But if you want to see an entire cast raking in awards, Short Term 12 is the shit – and one of the best movies of the year.
A film set in a foster-care group home sounds like familiar territory, but it’s not. It reminded me of the orphanage I visited in Manila last year, where my friends Bru and Aina performed the ultimate selfless act, after asking specifically for cash gifts for their wedding, and then donating it all to the orphans.
As bad a hand as these kids had been dealt (many of them were only three years old and already had a history of sexual abuse), they were blessed to now have a new, big family of brothers and sisters and caretakers who loved and looked out for them. And they were learning to cook and do their laundry and being prepared to become great adults.
Short Term 12 stars John Gallagher Jr., who plays Jim on “The Newsroom,” and he’s beginning to traipse into Philip Seymour Hoffman territory. The film scored a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I can’t recommend it enough. See it.
