In Red Hook, Brooklyn, a father and daughter become an unlikely songwriting duo during the summer before the girl leaves for college.
As single dad Frank (Nick Offerman) prepares to send hardworking daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) off to UCLA pre-med, he also reluctantly realizes he has to accept that his own record-store business is failing. Hoping to stay connected with his daughter through their shared love of music, he urges her to turn their weekly “jam sesh” into an actual band. Channeling Sam’s resistance into a band name, they unexpectedly find We’re Not a Band’s first song turning into a minor Spotify hit, and they use their songwriting efforts to work through their feelings about the life changes each of them faces.
Offerman and Clemons provide genuine warmth and chemistry as father and daughter, and they collaborate spiritedly on their characters’ catchy, heartfelt musical offerings, while Toni Collette and Sasha Lanecontribute charming and multi-faceted performances of their own as the pair’s respective potential love interests. Director Brett Haley foregrounds sincerity and affection in this gentle, evocative ode to the bittersweetness of everyday life.