Having just completed a twelve year sentence in prison, Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home. Trying to put his life back together, the former football star needs to find a job and check in with his parole officer every two weeks.

What Palmer doesn’t bargain for is meeting a young boy name Sam (Ryder Allen). Sam often spends time with Palmer’s grandmother Vivian (June Squibb) when his drug addict mother Shelly (Juno Temple) skips town. At first, Palmer doesn’t know what to make of Sam – the boy is unlike others his age. He loves playing with dolls and wants to be a princess. As the two spend more time together, Palmer’s feelings change and he learns that caring for Sam is what he is meant to do. It’s just unfortunate that his past keeps getting in the way.

I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to watch this at first. The story didn’t initially appeal to me, but I am very glad that I gave it a chance. There were so many things that I liked about it!

Justin Timberlake as an ex-con was a little hard to believe at times. Overall I did enjoy his performance though I have to admit that I am still on the fence if I prefer him as an actor or a singer. All I know is he is lovely to look at. Ryder Allen, on the other hand, was a revelation. I could not get over how precious that little boy was. For his first ever role, he really knocked it out of the park.

Palmer is a story about second chances and starting over. It hit me in all the right feels and I highly recommend it.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