Can’t We Do Better For Ourselves?

Posted on July 30, 2007

I read this review of “Who’s Your Caddy?” on the Washington Post’s website.

The movie is jam-packed with failed gags, eliciting sounds of resigned silence from yesterday’s small matinee audience, save for one man who we can only guess is the biggest Faizon Love fan on the planet. It’s the type of comedy that relies on plenty of bathroom humor and the inevitable golf-ball-landing-in-the-crotch scene.

Surprisingly, we do find out late in the film that there is a rather touching reason why C-Note wants membership in the country club — it involves his late father. But any time the plot veers close to exploring this could-be-poignant plot line, we’re lost again in predictable physical comedy and booty jokes in a movie that would make Tiger Woods cringe.

As I read that last part, I couldn’t help thinking about “Soul Plane”. Please, stay with me on this one.

(Oh, and by the way, I just want to disclaimer that I did not directly waste my money on seeing it in theaters, I fell victim to the “Nothing’ Comes On on Sundays” blues. Thank you.)

Soul Plane tells the story of a black-owned airline. The main character, Nashawn, is awarded a settlement from an airline when they are at fault for his dog’s death on the plane. After receiving his settlement, he resists the persuasions of his cousin (Method Man) to blow all the money on more dubious means. I’m thinking , “Ooh, maybe he’ll do something productive with his money” (even though I knew better, it was Soul Plane, after all).

He opened an airline. Great idea. After all, we don’t have many black-owned airlines (the only ones I could find were Bob “BET” Johnson’s DC Air or AirAtlanta from 1987 and even then it isn’t too promising).

Nope. The movie is filled all sorts of foolery and fuckery, exploiting many stereotypes known to black folk and “hip-hop”. Even if the comedy could have been a little bit insightful into its jokes and stereotyping, like The Chapelle Show or In Living Color, I might have liked the movie.

It’s kind of the same with this movie (Who’s Your Caddy). As soon as I saw the trailer, I cringed a little. I had hopes that in spite of how crappy it looked that it might come out and surprise us with a really good plot line or really great acting (…) or even really smart jokes. If you have listened to any Outkast song, you can hear the cleverness, intelligence and wittiness in their lines. I was kind of impressed with Big Boi’s acting in ATL and in Idlewild.

And reading that the ultimate motive for Big Boi’s character wanting to join the club was his late father and that the movie probably did miss out on a way to show black folks in a less buffonish light, my heart wept a little. The movie could have been so much more. Funny still, but delve deeper into the black consciousness, past all this surface level bullshit and BET-grade mentality of money, cars and hoes.

Can’t we do better for ourselves? We have lots of talented black actors/actresses, writers, producers, etc, out there. Their talent is being untapped. Hollywood can’t just rely on the same five to ten black actors and actresses to represent the entire diaspora.

Tamala Jones/Sanaa Lathan/Taraji P. Henson could/should be playing The Fox from the new movie Wanted, not Angelina Jolie (oh and by the way, I’m not past that whole A Might Heart fiasco - I saw Marianne Pearl and immediately thought of Maya Rudolph, but, hell, that’s just my opinion.)

It’s time to start doing better.

I avoided the whole Hot Ghetto Mess thing in my blog. I didn’t watch it when it premiered, I have yet to watch it, I’m not sure I would watch it if given the chance. But we shouldn’t let shows like that and movies like these be the sole representation of Blacks in America to the rest of America and indeed to the world (go ask a straight-from-African and see what the opinions are, go ask an Asian, a European, an Indian. Go ahead!)

I am saddened sometimes, but sometimes a ray of hope peeks through the clouds. I just wanted to quickly highlight this show, My Brother’s Keeper. First, I have to say that I am happy that it is based in my hometown. Second, it looks at real-life issues and from what I’ve seen, it seems to do it well. I am trying to find out when it comes on in Tallahassee. It’s just an example of how we can do thing is we just try a little harder.

~T~

Comments

7 Responses to “Can’t We Do Better For Ourselves?”

  1. Vanessa on July 30th, 2007 11:21 pm

    Exceptional post, my sister. I haven’t seen the movie either but you captured the discomfort I felt when watching interviews with cast members and the trailer.

  2. Mrs. Grapevine on July 31st, 2007 9:40 am

    Yes, I am so disappointed. I know films come in all genres, but I need a black film with some substance.

  3. Tayo on July 31st, 2007 12:12 pm

    Vanessa/Mrs. Grapevine - Thanks!

    I like being silly and if we did have a significant amount of movies out there showing a more representative view of the Black experience, I would not mind these movies… I mean even the white folks have crap like Delta Farce, but in general, they are not defined by movies like that.

    Ohh, I can tell that it’s not all out of me, so I’m gonna stop for now! LOL!

  4. Mrs. Grapevine on July 31st, 2007 6:31 pm

    The other side of this story is that we as blacks don’t support the independent films, short shorts, or the documentaries. Hollywood is about making money, and when films like Norbit gross over $95 Million, what type of films do you think they are going to support. Black actors need to eat, and are forced to take whatever they can just to stay in the limelight til a great part comes along. There are thousands of screenplays and books, so there isn’t a shortage on material. If they can’t make the studios money, then they won’t get made, unless we make and support them.

  5. Shawn (toyota Fan) on July 31st, 2007 11:39 pm

    Hi there

    I hate the stereotyping…we not only get that in movies,but here in South Africa we have that in comercials as well…..

  6. Tayo on August 1st, 2007 8:21 am

    Mrs Grapevine, you’re totally right. It’s kind of like Hollywood Shuffle, for real. 20 years later and how much has really changed?

    Shawn, I can understand. Not sure how bad it is in S. Africa but there’s still enough of it here, too.

  7. Yobachi on August 1st, 2007 8:15 pm

    I’m so sick of all this tired-ass coonery.

    Going for the low-brow, commondenominator; and striving for the least you can accomplished far too often describes black artistic endeavors these days.

    I don’t need to see another In The House/Bullworth about how cool young blacks are going to clown the cagey old white people. Please - step your game up black hollywood.

    http://www.blackperspective.net

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