The rapping Proclaimers? No, but this hip-hop hoax is the real deal, BRIAN VINER reviews California Schemin’

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California Schemin’ (15, 107 mins)

Verdict: An effervescent delight 

You, Me & Tuscany (12A, 104 mins)

Verdict: Cheesier than mozzarella 

The movie I Swear was easily my favorite of 2025 – it was just so full of energy and life! I needed to use a word starting with ‘eff’ to describe it, and ‘effervescent’ felt perfect.

I absolutely loved California Schemin’ too! It’s another one with strong Scottish roots, just like the others, and it has that same wonderful, heartwarming feeling and knack for telling a great story that I find so captivating.

James McAvoy’s first time directing, ‘Like I Swear, California Schemin’,’ tells the real-life story of a Scottish hip-hop pair known as Silibil N’ Brains. It’s a remarkably confident start for him as a director.

In the early 2000s, the band repeatedly tried to get signed by record labels in London, but they weren’t taken seriously, likely because of the way they spoke.

They had a brilliant idea: they changed the way they spoke, adopting a Californian accent instead of their native Scottish one. This simple change completely altered how people perceived them.

As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen how crucial casting is to a film’s success, and this movie absolutely nails it! The actors Samuel Bottomley and Seamus McLean Ross deliver fantastic performances as their characters, Billy Boyd – who everyone calls ‘Silibil’ – and Gavin Bains, affectionately known as ‘Brains’.

Interestingly, Ross’s parents are well-known Scottish musicians – Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh of the popular band Deacon Blue, making his connection to the arts quite natural.

Bottomley is a Yorkshireman but, to my ears at least, sounds convincingly like a Taysider.

Both actors deliver wonderful performances, and Lucy Halliday shines as Mary, Billy’s kind and resilient girlfriend.

Billy and Gavin are a pair of mischievous friends in Dundee who work in telesales, but they really dream of becoming hip-hop stars.

McAvoy himself plays a record producer, on the lookout for ‘the next Eminem’.

Excited about the auditions, the duo happily traveled to London. Confident in their abilities, they anticipated immediate success. However, they were met with dismissive criticism – labeled the ‘rapping Proclaimers‘ – and returned to Scotland disappointed, but determined to keep going.

Billy believed in a simple sales rule: always give customers what they’re looking for. Remembering this, the group decided to try their scheme again, but this time they would pretend to be from America.

They’re currently focusing on both the performance itself – the hip-hop aspect – and the way it’s presented. The presentation definitely needs improvement.

The duo tell another music executive, played by James Corden, they’re from Los Angeles. When he asks for specifics, they blurt out the only LA location they know – Beverly Hills. Seeing his skepticism, they quickly try to add believable details, creating a hilarious moment.

Once the actors find their footing and commit to fully embodying their characters – deciding to drop their Scottish accents even when not performing – the show starts to feel reminiscent of classic “impostor” films like Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Catch Me If You Can, and even Some Like It Hot. It’s a strong comparison to some truly beloved movies.

The film’s charming and energetic characters brought to mind Bill Forsyth’s delightful classic, Gregory’s Girl, and that’s definitely a compliment.

Despite being well-crafted, McAvoy’s film isn’t simply copying other works, thanks to the sharp writing of Elaine Gracie and Archie Thomson.

The story is captivating and full of energy, making you immediately care about the two friends. You’ll root for them as they chase their dreams, but also worry that success might change them for the worse, as it has for so many others.

Oh, it all started so magically! But honestly, the good times didn’t last. Once they got discovered and signed a record deal, and then started touring… that’s when things really started to fall apart. Billy and Gavin, they just wanted different things, you know? Their goals just… drifted apart. It was heartbreaking to watch, honestly.

Their initial idea was to pose as American artists and then dramatically reveal their true origins as musicians from Dundee, hoping to do so on a high-profile platform like The Oprah Winfrey Show. This was meant to highlight what they saw as the superficiality of the music business.

The film starts as a lighthearted comedy built on characters pretending to be someone else, but it evolves into a surprisingly meaningful story about being true to yourself. It’s an uplifting movie that’s also genuinely moving, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You, Me & Tuscany was the complete opposite – a truly disappointing romantic comedy. The acting was flat, the script weak, and it’s hard to understand how the film ever got produced.

Okay, so Kat Coiro directed this, and I actually liked Marry Me last year – it wasn’t amazing, but it was cute! But honestly? This new one… it’s just filled with every single predictable trope you’ve ever seen. It’s like she forgot everything that made Marry Me even a little bit charming. It’s a total disappointment, I’m just saying.

Halle Bailey stars as Anna, a chef in New York City who’s facing hard times. A chance meeting with an attractive Italian man named Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor) sends her to Tuscany, where a series of comical mishaps lead her to fall for Matteo’s even more handsome cousin, Michael, played by Rege-Jean Page of Bridgerton.

He was previously a top contender to play James Bond, making it disappointing to see him receiving such harsh criticism.

Like its predecessor, California Schemin’, this story revolves around trickery. Set in a comical version of Tuscany where everyone surprisingly speaks English, Anna pretends to be engaged to Matteo for a ridiculously silly reason.

The film’s only solidity lies in the lovely Tuscan landscape. Everything else is hollow. 

 

Also showing…

I’ll likely always consider Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson (2016) my favorite film – it’s beautifully sad, and features an amazing performance by an English bulldog named Nellie.

While his 1991 film, Night On Earth, is a close second best, Jim Jarmusch’s newest movie, Father Mother Sister Brother (rated 15, 110 minutes, four stars), is similarly fascinating. It’s built around three distinct stories that connect through shared themes and small, almost unnecessary details – like the repeated phrase ‘Bob’s your uncle’.

It might seem a bit unusual at first, but Jarmusch is a skilled writer who uses fantastic actors – including Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, and Charlotte Rampling – to tell three separate stories about diverse families facing different challenges in America, Dublin, and Paris.

The stories center around difficult family dynamics, particularly the challenges between parents and children. In one scene, a tense novelist, portrayed by Rampling, questions her role as a mother while getting ready to serve tea.

Her daughter (Vicky Krieps) delivers the line with a touch of sarcasm: ‘You may as well get started sometime.’ This is just one of several stories within the film; another follows twins sorting through their parents’ belongings in Paris following a plane crash. The movie unfolds at a deliberate pace, but it consistently encourages reflection.

Undertone is a low-budget horror movie (running 94 minutes) with a supernatural twist. Evy, who is taking care of her sick mother, starts noticing eerie connections between her real life and the frightening stories she shares on a podcast she co-hosts.

Ian Tuason’s first film as writer and director shows promise, but the story becomes overly complicated towards the end.

All films reviewed here are in cinemas now.

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2026-04-21 05:17