Ray J's Review - "Better Nate Than Ever" (A Disney + Original Film)

Happy Friday, and cheers to a new month of new movies! Today I present to you all my movie review for the fresh Disney + original film "Better Nate Than Ever"🙂🎬💚

The film is a coming of age adventure that centers around 13 year old Nate Foster (played by Rueby Wood). Nate has always been an outcast and stood out among his peers. An admirer of everything Broadway, he dreams big of taking the stage himself one day. Baby steps though, am I right? Nate is excited because he auditioned for the middle school musical, and is hoping to get the lead part of Abraham Lincoln. Bummed to find out that he did not receive the lead role, due to not being "right" for the part, he receives a text from his best friend Libby (played by Aria Brooks) who calls for an emergency meeting, where she informs him that open auditions for the brand new "Lilo and Stitch" Broadway musical taking the next day in New York City. Nate, and Libby reside in Pennsylvania, which is just a few hours from New York, so they hatch a sneaky plan to buy bus tickets so they can head to the big apple, but then begin to second guess themselves. The Broadway gods must've been watching over them though as an opportunity arrises when Nate finds out that his parents will be going out of town for a few days, leaving hime with his jock of a brother, Anthony (played by Joshua Bassett) who is put in charge to watch him, but Nate knows he will be super busy with his sports team and friends. That night Nate and Libby actually pull it off and hop on a bus to NYC🎭✨🗽 Nate dreaming of big musical dreams about heading for the 🎶Big Time🎶 all the way there. Hoping to stay with his Aunt Heidi (played by Lisa Kudrow), who is a part time Broadway actress, praying she won't snitch, Nate and Libby make their way to the auditions only to discover that Broadway isn't all that they dreamed it would be...or is it🤗😏

"Better Nate Than Ever" is a joyous celebration of chasing your dreams, and is for ALL who dare to defy expectations, and are brave enough to be their own person! An absolutely wonderful film!

The character Nate is of the LGBTQ community - he experiences bullying by a classmate at school for his interests in Broadway, and thinks that his brother, Anthony, is embarrassed to be related to him (which ends up not being the case) but just imagine how that feels. So if you're one of those parents that wants your kids to grow up as someone you want them to be, instead of supporting them to reach their full potential in being their own person, well then you can choose to watch this or not, but you're missing out on a wonderful event (also that's not very good parenting)! There is nothing inappropriate whatsoever in this film! If you're kids can watch "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and not be "effected" by language or fear, then they can watch this...just saying🤷‍♂️

Now that that's out of the way, let's dive into what I enjoyed about the movie. Rueby Woods (who plays Nate) is absolutely fantastic, and brings so much energy to the screen😄 What a breakout star! Lisa Kudrow (as Aunt Heidi) was another standout! She and Nate really had some sweet moments that could possibly entice tears for some!

There are some musical moments in the movie, and while the songs are definitely wonderful, it would've been nice if there was maybe one or two more thrown in the mix. There are only three in the actual film, and one during the end credits (make sure to watch the end credits)👀 My personal favorite song, is "Big Time", and I also like "No One Get's Left Behind" which is a song written for the "Lilo and Stitch" musical in the film, but perfectly fits the story of Nate's Journey!

Consensus: "Better Nate Than Ever" - newcomer Rueby Wood's infectious energy radiates with positivity and determination in this lighthearted - fun coming of age broadway adventure✨🎭🎬

The Ray J's Reviews Rating is:

5 out of 5 Lime Green Hearts

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