
When his mother dies the week before Easter, widowed hotshot LA exec Nate Lassiter (David Lee Smith) and his head- strong Latina daughter Chloe (MIshka Calderon) must finally return to his hometown in Ohio, where he faces the daunting task of signing away his family's factory. Nate will collide with his spitfire cousin-with-a-grudge (Jenni-Kate Deshon) he forced to run the factory when he left years before, a labor-strike lead by a high school wrestling buddy (Austin St. John), and a legal battle over the factory sale - brought on by the girl he left behind, Grace (Ashley Bratcher). Forced to search his soul and embrace his past, in rediscovering with his home town Nate just might reconnect - with his Grace.
With the theme of unemployment, it presents a family fantasy anecdote rather the a comment on social problems.
A complex, realistic, and loving mother-daughter relationship is at the heart of this story about Black pageants and the fight for a better future.
I think these messages and the way they are presented in this small-town in Texas are increasingly more important as the internet/ social media becomes more and more critical and judgemental every day. Love yourself today and every day because as Ru Paul always says: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love someone else?”
At its heart, it’s a fond tribute to an influential artist and thus one that can speak to everyone’s inner artist, even if it lacks the sincere commentary you may wish to see.
Even with its straightforward premise, “Richard Jewell” is ramped up by exceptional drama. In all honesty, the performances are out of this world. As Jewell, Paul Walter Hauser becomes a walking representation of gullibility. His bumbling antics create the perfect hero, and very quickly, we feel the societal heat that surrounds our protagonists.