Patti Cake$

Patti Cake$ is a 2017 American drama film directed by Geremy Jasper. It was screened in the US Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It was released on August 18, 2017, by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Plot
Patricia "Dumbo" Dombrowski is a woman from Bergen County, New Jersey, who seeks fame and fortune as a rapper. She faces several obstacles including discouragement from some people close to her as well as encouragement from others.

Cast

 * Danielle Macdonald as Patti
 * Bridget Everett as Barb
 * Siddharth Dhananjay as Jheri
 * Mamoudou Athie as Basterd
 * Cathy Moriarty as Nana
 * McCaul Lombardi as Danny
 * Nick Sandow as Ray
 * Patrick Brana as Slaz

Release
Patti Cake$ premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017. The film received distribution offers from Focus Features, Neon, The Orchard and Annapurna Pictures. However, Fox Searchlight Pictures, acquired distribution rights to the film for $9.5 million, the second largest deal of the festival behind Amazon Studios' purchase of The Big Sick. It was released on August 18, 2017.

Reception
Patti Cake$ received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 132 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Patti Cake$ hits a number of predictable beats, but adds enough fresh elements -- not least Danielle MacDonald's potentially starmaking turn -- to make its underdog story work." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

New York Magazine's Vulture.com called the film a "Sundance charmer" and described it as perhaps "the most endearing surprise," of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. USA Today reported that star of the film Danielle Macdonald was met with a standing ovation when she took the stage after the world premiere at Sundance. Macdonald has been described as the break out star of the film.

The film has been compared to Hustle & Flow and 8 Mile, which both also portray a person struggling to create a career as a rapper.