by Christopher James
Justin Timberlake headlines the newest Apple TV+ film, "Palmer."When a movie has its heart in the right place, you can forgive a lot of things. Palmer, the latest Apple TV+ movie, is as saccharine as they come. It never aims to surprise, instead it just wants to make your heart soar and tear ducts swell. On both counts, it achieves its goal.
The film stars Justin Timberlake as Eddie Palmer, a former football star who spent the last twelve years of his life in prison. He gets out and lays low with his grandmother, Vivian (June Squibb giving you exactly what you expect), who often babysits her neighbor’s child, Sam (Ryder Allen). Sam’s Mom, Shelly (Juno Temple), goes on an indefinite bender, leaving Sam with Palmer and Vivian. Sam is obsessed with princesses and fairies, which often leaves him the target for schoolyard bullies. While Palmer initially bristles at Sam’s femininity, he soon becomes Sam’s protector, fighting for his right of self expression...
Nobody rises above the material. It’s exactly as schmaltzy and sentimental as it sounds. However, the earnestness of the project makes it hard to resist. That’s largely because the screenplay by Cheryl Guerriero puts Palmer’s relationship with Sam center stage, rather than showing Palmer fall back on old habits and old friends. While we do have to deal with Palmer clashing with Sam over his femininity early on, the film always reaffirms Sam’s gender expression. Palmer worries about how others will treat Sam. It’s never about him hating the young child for not adhering to gender norms. Palmer is the one who has to learn and grow. It’s not up to Sam to teach him. Sam’s only job is to watch fairy cartoons, as it should be.
Justin Timberlake and Ryder Allen develop a heartwarming friendship in "Palmer."Ryder Allen emerges as the breakout star of Palmer. He displays a wonderfully pure confidence as Sam. While his fashion choices - floral tops, bright hair barrettes and the occasional tutu - make him the target of ridicule from some classmates, Sam wears them all with great confidence. So many child stars earn praise for their precocious, almost “adult-like” behavior. Allen eschews these tendencies and instead makes Sam feel like a kid. This sort of naturalism works wonders.
Justin Timberlake’s acting career has been an odd road. He earned rave reviews for his charismatic performance as Sean Parker in David Fincher’s The Social Network. From there he earned an Emmy for his viral moments in Saturday Night Live. It seemed like Timberlake could be the next great musician-turned-actor. When his following films included In Time, Runner Runner and Wonder Wheel, it seemed like we were far from Cher, Gaga or Frank Sinatra. Palmer won’t turn any Timberlake skeptics into devotees. Yet, he wisely underplays the rage-filled character, focusing more on his open heart than livewire temper. There’s a softer side to the megastar, which is a treat to see.
We also see this sensitive side of Palmer when he strikes up a romance with Sam’s kind teacher, Miss Maggie (Alisha Wainwright). Yet again, it’s a plot point you can see coming a mile away. Yet, Timberlake and Wainwright have enough charm, chemistry and sweetness that one can’t be too mad watching them adorably smile at each other.
Juno Temple is always a winning presence (see Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso"), but her character in "Palmer" falls victim to the worst cliches.For such a generous and sweet movie, Palmer grossly shortchanges the character of Shelly. Juno Temple has played some variation of this character before multiple times. However, her characterizations have never felt this hollow. Granted, the script never presents Shelly as anything other than erratic up until the final (predictable) moments. It’s fine if the movie wants to follow its Hallmark-eque formula. Unfortunately, the trope of the “drugged-out Mom” has been done to death. Even moreso, it robs her character of any sort of interior life or agency. She’s mainly a “bad woman” who exists only to stir up conflict in a pretty much conflict-free movie. Blame shouldn’t solely fall on Temple for giving a one-note performance. It should be shared with the writer and director who fall on lazy storytelling and visual cues to tell us exactly what we’re supposed to think about this woman and nothing more.
Palmer has all the makings of a trauma-focused melodrama, and does sometimes fall into those pitfalls. Palmer’s rage sent him to jail once and threatens to send him back there again later in the film. Yet, large sections of the movie exist without conflict or with very minimal conflict. So much of the movie involves Palmer and Sam developing this surrogate-Father-Son dynamic as Palmer enhances his understanding about gender and self-expression. These quieter sections are what make the movie a pleasant and enjoyable ride. When it tries to contort this sweet tale into the more conventional poverty-porn, histrionic melodrama, it nearly destroys the entire film. Here’s hoping for more sweet “mainstream” movies looking to do more with gender expression in kids. B