What’s going on, y’all? Happy Late Black History Month! I know, I know…it’s March now and Black History Month is officially over. In spite of that, I watched a few more films on the week of Feb. 26 – Mar. 4 (which is the last week of Black History Month), and I wanted to post one last string of movie reviews for y’all to enjoy. I meant to have this article posted way before now, but you know how it can be sometimes (especially with me). With that being said, in lieu of some of the nasty comments I received on my Facebook page about my initial Black History Month Movie Review post, I feel the need to post a disclaimer before I get to reviewing the films…
Disclaimer: As usual, disrespect will not be tolerated, nor will any racist remarks. If I see any slick comments posted directly on this site, my Facebook page, or my Twitter profile, you won’t have the pleasure of witnessing my charming black southern wit. You’ll just be blocked. Try me if you want to.
Now, let’s do this.
You People
In You People, Ezra (Jonah Hill) is a young Jewish financier turned podcaster that can never find the perfect girl. However, his luck changes when he meets Amira (Lauren London), a no-nonsense African-American Muslim costume designer. The two fall madly in love, and after six months of dating, Ezra pops the question. Amira accepts and they can’t wait to get married, but Amira’s pro-black father (Eddie Murphy) and Ezra’s culturally clueless mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) threaten their plans.
When You People first came out, I noticed it trending on Twitter constantly, so I had to check it out. I found the movie cute, but not hilarious. When I rewatched it again for this review, my feelings about You People hadn’t changed. Don’t get me wrong, there are some laugh out loud moments, but they occur sporadically throughout the movie. Also, I never 100% bought Ezra and Amira’s relationship. They felt more like close friends than a romantic couple. And that “sex scene?” No. Eddie’s character got on my last nerve, too. He’s such a joyless butthole! I know that he’s supposed to be a joyless butthole, but God, he was irksome! Midway through the film, Ezra describes Ackbar (Eddie’s character) as “intense,” and Amira accuses him of implying that her father is an angry black man. I nearly fell out of my chair! I’m sorry babe…your dad is an angry black man, and this is coming from a black woman.
When we’re first introduced to Ackbar, he’s incessantly complaining…about black people. He doesn’t talk about how we need to do better as a people and stick together, or how we need to work at gaining upward mobility and/or generational wealth, or no. He goes on and on about our hair (it’s too curly) and skin tone (there’s so many light skinned people; one day we’ll all be Bruno’s complexion…he actually says this). Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the ditzy Shelly (Ezra’s mother) is the funniest person in the movie, hands down (Mike Epps comes in a close second). Her well-meaning but completely inappropriate behavior never fails to serve up the laughs. In conclusion, You People won’t have you on the floor laughing, but it’s a cute way to spend an hour and a half.
Waves
Waves follows the lives of two siblings (Taylor Russell and Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) in a suburban African-American family dealing with hurt and loss, and eventually, healing.
I came across this movie about a year or so ago, and something told me to check it out. I’m so glad I did. Waves is an extremely powerful film. The movie draws you in and takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. Every time I watch it, I can never tear myself away from it. There’s so much I love about Waves: the cinematography, the “mirroring” (in other words, there’s a shot/scene that’s shown near the beginning of the movie, and a similar shot/scene is shown at a different point in time, but it either features another character, or it shows how the same characters have changed), the acting, and the plot. What I loved the most about Waves is how midway through, the focus of the film shifts from one sibling to the next. That’s something I wasn’t expecting.
By the way, for all you Euphoria and This Is Us fans, Alexa Demie plays Alexis, Tyler’s (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) girlfriend and Sterling K. Brown plays Tyler and Emily’s (Taylor Russell) father. They do a phenomenal job with their roles, as does the rest of the cast. Y’all, Waves is a great film, but it has to be seen to be believed. Speaking on it doesn’t really do it justice. I’ve got good news, though! If you want to see Waves, it’s available on YouTube right now…for free!
The Woman King
The Woman King takes place in West Africa in 1823, during the era of the Dahomey tribe and the Oyo Empire. The Dahomey ruler, King Ghezo (John Boyega) has a formidable kings guard, the Agojie—otherwise known as The Dahomey Amazons—led by General Nanisca (Viola Davis). Nanisca and the Agojie are soon faced with going to war against the Oyo, and while recruiting new warriors, she finds herself intrigued by Nawi (Thusa Mbedu), a teenager whose family has given her away to the Agojie for training. In the meantime, Nanisca also wants to stop the cancer of the slave trade from infecting her people (which both the Dahomey and Oyo people are involved in). Will the Agojie defeat the Oyo as well as cease the slave trade with the Europeans?
From the moment The Woman King was released, I wanted to see it. The story of the Agojie aka The Dahomey Amazons piqued my interest ever since I first learned about them during Hippolyta’s arc in Lovecraft Country, so I was psyched when I saw all the advertisements for the film.
