California Schemin': Scottish Rappers Go Brogue-less-For-Success in James McAvoy's Sharp Directing Debut

By Chris Knight

Rating: A-

Anyone can look good saving the world. But it takes talent to make an excellent movie where the stakes are so low as to be almost non-existent. Think The Straight Story, Paterson or The Holdovers.

California Schemin’ is another such beast. Based on a true story (or as the opening credits put it, “based on a true lie”) it tells the tale of two young rappers from Dundee, Scotland, who in 2003 decided to boost their chances at fame in the U.K. by pretending to be American.

Seamus McLean Ross and Samuel Bottomley are passing as non-Scottish rappers in California Schemin’.

They are Gavin (Séamus McLean Ross, who really is Scottish) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley, who isn’t). And when they first try out for a music gig in London, they are laughed off the stage by judges who say they sound like “rapping Proclaimers.”

They respond by learning to talk American the way the rest of us do — Hollywood movies, including Jerry Maguire, The Usual Suspects and Ace Ventura. Crafting a believable backstory takes a little longer (they at first claim to be from “Sandy Angeles”) but they manage to fool talent scout Tessa (Rebekah Murrell), who introduces them to her boss at Neotone Music, and the game is afoot.

The boss is played by James McAvoy, who also directs. It’s his first time behind the camera, and what a fantastic, assured product he delivers. I imagine if he was 25 years younger he’d be cast as one of the leads, but that would put him in the same timeframe as the real story. In any case, his secondary role is a meaty one, and it’s wonderful to see this directing debut. I hope he does more.

One of the joys of the film’s pacing is the way it balances humour and pathos, unafraid to zoom in on the performers for a closer look at their fears and foibles. Their initial plan is to get a quick taste of fame and then “come out” as Scots and embarrass the racist (or at least “Scottishist”) English music industry.

But the Faustian pull is strong. Billy wants to get back to his patient girlfriend Mary (Lucy Halliday), but Gavin becomes so enamoured with this new life that he goes “full Yank.” The two have decided that it’s easier to keep their fake accents on all the time (I think Borat had a similar ethos), but that makes it even more difficult to remember who they truly are.

The true story isn’t well enough known (at least by me) to risk spoiling what happens, but the closing credits include a peek at the real Silibil N’ Brains (their U.S. stage names), who bear a close resemblance to the actors playing them. Bottomley also looks more than a little like Matt Johnson, whose desire to play Toronto’s Rivoli in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie has a similar lo-fi appeal.

As with that movie, the price of fame is something to ponder after the film ends. For what does it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his drawl?

California Schemin’. Directed by James McAvoy. Starring Samuel Bottomley, Seamus McLean Ross, and Lucy Halliday. In theatres October 9.