Film Review: California Schemin’
2 min read
Snapshot Review: James Maccavoy’s directorial debut follows the true story of two Scottish hip hop artists who put on American accents to con the music industry into landing them a record deal. Set in the early 2000s, Gavin Banres (aka Brains) and Billy Boyd (aka Silibil) have dreams of becoming the next big hip-hop artists. When auditioning for a London talent contest, they are ridiculed for their Scottish accents and are effectively refused entry into the elitist music scene. Fuelled by anger and rebellion, they hatch a plan to con the music by sending in a demo posing as up and coming LA based hip-hop artists. The plan works and they find themselves performing to sold out shows, creating new tracks in swanky studios, and over-indulging in the drug-fuelled party culture of the music business.
The question throughout the film remains constant: How long can they keep these false personas up. While being an incredible story, the film is a comment on the shallowness of the music industry where authenticity is mocked instead of cherished. We see relationships challenged, identities compromised and promises broken, ultimately exposing the dark side of fame.
One of the strongest elements of the film was the actual music performances. The rap duo do indeed sound better in American, with clear references to films like 8 mile and the more recent Kneecap. Although the film is a tad conventional, there is an extreme amount of joy that comes with watching two guys from Dundee make a mockery of the elitist, fame-obsessed music business. All in all a captivating watch that’s sure to put a smile on your face.
Release Date: 10/04/26
Genre: Biographical Drama
Starring: Sémus McLean Ross, Billy Boyd, James McAvoy, James Corden, Rebekah Murrell
