A Jersey girl aims to take on the world in “Patti Cake$,” a do-rags-to-riches story as overflowing with exuberance and charm as its plucky title character.
Patricia Dombrowski (Danielle Macdonald) has been called Dumbo since grade school, on account of her plus-size figure. But she has another name for herself: her rap handle, Killa P. She has elaborate fantasies that her mad rhymes will take her to stardom by impressing her idol, a superstar rapper named O-Z (Sahr Ngaujah).
Patti’s rap aspirations don’t impress her mom, Barb (Bridget Everett), who sings karaoke in the bar where Patti works, trying to relive her thwarted ’80s rock dreams. Patti’s laid-up Nana (Cathy Moriarty) believes in her, calling her “my superstar.”
As Patti veers from confidence to self-doubt about her rap skills, she’s also under pressure from Barb to find full-time work outside the bar to defray Nana’s mounting medical bills.
She gets encouragement from her best friend, Hareesh, aka Jheri (Siddhartha Dhananjay), who urges her to record and perform, with him singing backup. At an open-mic show, they encounter a nihilistic industrial musician, Basterd (Mamoudou Athie), whose edgy beats are the missing piece of the puzzle. Patti and Jheri persuade Basterd to produce tracks with them, and even throw Nana’s voice into the mix — to create their own act, called PBNJ.
Writer-director Geremy Jasper — who cut his teeth on videos for Selena Gomez and Florence + the Machine — makes the familiar up-from-nowhere theme feel fresh and vibrant. He nails the rhythms not only of Patti’s rhymes (he co-wrote the songs with composer Jason Binnick), but also the suburban New Jersey blandness from which she, Jheri and Basterd so desperately want to escape.
The ensemble cast is delightful, but it’s the three women in the Dombrowski household who give “Patti Cake$” its energy. Moriarty (”Raging Bull,” ”Soapdish”), smartly deglamorized, provides the spark that gets Patti out of her funk. Everett, known for a hilariously bawdy cabaret act, paints a touching portrait of a woman railing against her crushed dreams. And Macdonald is a joyous find, who owns the movie as surely as Patti commands the mic.
* * * *<br>’Patti Cake$’<br>A young Jersey woman strives to make her rap dreams come true in this energetic and heartwarming drama.<br>Where • Area theaters.<br>When • Opens Wednesday, Aug. 30.<br>Rating • R for language throughout, crude sexual references, some drug use and a brief nude image.<br>Running time • 108 minutes.