Capsule reviews for Feb. 3

Growing Up Smith

The heartfelt charm is compromised by the eye-rolling clichés in this coming-of-age comedy, set in 1979, about the travails of a family from India moving into the American suburbs, as seen through the eyes of an impressionable 10-year-old boy (Roni Akurati). While he becomes infatuated with fast food and disco music, his father (Anjul Nigam) would prefer a more traditional Hindi upbringing. So conflict arises when he develops a crush on the girl next door (Brighton Sharbino) and starts learning life lessons from her progressive father (Jason Lee). Although the mildly amusing film means well, the period and culture-clash gags are more obvious than insightful. (Rated PG-13, 102 minutes).

I Am Not Your Negro

Regardless of your cultural background, this searing documentary might change your entire perspective on race relations. Haitian director Raoul Peck (Lumumba) begins with an unfinished manuscript by the late author James Baldwin about the murders of civil-rights icons during the 1960s, and uses it as a launching pad for a discussion of the history of segregation and systemic racism in the United States that’s both infuriating and enlightening. Baldwin’s words — as interpreted by actor Samuel L. Jackson — offer a piercing and relevant reminder of our similarities and our differences. Revisited four decades later, the result reflects a cynical anger, yet also a cautious optimism. (Rated PG-13, 95 minutes).

War on Everyone

A subversive homage to 1970s buddy-cop movies, this flat comedy from director John Michael McDonagh (Calvary) at least benefits from charismatic performances by Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena as recklessly corrupt detectives who are experts at blackmailing and extorting suspects. But a run-in with a strip-club manager (Caleb Landry Jones) and a drug dealer (Theo James) brings the fun crashing down. With style and attitude to spare, the film provides some spirited laughs as it playfully tweaks genre clichés. However, it strains to be edgy through the random weirdness, without much depth outside of all the outrageous mischief and mayhem. It’s more exhausting than amusing. (Rated R, 98 minutes).

Wheeler

This deeply personal tribute to old-fashioned grassroots musicians is more admirable for its intentions than its execution. Using a gritty docudrama style, the film chronicles Wheeler (Stephen Dorff), a rural Texas ranch hand and country-music aficionado who moves to Nashville to follow his dreams of singing and songwriting fame, hoping to break through in his 40s. The resulting journey includes encounters with some real-life industry movers and shakers. Dorff, who comes from a family of country musicians, co-wrote the script with rookie director Ryan Ross and demonstrates some serious musicianship during the performance sequences. While the film is slight and uneven, its sincerity strikes a chord. (Rated PG, 100 minutes).

Youth in Oregon

The relevance and ambition buried within this bittersweet family drama only makes its contrived catharsis more frustrating. It follows an irascible old man (Frank Langella) fed up with his myriad afflictions and irritations, who tells his dysfunctional family that he wants to die using Oregon’s assisted suicide law. So his wife (Mary Kay Place) and son-in-law (Billy Crudup) reluctantly join him on a cross-country odyssey to see if he qualifies, along the way trying to convince him to change his mind. What could have been a worthwhile and well-acted examination of aging instead turns into a clumsy road-trip adventure with forced comedic interludes and heavy-handed sentimentality. (Not rated, 99 minutes).