I wasn’t able to catch the movie at the theatres, but thankfully, it was on Netflix. When I finally watched it last week, I wasn’t disappointed. The visuals, plot, and fight scenes were on point. I loved the movie. Not only that, but the men were smokin’ hot! I’d be a queen for King Ghezo (John Boyega’s fine ass fictional version of King Ghezo—I want to make that clear) any day of the week, and that doggone Malik (Jordan Bolger)? Lord, have mercy! My only issue with the movie is the historical inaccuracy. I normally don’t mind that with biopics and/or historical fiction films. After all, most biopics make up situations for the purposes of entertainment, so you have to take them with a grain of salt. However, with The Woman King, there’s a false narrative that I just can’t get with. In real life, King Ghezo and the Dahomey Warriors fought for slavery, not against slavery. They even continued to trade slaves and keep their own slaves on plantations after the practice was outlawed. Yikes.
Despite the retelling of history, the movie is still good for what it is. I wouldn’t recommend writing a term paper based on it, and I definitely wouldn’t go spreading the storyline to teach young children, but it is an entertaining piece of historical fiction (emphasis on fiction).
Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing takes place during the late 1980s in the community of Bed-Stuy, during one of the hottest days of the year. On this particular summer day, racial tensions simmer among all the inhabitants of the neighborhood until they come to a dangerous boil that changes everyone’s lives forever.
Do the Right Thing has always been my all-time favorite Spike Lee film. It’s funny, thought provoking, and dramatic all at once. As I said in my first Black History Month Movie Review post, I always considered both Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X to be Spike’s magnum opuses, so what better way to end this series of posts than with a review of one the best movies ever made? Yes, I said that. There’s nothing bad I can say about this movie. The acting was on par, the story line keeps you engaged, and although there’s a ton of characters, you never feel like there’s too many cooks in the kitchen. By the way, this is the only Spike Lee movie where the man himself plays the leading role* (and he doesn’t even get top billing!), and Spike absolutely killed it. The only thing missing was Spike’s signature double dolly shot (you know, “the treadmill shot” he always uses). However, that’s not a criticism, it’s just something I noticed after my re-watch of this movie.
What continues to get me about Do the Right Thing is the fact that the movie is one big grey area. When I first watched it as a little girl, everything about Do the Right Thing appeared in black and white. Sal (Danny Aiello) was wrong, Mookie (Spike Lee’s character) was right. Now that I’m an adult, not only are the situations that occur in the film grey, they seem to be greyer and greyer as I get older. Take the clip I posted, for example. On one hand, I can see where Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito) —who has the perfect name, I might add—is coming from. Sal’s Pizzeria is in a predominately black neighborhood, so it would be nice to see some accomplished black folks on his Wall of Fame. However, Sal is an Italian-American man with an Italian-American eatery, so it also makes sense for him to have successful Italian-Americans on his wall. After all, I wouldn’t expect to see a picture of Beyoncé and Jay-Z in a Chinese restaurant in the hood. There’s even a point in the movie where Mookie’s sister, Jade (Joie Lee, Spike’s actual sister), tells Buggin’ Out that the boycott on Sal’s is pointless and he should use his energy to do something more useful for the community. Buggin’ Out dismisses that notion.
***SPOILER ALERT!!*** THE REMAINING PART OF THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DO THE RIGHT THING. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS MOVIE YET, YOU MUST BE LIVING UNDER A ROCK, SO GET FROM UNDER IT AND GO WATCH THIS MASTERPIECE. OH YEAH, AND YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THE NEXT FEW PARAGRAPHS. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. THANKS.
Then of course, there’s the end of the film. Buggin’ Out, Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), and Smiley (Roger Guenveur Smith) show up at Sal’s right before closing to enforce their boycott. Sal becomes incensed behind the “noise” coming from the boombox as well as the very sight of Buggin’ Out, and after yelling out the N-word, Sal destroys Raheem’s radio. A fight breaks out, and the cops soon show up, arresting Buggin’ Out and strangling Radio Raheem to death. It’s arguable that the whole thing may have never happened if Sal didn’t bust up Raheem’s radio. Then again, if Buggin’ Out, Raheem, and Smiley didn’t go to the pizzeria that night, everyone would’ve just gone home and cooler heads may have prevailed the next day. Many people also give Mookie the side-eye for throwing the trash can through Sal’s window and inciting a riot in the process. I have to keep it a buck…I get why he did it. Maybe he wasn’t “doing the right thing” in that moment, but he was expressing his very justified anger. Was it justified to be angry at Sal? Maybe, maybe not. After all, Sal did scream the N-word at Buggin’ Out and Radio Raheem (in front of his other black customers and employee) and before shit got really real. Was it justified to be pissed at the racist cops and the injustice that the entire neighborhood witnessed, though? Hell, yeah.
I know this review went on a bit longer than I intended, but there’s just so much to unpack with this film. I have to say it again: if you haven’t seen Do the Right Thing yet, get off yo’ rump and go see it. If you watch it with a group of people, have a discussion about your thoughts on the events that took place.
—Written by Nadiya
What do you think about the movies I chose to review for the last week of Black History Month? Are you a fan of them? Did you dislike any of the films? What movies do you think I should’ve reviewed? Did you agree with my assessments? Let me know in the comments section!
Insights from a Southern Girl 