1/18/22 – The Tender Bar tells the story of J.R. (Tye Sheridan), a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck), is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother (Lily Rabe) struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father (Christopher Lloyd) — J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams — with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.
Q-tips say: Yes, see it. We enjoyed it. Follow JR’s life growing up with large family at Grandpa’s house. It’s a decent coming-of-age tale based on a memoir. Story with working-class detail and if the peaks and valleys of J.R.’s life are a little predictable, the cast provide exemplary turns.