South Africa has released some pretty solid titles on Netflix:
In the past year and changes, including severe dramas like I, Am All Girls and lòtūré. The latest South African title makes it much easier with a play that fits the Roma family. In Little Big Mouth, now it is streaming on the Netflix. A musician who recently lost his home. And job finds meaning again when he unexpectedly befriends a single mother and her premature son.
Sia (Nay Maps) wants to be a rock star. She dreams of breaking up like Hendrix in front of thousands of adorable fans. However, the reality is playing weddings and corporate events. Where he is forced to take back his strange flag and play by the rules. However, when he gets too drunk (and a little too creative on the guitar). Especially at weddings, Sia is kicked out of the band and his apartment. Luckily for him, single mother Mel (Amanda Du-Pont) and son Luke (Brady Hoffmeier) took pity on him. And also invited him to stay with them for a short time after a series of crazy events.
What starts as a temporary deal (and sometimes strained by Mel’s father’s feuds) soon becomes a deal that each fulfils in surprising ways. Mel rediscovers his love for singing, Sia begins to let go of his sinking tendencies, Luke opens up to the idea of starting a family again. Mel’s father rejects some of his hostility towards Sia (and everyone else). Neither of them expected it, but an unlucky musician who dreams big can change his whole life forever.
I want to love Little Big Mouth.
It’s a cute (if familiar) premise, and the child actor in the middle is as captivating as any other. Unfortunately, the script draws in too much tone direction, and Nay Maps’ performance as Siya lacks the supreme quality that the film seems to have. It’s also annoying because Amanda Du-Pont is just as subtle as Mel. She lights up the screen every time we see her. I’m not entirely really sure about the Maps and Du-Pont have the chemistry to make this the kind of a story work, even if they look great together.
She’s pretty good, sure, but Sia doesn’t fall into the very charming category we get to see in this role or a charming trick like Jack Black in School of Rock. He’s in the middle and doesn’t work against Mel. Luke’s rainbow with Sia is a bit more efficient, starts pretty well, and turns around quickly after Sia sleeps in her little house, peeing in her pot and stealing some snacks. Children certainly know how to endure humiliation.
Despite the character’s pros and cons, Little Big Mouth had no idea what the movie was like. Is this a family comedy with a big heart? Growing up fairy tales for baby boys? Non-standard rum-com? Subtle family drama? It changes so often that I’m not at all sure what kind of story I’m watching, especially in the final act of the mere film when the film jumps a little over the sharks to add to the stakes that are in their relationship. It’s actually a respectable attempt at drama, but in the context of the rest of the film, the fast twist doesn’t work. That inconsistency ends up drowning Little Big Mouth, despite his good intentions and some fantastic scenes.
Little Big Mouth has a really big heart. But his inconsistent tone and gloomy lead role leave you wanting more from this sweet story.
