C'mon C'mon [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

Director: Mike Mills Mike Mills

Overview

Radio host Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) is busy going around the country interviewing young people about their lives, dreams, and fears when he receives a call from his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffman). She asks him to temporarily take care of her son Jesse (Woody Norman), as her husband has just suffered a mental breakdown. Johnny agrees and immediately heads to Los Angeles. Though the relationship of the uncle and nephew is strained at first, the two grow closer as they spend time together. Written and directed by Mike Mills.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/12/2022
UPC:	0031398332251
Original Release:	2021
Rating:	R
Source:	Lions Gate
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	3,377

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joaquin Phoenix	Johnny
Gaby Hoffmann	Viv
Woody Norman	Jesse
Scoot McNairy	Paul
Molly Webster	Roxanne
Jaboukie Young-White	Fern
Deborah Strang	Carol
Sunni Patterson	Sunni
Jenny Eliscu	Waitress
Mary Passeri	Behavioral Center Nurse
Brandon Rush	ER Nurse
Brey'on Shaw	Brey'on
Todd d'Amour	Parade Bystander #1
Beth Bartley	Parade Bystander #2
Artrial Clark	Parade Bystander #3
Eleanor Halm Simmons	Parade Bystander #4
Keisuke Hoashi	Dr. Hora
Maximilla Lukacs	Viv's Friend #1
Nancy Gell	Viv's Friend #2
Gita Reddy	Dr. Rao
Mya Gonzales	Detroit Kid #1
Cooper Jack Rubin	Detroit Kid #2
Faith Steptore	NOLA School Teacher
Mahfuzul Islam	Pharmacy Employee
Sophie Suzuki Shih	New York Kid
Bryce Dessner	Composer,Composer

Technical Credits

Mike Mills

Mike Mills	Screenwriter,Director
Chelsea Barnard	Producer
Andrea Longacre-White	Producer
Lila Yacoub	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Mike Mills's feature C'mon C'mon deals with the pressure and wonder that comes when looking forward to the future as well as dealing with familial relationships. The story may not have conventional structure of normal movies, but it is a movie to take in with feeling. The film is led by strong, potentially Oscar-contending performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffman, and relative newcomer Woody Norman. The narrative centers around Johnny (Phoenix) who is a radio journalist traveling around the United States interviewing children about their lives and what they picture the future will be like. While in Detroit, he reaches out to his sister, Viv (Hoffman) who hasn't spoken to him since the death of their mother. She mentions that she must go to Oakland to help tend to her husband Paul (Scoot McNairy) who has taken a new job while dealing with mental illness. She says she cannot take her son Jesse with her, and Johnny offers to watch him while she's away. Viv's stay in Oakland gets extended which leads Johnny to take on the responsibility of caring for his nephew as he travels to New York and New Orleans for his current assignment. Jesse's inquisitive and overstimulated personality forces Johnny to reflect on his own life. There are many artistic and stylistic choices to this film that really add to the experience. The most obvious is that this film is presented in black and white which gives it a comfortable feel. To compliment the monochrome, Mike Mills has a piano score from Aaron and Bryce Dessner that doesn't make the stakes feel too incredibly high and gives the film a relaxing atmosphere. Third, throughout the film, there are cuts of Phoenix and co-star Molly Webster interviewing children in the cities they visit. This paints a picture for the audience of the different perspectives and responsibilities that kids around the country take on. This is a great compliment to Woody Norman's performance because he has a wild sense of awareness for someone his age and even though he lets on little by little that he understands what's going on with his mother and father, he doesn't know how to articulate those feelings. This is Joaquin Phoenix's first feature film role since Joker, in which he delivered a phenomenal Academy Award winning performance. In C'mon C'mon, he delivers one of his most nuanced. His character Johnny is dealing with so many different things in his life such as having a falling out with his sister over her relationship with her husband and their mother's death. He is also dealing with ending a relationship with someone he loved. The way he has to face these ordeals when being questioned by Jesse (Norman) forces him to try to give an answer appropriate for a child while also making him face it internally long after the fact. This appears to be a stroke of genius by Mike Mills because it forces his main character to finally face his past and reconnect with family by looking after his adolescent nephew. C'mon C'mon is a film that provides laughs but also lets its audience know that it's okay to not be okay sometimes and has movie-goers leaving the theater feeling refreshed. This film provides a cathartic experience for its viewers with its relatable, well-written story and award-contending performances.