An arrogant teen stuck in community service at a local retirement home volunteers to give rap lessons as a joke, leading to an unexpected friendship with one of the residents.

SYNOPSIS:

Genesis

I wanted to make a film that was for teens, parents, and grandparents that dealt with mature themes like responsibility and aging while having a nice sense of humor to keep it entertaining and closer to real life.

For the teens, dealing with adult issues like the death of a loved one. For parents, juggling the loss of a loved one with the responsibility of raising a child. And for the grandparent, getting old while attempting to keep yourself relevant in someone’s life. Add the rapping to keep the teens interested.

Precedents

A teenage comedy/drama that combines the family dynamics of This is Us with the coming-of-age story from Dead Poets Society.

Pitch

Franklin is a teenage boy not only dealing with the prospect of becoming an adult but who’s still reeling from the death of his mother and the emotional distance of his father. Following his assignment to community service, he becomes acquainted with Jerry, a resident. The man’s gruff attitude mixes with Franklin’s own leading to a small friendship.

Despite Franklin’s love for rap music, he’s unable to do little more than confuse the residents due to his lack of teaching skills. Sharing a quirky sense of humor, Jerry schools Franklin in how to teach.

Franklin’s lessons slowly progress until he’s released from his community service. This, combined with his inability to face the proximity of death within the home, causes him to abandon Jerry as well as the other residents. Franklin must come face-to-face with his fears in order to see this adventure to the end as well as ready himself to become an adult.