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On the Come Up

2022

Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man, Mike Epps, Cuyle Carvin ...

Drama Story centers on 16-year-old Bri, who wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Facing controversies and with an eviction notice staring down her family, Bri doesn't just want to make it, she has to.

	Author	Review
United States	Andrew Barker Variety	"As frank and tough-minded and as it is warm and sweet, 'On the Come Up' is a hugely promising debut from the actor-turned-director (...) The acting is inspired all around"	POS
United States	M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut	"'On the Come Up' has an authentic voice reverberating throughout the picture (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Robert Daniels rogerebert.com	"I can understand a movie not making logical sense. I can even work through a movie lacking emotional sense too. But I can't stand a film that feels dishonest or reeks of manipulation (...) Rating: ★ (out of 4)"	NEG
United States	Valerie Complex Deadline	"What works is that it speaks to a demographic that is often ignored and the culture of rap that is seldom explored from a woman's perspective (...) Thematically, 'On the Come Up' says a lot of things at once"	NEU
United States	Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Lathan does well in her first go as a director. She has just enough visual flair so as to not overwhelm the rich characters and vibrant place (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Kate Erbland IndieWire	"Lathan has a bright future ahead of her, thanks to a keen eye for casting, performance, and telling stories that matter"	POS
United States	Chase Hutchinson Collider	"It lacks the necessary cohesion and confidence to carry it through an increasingly scattered story (...) 'On the Come Up' is not able to rise to the heights it needed to"	NEG
United States	Lovia Gyarkye The Hollywood Reporter	"Cool and confident directorial debut (...) As an adaptation, 'On the Come Up' doesn't have much narrative flexibility"	NEU
United States	Ronda Racha Penrice The Wrap	"At too many points, the script is uneven (...) Still, even with its flaws, [it] offers Black teen girls a voice in cinema that they have rarely had before. Lathan mines that gold, making her debut shine"	POS
United States	Tomris Laffly AV Club	"From its earliest moments, there is a comforting familiarity to it, an upbeat and vibrant coming-of-age movie (...) But while that familiarity is there in everything (...) there is also undeniable authenticity"	POS
United States	Sarah-Tai Black Los Angeles Times	"Another addition to the now-burgeoning output of films that purport to offer meaningful Black stories onscreen, but instead deliver a muddled entanglement of ideas that, frankly, don't add up to much"	NEG
United States	Johnny Loftus Decider	"An underdog story that occasionally leans too much on cliche but outlasts and enlivens with some fiery wordplay and a cast with charisma to burn"	NEU
United States	Josh Wise Slant	"Gray gives Brianna gravity without weighing her down (...) and lends credibility to this young woman (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
Canada	Mae Abdulbaki Screen Rant	"It might travel a known path, but it’s also willing to do a few things differently on the way, providing viewers with a genuine, thoughtful, confident, and heartwarming story (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Beandrea July The New York Times	"The predictable narrative arc, the happenstance lighting from scene-to-scene and Lathan's minimalist take on the material all adds up to something you might watch once and promptly forget about"	NEG

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