California Schemin'

Audience Reviews

View More

Ria N @MissBallooniverse2017 Apr 17, 2026 This is a great story!!!! It's the true story of two guys from Dundee who have a talent for rapping but have the wrong image and the wrong accent. The main characters Gavin [Séamus McLean Ross] and Billy [Samuel Bottomley] are really likeable characters..the underdogs you take to your heart. You really root for them. Can they make it big by pretending to be American? And then there's the intense and calculating Anthony Reid..the music lable boss...played by the always brilliant and captivatingly handsome James McAvoy... Really enjoyable watch..Great story telling...really great performances from the whole cast!!! Don't be put off by the music genre...I'm not a hip hop rap music fan... this is a tale of friendship...identity..Scottishness and talent. It's also about the shallowness of the music industry...it's not about your reality...it's about your image...the whole package...the characters you portray. Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride!!! Brilliant!!! See more Edward P @Edwardp Apr 16, 2026 McAvoy proves to be a natural filmmaker. The film tells an unbelievable story with terrific verve, making it impossible not to invest in the journey of there two pals . He never loses sight of the emotional core beneath all the laughs, highlighting Gavins identity/mental health challenges. It celebrates working-class stories focused on joy and aspiration, the kind of real human experiences that all deserve to be seen on screen. See more Scottish G @Scottishgeekguy Apr 16, 2026 I first saw this at the Glasgow Film Festival so shout out to the GFF and the Glasgow Film Theatre..... the first thing I want to say about this is, ITS ENJOYABLE Its funny, it's charming, its sweet without being smalchy.... its enjoyable! It's very refreshing to see a film about Scotland, about Scottish people, that's not a grim, bleak working class drama or a historical period drama The 2 leads are GREAT, you absolutely buy their friendship, their highs and lows. As much as the 2 leads are great, I actually felt that Mary (and to slightly lesser extent, Tessa) were the heart of the Story. The effects of the events on them (the girlfriend and record label worker) are what hammer home the real world consequences of the boys hoax.... and its through their performances that it hits the audience too. And it's full of extra wee nuggets of Scottishness that will make it that wee bit more enjoyable if you're from here. See more Mark W @RT25060214 Apr 16, 2026 Telling a story as complex, incredible, and deep as this one was always going to be difficult. MacAvoy has managed to do this succinctly, with heart, emotional depth and spot on humour, creating a pacy, character driven, funny, touching and entirely engaging feature film. The young cast, despite the challenges of accents, skate-boarding, rapping and performing, and attempting to represent faithfully and in an entertaining manner; completely capture the chemistry, excitement and utter audacity and venerability of the gallus Silibil and Brains and their truly unique journey. @markwilsonbooks See more Mason Potter T @masonlovesfilm Apr 16, 2026 California Schemin’ holds up even better for me though every rewatch, I love cinema for this very reason. James McAvoy has been my comfort actor since I was a kid, and seeing his career progression from acting to now directing has been such an honour to watch as a fellow Scottish creative, this is MY film. I'm already extremely familiar with Silibil N’ Brains (2 VERY lovely guys in real life) but James does these characters justice in the most heartwarming, hilarious and heartbreaking way that feels so true. Bravo to everyone involved in this film, I have some close friends involved in this film and they’ve had nothing but incredible things to say, and I can’t wait for this film to be loved by the world over the coming years. Get yourself to the cinema and support good cinema. Such a blast. Greatest film I've ever seen, bravo. See more Avril C @aviec78 Apr 15, 2026 wow what a fantastic film this is. anything with James McAvoy is of course 😜 all the actors were brilliant and shows how fickle and unopen minded the industry really is. so what if they were the rapping proclaimers they were out rapping proclaimers. the great thing about Scotland is we have huge pride in our country and James McAvoy and team showed us all the true story of 2 lads from Dundee desperate to make it in the industry. why should we pretend to be American? Scotland to the end 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. we absolutely loved it, some bits were sad, some funny and some just outrageous. well done to all the cast 💙 See more Read all reviews