Better Nate Than Ever – Movie Review
94 Minutes, Rated PG
Written and Directed by Tim Federle
Synopsis:
13-year-old Nate Foster is an unpopular Midwestern kid who entertains vivid fantasies of becoming a big Broadway musical star. In the meantime, however, Nate can’t even get a decent role in his middle school’s drama productions, getting cast as a tree in the chorus instead of the lead role he craves. However, when he and his best friend Libby mastermind a daring trip to New York City, without their parents’ knowledge, to audition for “Lilo and Stitch: The Musical,” Nate may be on the verge of fulfilling his lifelong dream. But first, he has to overcome a series of comical obstacles that threaten his Broadway adventure with disaster at every farcical turn.
There are some times when Disney has made movie that should be released in theaters, but for some inexplicable reason, they’re dumped onto Disney+ instead.
Turning Red, for example is a recent, high-profile example of such a phenomenon.
A cinema-quality from Pixar (as if Pixar has any other kind of effort… but I digress) found itself slid onto the streaming release platform, much to the chagrin of those of us who thought it would have drawn in quite the sizable box-office from families who found The Batman too dark for their kids.
That’s water under the bridge, as they say, but it does lead into this next bit…
Better Nate Than Ever falls on the other end of the spectrum; it’s a film that feels like it was made specifically for Disney+/The Disney Channel/TELEVISION.
I will say I especially like Lisa Kudrow in this as Nate’s frustrated actress aunt, frazzled yet caring. A solid performance.
As for the rest of it…?
You can watch me talk about this (and some other films) with Val Cameron over on her YouTube channel: What To See With Val (This episode is HERE🙂
Although I believe I said in this that Better Nate Than Ever is like a tween version of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie…
Better Nate Than Ever will premiere exclusively on Disney+ March 18 and stars Rueby Wood, Aria Brooks, Lisa Kudrow, Norbert Leo Butz, and Joshua Bassett.
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