'California Schemin' Review: A Bonkers True Story With Rebellious Charm and Beats to Spare
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jack Ransom - April 21, 2026
Based on the wild true story. California Schemin’ sees two Scottish lads (Samuel Bottomley & Seamus McLean Ross) from Dundee con the music industry by pretending to be an established Californian rap duo, bagging a record deal and appearing on MTV until their scam unravelled.
One of those British films I usually only discover through trailers shown before another British movie at the cinema… which, more often than not, I’d also only discovered through that exact same cycle. Turns out this is also the directorial debut of James McAvoy (Speak No Evil) and he delivers a very solid if familiar genre effort to kick off his work behind the camera.
It's certainly worth giving the book that inspired this a read at some point to compare the two, because this was genuinely bonkers, grin-inducing and gloriously punk in its attitude, particularly in the first half where we are dropped into the dull, grey, scrappy backdrop of Dundee in 2003. We are swiftly introduced to Billy (Bottomley) and Gavin (Ross), who love hip-hop & rap and have the flow to match, but are stuck in a dead-end job. Queue a radio competition audition embarrassment that triggers their middle finger instinct to take the piss out of the establishment.
Seeing the duo’s dedication to the bit rapidly take over their lives: from working on their accents using movies to permanently having to be their US selves even in private, coupled with the partying, cash and hungry industry bigwigs, toxic storm begins to brew. Whilst the second half of the flick is still good, it does find itself falling into familiar music biopic traits and tropes (e.g. the ‘rise and fall’ arc) and I the final 15-20 mins or so felt a little choppy and rushed.
Stylistically McAvoy offers up a visually pleasing debut. The drab, concrete scruffiness of the pair’s hometown, contrasts the buzz, grit and gloss of London’s bustling streets and pumping clubs. The implementation of handheld camera footage adds a nice layer of authenticity and the ‘behind the scenes’ style of shooting and montage editing for the pair’s TV appearances and photoshoots captures the excitement. Lastly, the soundtrack is filled to the brim with bops and honestly I’ll be giving the duo’s limited material a spin properly at some point.
Bottomley and Ross have winning chemistry and you totally lock into their very genuine friendship. The former is the “wiser” of the two, looking out for the latter who suffers bullying, anxiety and is fixated on dreams, really strong first time performance from him. James McAvoy delivers as the dead-eyed, foul mouthed, intimidating record label head honcho, Lucy Halliday is the charming down-to-earth counterweight love interest for Billy, Rebekah Murrell relishes bringing the group into the spotlight and James Corden hams it up with a freestyle rap at one point which may determine the viewer’s enjoyment of the film early on.
California Schemin’ may not rewrite the music biopic rulebook, however it sizzles with an excitable, rebellious and charming vibe (particularly in the first half). The soundtrack slaps, McAvoy’s direction is confident and the stylistic implementations are welcome. Very solid and worth free-styling down to the cinema for.
'California Schemin' is out now in select cinemas.
Want out latest thoughts on the new cinemas releases? Dive into more reviews, rankings, and film conversations on our site. Explore Film Focus Online now!
