'Morris From America' is the summer indie that could

Morris From America just may be the sleeper coming-of-age story of the summer, but earlier this year, it first made its mark as a film festival hit.

The indie's success at the Sundance Film Festival, where breakout hits such as 2015's Brooklyn and this year's The Birth of a Nation were born, even took its star by surprise. “I was thrilled because I had never been to Sundance,” says Craig Robinson, who stars as a professional soccer coach who uproots his 13-year-old son, Morris (newcomer Markees Christmas), for a life abroad in Heidelberg, Germany, after his wife dies.

“And then people were saying nice things about it,” says Robinson, who is best known for his quick wit in comedies like This Is the End and Hot Tub Time Machine. “Then it got bought. Then I won an award. So it was like somebody going, 'Here’s some cake. And there’s some pizza.' It’s like, all good things.”

The film (currently available through DirecTV Cinema and in limited theaters this weekend) follows shy, aspiring teenage rapper Morris who dutifully takes German classes while attending summer school. Loneliness and casual racism from peers who don't look or talk like him pepper days spent plugged into his iPod — until Morris meets Katrin, a blue-eyed blond (Lina Keller) two years older than he.

In a summer of failed blockbusters and poorly executed sequels, audiences will find Morris From America to be a winning gem. (Not to mention its trajectory is what every filmmaker hopes for: Shot for $1.2 million over 27 days, the fish-out-of-water tale sold at Sundance in a quickly executed seven-figure deal.)

Director/screenwriter Chad Hartigan says kernels of the story are based on a portion of his childhood spent as an outsider in Cyprus. But the story didn’t feel fresh until he decided to write the father-son pair as African-American. (Hartigan is white.)

There’s a dearth of films about a sensitive young black man trying to make the right decisions, says Hartigan. “At least not many that I had seen. It felt like, 'OK, this could be something unique if done right.' So then it became a challenge to make sure you try and do it right," says the director, whose script found Robinson because they share the same talent agency. (He found Christmas on YouTube).

Robinson says Hartigan represented him well. “When I read it I was like, 'I talk like this guy.' And then when I met him I was like, 'You wrote that?' ”

Robinson, who also voices Mr. Grits in this month’s Seth Rogen animated comedy, Sausage Party, knows Morris From America is a more serious departure — and that’s the point.

The same guy who belted Take Yo Panties Off at a piano as the apocalypse set in during This Is the End deftly portrays a father struggling with loss while trying to instill values in his son.

Critics are on board: The Hollywood Reportercalls it “a warmly paternal turn from Robinson (who is) effectively cast against type here." Varietyraves that the father-son duo "strike so many wonderfully varied notes — swapping penis jokes and bashing each other’s rap styles one minute, laying bare their hurts and disappointments with piercing honesty the next."

The risk continues to pay off. Robinson says he was cast in this season of USA's Mr. Robot because creator Sam Esmail saw early scenes from Morris From America.

“I do want to get deeper,” says the actor. “There’s something so nice about sinking your teeth and really going somewhere, really taking a moment and just be there in character.”