“In life, you’ve gotta have ‘it,'” two-time Oscar winner Ben Affleck says in the first trailer for director George Clooney’s The Tender Bar, released by Amazon today. “If you don’t have ‘it, you’ll never get it—and I say you got it.”
Clooney’s follow-up to Netflix sci-fi pic The Midnight Sky is an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Moehringer’s bestselling memoir of the same name. It tells the story of J.R. (Tye Sheridan), a boy growing up in Long Island who seeks out father figures among the patrons at his uncle Charlie’s (Affleck) bar. As his mother (Lily Rabe) struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her—and to leave the rundown home of her father (Christopher Lloyd)—J.R. begins to pursue his romantic and professional dreams.
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In the trailer, we’re introduced to a young J.R.’s (newcomer Daniel Ranieri) mother and eccentric grandfather watching as Charlie bonds with his nephew.
“I’m gonna always tell you the truth,” Affleck’s Charlie says. “Your father is a deadbeat. I’ll take care of ya—teach you the male sciences.”
Sheridan picks up the role of J.R. in later scenes, in which we see him be accepted into Yale and pursue his passion for writing.
Oscar winner William Monahan (The Departed, The Gambler) penned the script for The Tender Bar, which also stars Max Casella, Sondra James, Max Martini, Michael Braun, Matthew Delamater, Rhenzy Feliz, Ivan Leung, and Briana Middleton.
Clooney and Grant Heslov produced the coming-of-age drama through their company Smokehouse Pictures, alongside Ted Hope, with Moehringer and Barbara A. Hall serving as executive producers.
The film hits L.A. and NY theaters in limited release on December 17, before opening nationwide on December 22, becoming available globally for streaming via Amazon Prime Video on January 7.
Check out the trailer above.
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