California Schemin’ – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Director: James McAvoy
Starring: Seamus Mclean Ross, Samuel Bottomley, Lucy Halliday, Rebekah Murrell and James McAvoy.
Written by  Elaine Gracie and Archie Thomson, adapted by Thomson from Gavin Bain’s autobiography “Straight Outta Scotland” by Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd.

Duration 106 minutes

James McAvoy debuts as a director in this Screen Scotland feature. It is a little gem, polished and enduring.  California Schemin’ is a bit of an unimaginative name, but after that, the driven imagination of young heroes Gavin and Billy runs riot for 106 minutes of Scottish charm, music industry discrimination, and lies, more lies and great entertainment.

Two Scottish lads from Dundee have dreams of becoming rappers in a British music industry that excluded Scottish artists (as articulated by James Corden in a cameo role). It lacked the confidence to take risks, other than to mimic the sure-fire success of US rappers. I am no rap enthusiast, but this movie definitely and quickly won me over. The fluency of the lyrics, the pulsating rhythms (composed by Raffertie) and the contemporary subject matters were on point. All were knocked out of the park by McLean Ross (Gavin Bain) and Samuel Bottomley (Billy Boyd) in iconic performances, to rival many a young male duo partnership in classic stories.

There is a documentary called The Great Hip Hop Hoax, and at the end of the film, during the credits, we see glimpses of the real subjects of this remarkable and entertaining story. Gracie and Thomson have written a sharp, witty and authentic script based on the book of a true story (and true lies). The unlikely chance created by two would-be Scottish rappers, having been rejected for their accent by the music industry, reaps huge dividends. They get the idea to fake being American, from California, to gain artistic legitimacy, and it catapults them haphazardly to fame – briefly. They transform themselves into a rap duo, Silibil and Brains.

The UK industry thought that no one can rap and be Scottish! No one understands what a Scot says anyway and rap relies on the words…apparently. The two guys set out to prove them wrong and to expose their hoax…but fame and its accoutrements intervene and split the boys, as one longs to extend the fantasy as the other craves the return to his happier reality.

The chemistry between the lifelong friends is palpable in the scenes and in the high energy on-stage performances as the rapping all American duo. Billy has a heart and a girlfriend (Mary), an enduringly truthful presence from Lucy Halliday, among all the fantasy and music industry mayhem. The boys encounter another authentic female force in their manager, Tess (a sophisticated Rebekah Murrell), the underdog in the industry who discovers or is duped by them. The two women, Tess and Mary, are the only ones well rounded, grounded and mature.

What ensues is a well written and well directed film that will take its place in the memorable list of Scottish movies from Trainspotting to  Gregory’s Girl. The story is a car crash about to happen, driven by the almost maniacal ambition of Gavin (an intense and vulnerable Mclean Ross) and Billy, his comrade in arms with a conscience (a vulnerable and confident Bottomley).

McAvoy gets the best out of his young duo. He knows the genre of the Scottish story and occasionally pops up on screen to intensify the drama. In effect, he could have played either role in 2003 when it is set, and his influence on the impressive character development throughout is felt.

California Schemin’ has great humour, great passion and a believable implausible story, about an industry all about image and less about substance. The conmen are conned. There is a laudable substance to Silibil and Brains. A really enjoyable movie, well worth seeing.