Storyline
The story begins with a flash of the future, a young woman arrives at a nursing home and finds her father worse dressed. He has lost his memory and doesn't remember who she is. This man is Rustin, and we go back in time to see him at the height of his infamy.
Rustin, who performs in a rock band, works hard and plays hard in equal measure, with a steady cocktail of alcohol and drugs to keep him going. When his friend Diego takes a turn for the worst, Rustin decides to make amends for the ills he caused and flies to Rotterdam to do so.
What's in the Netherlands you ask? Well, it was only his estranged daughter Yumi, whom he decided to abandon when his wife Sheena was pregnant to pursue rock music. No one has heard from him since. Unfortunately, Sheena passed away, leaving the caregiving duties to Bok and Rachelle. When Rustin shows up, he assumes a fake identity as Clyde to meet his daughter Yumi.
Sentimental Climax
From here, the story reaches a sentimental climax as Rustin meets his daughter and makes sure to keep the truth from Yumi as best he can. Chaos ensues when the truth inevitably comes out as Rachel goes on a business trip and poor Bok is tricked by the man. I won't spoil all the twists and turns of this thing, but tonally speaking, the movie doesn't really tug at the heartstrings as much as you'd like.
While there are some great montages of Rustin and Yumi playing together, there is one segment where Rustin pulls her away from Bok so they can go and stay at a hotel together. Bok is worried and Rustin finally turns off his phone. All the while playing whimsical music?
The problem with this angle is that Rustin isn't exactly a hot hero we can root for. He is very flawed and we see him drinking and using drugs many times. At one point, he drinks so much that he almost misses practice and promises his daughter that she will attend with him.
I can't help but feel that Rusty sobered up after what happened with Diego and then, as a vow of sobriety, to right the wrongs in his life - including dating and dating. his daughter.
However, the flashbacks have a fisheye lens attached to them.