephen Sorrentino genre: Drama |
“He was on the verge of being a rock’n’roll God in the 80s and early 90s, but then homie disappeared!” Keep in mind, there was a whole lot of mullet goin’ on when Tony was relevant, and while those of us who were there at the time can understand how that managed to have its appeal, you’d have to wonder as an observer in the present day - what the heck this guy was doing back then. At least with his fashion choices…the music doesn’t seem to be too bad. Anyhow, it looks as if he’s trying to stage himself a comeback (albeit now a bald one) to the music scene. Still, we instantly start to question whether or not Tony is mentally stable enough to pull it off as “Amends Of The Father” begins.
At his best, the man’s very likeable and has that inspired spark in his eye. At his worst, he’s incapable of not pissing people off, ranting, or partying too much. “I want the music to speak for itself,” says Tony – but it doesn’t seem to be so easy for him in that regard – the stories of his career and legendary party modes have become outright mythical. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone from his past who truly believes he’s capable of change in the present. To be truthful, even now, knowing the man myself, you can see throughout the scenes in “Amends Of The Father” that with the slightest bit of pushback, he quickly devolves into a raving lunatic who is a “great big monster” who still really thinks that he’s every bit as amazing now as he once was. Last I checked, Father Time comes for us all and is still currently undefeated. Tony might be decked out in all kinds of God stuff now with his cross-shaped earrings and whatnot, but he’s still packin’ around a ghetto-blaster in an old cloth bag and clearly rooted in the past. For someone who brought so much joy to the world through his music before, you can tell he’s unable to process how he’s become so hated in the present. People really can’t stand this guy, and I don’t think I blame’em for feeling that way – Writer/Director Stephen Sorrentino has made Tony a pretty hateable guy. Tony is self-involved, past his prime, prone to emotional outbursts, and seemingly irredeemable. Is that the case, though? Are any of us truly irredeemable? Indeed, there’s something we can do to make things right, no matter how bad things get at their worst, right? Aren’t we all supposed to believe that? You realize just how bad things have gotten when Tony goes to visit his kid, who is now a famous artist in his own right. Complete with guest houses, bodyguards, and tightly scheduled appointments, we can see there’s no substantial benefit for Tony’s son to have any involvement with his washed-up musician father - and that Tony quite likely has an agenda of his own, with selfish reasons for wanting to reconnect with his kid. Believe me when I tell ya, when you see Branden’s freakin’ PALACE, you’ll understand why he’s got so many levels of security guarding him, even from his own biological deadbeat father. They still share things in common…they’re both artists, after all, but it’s also clear from the starry-eyed look on Tony’s face that he realizes what his son has experienced in life is success beyond anything he managed to achieve. It’s only natural that Tony would instantly approach Branden wanting to manage his career after all this time, right? The father in this story is so out of touch with reality that it’ll practically hurt ya to watch him fumble his way through “Amends Of The Father,” yet we’re still kind of rooting for him to turn things around - and become the better version of himself that we assume is still in there somewhere. Sorrentino has included some excellent details in this film. I love the narration that’s inside Tony’s head, plaguing him with nagging doubts and playing on his own insecurities. I love the fact that even when we’re experiencing one of the more potentially heartfelt scenes shared between Brandon and his father, the cameras still continue to roll along, and the industry suits/ties are constantly scheming in the background. Tony can’t seem to help but feel inferior to the man his son became, and rightly so – he is. While to his credit, he does apologize to his son for being such a shite father, by the time you reach that moment in “Amends Of The Father,” we can’t help but question whether he’s being sincere about it. We have no real choice but to wonder if Tony is capable of any kind of real emotion, thoughts, or feelings that don’t revolve entirely around himself, even when it comes to the life of his own son. We also begin to wonder if that lack of empathy and sincerity has been passed down from generation to generation. Brandon seems sincere when he speaks about doing all that he does in his life to get his father’s attention, but it definitely also feels like the apple might not fall too far from the tree after all.
The next twist in this tale, I’m not gonna give away – but what I can tell you is, you’re probably not going to see it coming. In retrospect, it definitely seems like it’s possible and logical, and it fits with the decisions made by this film’s main character. Tony’s penchant for making a bad situation somehow even worse plays a huge role in how “Amends Of The Father” ends, and I gotta say, for as unexpected as the finale in this film truly is, it was such a great fit. Armed with social commentary on how we view celebrity-ism in this day and age…how we’re all doin’ what we do for the Gram in a Tik-Tok based reality filled with clicking like & subscribe to everything that we experience…honestly, I can’t imagine I could have thought of a more fitting ending for Tony’s tale in “Amends Of The Father.” It’s fairly sickening for anyone out there with a conscience and love in their heart, but at the same time, it’s not like what you’re seeing in Sorrentino’s film is all that far-fetched, even with how far it actually goes. Stephen Sorrentino himself plays the role of Tony K, and much to his credit, he knows this character inside & out. Whether or not he truly relates to him in real life, we can only hope the answer is a resounding NO, but in playing him onscreen, I thought the man was ace in this role from start to finish. Christopher Quartuccio also did an exceptional job as Branden, and a shout-out to Shaun Grant as the head of security - also well-deserved. Beyond that, the cast is fairly minimal, but there are no glaring missteps in the casting of “Amends Of The Father” or any technical mishaps that should prevent this film from getting a solid score. The dialogue is good, what is shown to us onscreen is relevant, and there’s no feeling that your time is wasted watching this. “Amends Of The Father” feels like it checks the right boxes and certainly works from start to finish as a film on the shorter end of the spectrum, hovering around the forty-ish minute mark. Plus, c’mon…you can’t beat that dated original soundtrack either, or the way that Stephen continues to perform through the credits, am I right? I’m going with a strong four stars out of five here – “Amends Of The Father” wields its point of view like a weapon, but wisely as well. All in all, I found this to be equally thought-provoking as it is entertaining. |
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