Laura’s Mom just died and before her death, she promised her mother that she’d definitely DEFINITELY not miss the road trip with her friends the summer before college. There’s just one little hitch: Frank.
Laura’s mother was Frank’s caregiver. Frank has Tourette’s. Some might say severe Tourette’s, both physical and verbal. He’s also reclusive and withdrawn in his spare time. As you 
can imagine, replacing Frank’s caregiver proves to be a Challenge with a capital C. Super awkward solution: bring foul-mouthed, 59 year old Frank on a road trip with a trio of recent high school grads. It’s the perfect plan to allow Laura to continue to suppress her grief, undermine Frank’s independence, and completely ruin what was supposed to be a fun and carefree vacation. Everyone’s thrilled.
Garrett M. Brown is Frank, and he manages to do that rare thing where he reflects the humour in the situation without disrespecting the disease or the person who has it. Frank is a very real person and we constantly see beyond his disease until we eventually don’t see it at all.
The movie has the support of the Tourette Association of America who stated “We are proud to support projects such as Hello, My Name Is Frank. This film portrays Frank as an authentic, relatable character and helps the audience see the human being behind the Tourette.” That’s a pretty important endorsement but you and I both know that any movie, no matter how noble, must also be watchable. Does this one pass the test? This Asshole says yes. It’s an indie film with 
blockbuster-caliber acting. Brown deserves props but the young actresses (Rachel DiPillo, Hayley Kiyoko, Mary Kate Wiles) surprisingly don’t suck. Does that sound cynical? Well, I am. So when I come across fresh talent that actually IS talent, I’m chuffed. First-time feature director Dale Peterson is a little heavy-handed at times but otherwise keeps the actors’ chemistry in focus and lets the movie do its thing. And for a little icing on this cupcake of a film: the soundtrack is solid. Really solid.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Not usually a fan of these types of movies, but glad they did the right thing by Tourettes people.
LikeLike
This sounds like a quirky but good movie. Whoa wouldn’t bring someone with major issues on a road trip they have been longing to do with their friends for a few years?…. Um….I would kill my friend if she did that.
LikeLike
Yes, safe to say it’s a bad move.
LikeLike
This one sounds really good. (Saw Money Monster tonight…)
LikeLike
So, they did right by this film. That’s good. We must make those who want to make movies about various afflictions watch this, then. So more can do it right.
LikeLike
One of my favorite books I have read over the last few years involved someone with Tourette’s (it was a memoir). This sounds like it would be much like that (which is definitely a good thing!).
LikeLike
Oh neat, I wonder how that would translate on the page.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was “The World’s Strongest Librarian” – I don’t know if it would work or not.
LikeLike
Has anyone else noticed that I got to review Hello, My Name is Frank immediately after Hello, My Name Is Doris.
Think we could hook those two up?
Sequel alert! Hello, We’re Frank & Doris!
LikeLike
You sold it to me, Jay. Road trip movie!! 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, it really is!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds really pretty interesting. Definitely keep a look out for this one …
LikeLike
Hola! I’ve been following your site for some time now and finally got
the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Tx!
Just wanted to tell you keep up the good job!
LikeLike