Add your email and we'll match picks to the services you stream at home.

The Tender Bar

Name: The Tender Bar
Genre: Drama
Released: 2021-12-17
Cast: Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe, Christopher Lloyd

2021 | 104 min | Drama

Weeknight Watch

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With middling reviews (51% on Rotten Tomatoes) and soft box office, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for anyone who loves a strong drama.
The mood: Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace: Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 44 min.
What might put you off: Rated R: meant for adults.

JR is a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie, is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father — JR begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams, with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.

How it earned its rating

CriticsBelow par
51% on Rotten Tomatoes, 53 on Metacritic
AudiencesSolid
6.5 out of 10
AwardsBelow par
Nominated for 1 Golden Globe and 1 SAG Award.
Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a modest audience; interest faded quickly after launch
Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 113K people sought it out in the past year