As confident as it is a little unsure of its tone, California Schemin’ serves as the directorial debut of James McAvoy, who takes the rather wilder-than-fiction tale of a duo of Scottish rappers (Silibil N’ Brains) who faked American accents in a bid to secure a record deal that they believed they wouldn’t have secured in their natural tongue. They were eventually exposed, and it’s the memoir of one half of the duo (“California Schemin'”, later reprinted as “Straight Outta Scotland”) that McAvoy has adapted here, looking at their journey from wannabe musicians to legitimate record label players, before crashing out in their hopeful bid to expose the industry from the inside out.
McAvoy being a son of Scotland himself probably shares something of a kinship with the likes of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd (and no, not the Lord of the Rings actor, for those playing at home), who, after being laughed out of an audition (they overheard “rapping Proclaimers” as the term used to describe them), took it upon themselves to perfect Californian accents (well, perfected to the best of their abilities) and, with the exact same music, send out demos to the very people that laughed them out of their studio space.
A tale of deception between two supposed unbreakable mates and the industry that gives more than it takes, California Schemin’ sets itself up in the small Scottish town of Dundee, where Gavin (Séamus McLean Ross) and Billy (Samuel Bottomley) try their hardest to make the monotony of their call centre job as enjoyable as it can be. In their spare time they spit lyrics and hang with Billy’s supportive, patient girlfriend, Mary (Lucy Halliday), but Gavin makes it an extreme point that he wants more. With the story itself set in the early 2000s, it makes sense that colourfully-worded rap songs were all the rage (this was at the height of Eminem’s prominence in mainstream music), and, to be fair to both Gavin and Billy, they weren’t bad with their vocals or lyricism. They just didn’t have what labels – at the time – viewed as marketable and accessible.
On something of a whim, they talk to a record label over the phone through a cold call, faking mild American accents and realising that that alone gets them more notice than their Scottish tongue ever did. The idea then snowballs into something bigger, grander, believing they’ll be able to expose the prejudice of the industry by moving up the corporate ladder (as it were), garnering a contract and then, in a public forum of sorts, reveal that they’re Scots and blow the hypocrisy open for the chips to fall where they may. The only problem is that they are better at their craft then even they expect, and when hopeful talent scout Tessa (Rebekah Murrell) basically lays her career on the line to back them following her pitch to her boss (McAvoy, always appearing on the cusp of true sinisterness), there’s a worry that this lie will have more repercussions than they shrewdly assume.
As a film it certainly can’t escape certain predictabilities in its plotting (rise, fall, redemption, etc), and it gradually adopts a more serious temperament as it goes on, which proves at odds with its more enthusiastic, comedically-minded start, but McAvoy proves serviceable as a filmmaker (hell, he even gives himself a slick split diopter shot for good measure), and he garners a duo of fine performances out of both Ross and Bottomley, the former arguably given the meatier role of the two (his Gavin is the one who clearly had a stronger drive to pursue music, and ultimately was the one who wrote the memoir about their career). There’s a real interest to be shown in how torn they both are over what to do with their careers going forward, and though Archie Thomson and Elaine Gracie‘s script never quite delves as deep into the psychology of that, California Schemin’ does at least refuse to gloss over the consequences of their actions; or at least the suggestion of it.
With it being a true story, obviously certain things are already written as to its eventual culmination, but as this is likely to be a tale unknown to many, the beats of where California Schemin’ travels consistently prove entertaining, mainly because everyone on board is treating this story with such utter respect. Certain names in the industry may have laughed at them, but the film asks you to laugh with them and treat them kindly when they – as two impressionable young 20-somethings – spiral out of control.
Whilst it’s far from a shattering debut from McAvoy, it’s clear he has an eye for storytelling and competent structure, and it certainly lays the foundation for an exciting sense of where he could move further should he continue exploring his role as a director. California Schemin’ makes the most of its underdog narrative archetype and whilst it could have benefitted from a little less safety, it by no means entirely suffers, proving itself an entertaining venture as it details the hardships of the music industry and how not even the strongest friendships are immune to its allure.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
California Schemin’ is screening as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, running between September 4th and 14th, 2025. For more information on the festival, head to the official site here.
