Guess Who

Year: 2005
Directed By: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Written By: Lots of people, this isn’t the kind of movie where that matters.

RYAN’S REVIEW

I used to avoid seeing this movie, as I typically try to avoid almost anything that has Ashton Kutcher in it.  I begrudgingly agreed to watch it a few years ago when my sister insisted that I would love it.  I did too; this movie had me laughing the whole time.  When we were approaching the “G” section of our movie collection I actually went out of my way to buy this movie and add it into the collection. This is a fairly typical movie but it is funny and showcases a great comedian that died before his time.

I was a big fan of Bernie Mac; I think he brought a great comedic presence to everything he was involved in.  He is great in a number of movies simply playing supporting or cameo roles.  In this film we really get to see him shine as he is the star. Mac had a great voice that put a funny spin on nearly everything he said and he had those bug eyes that made Jackie Gleason so famous when TV was just getting started.  In this movie Mac actually reminds me a lot of my own dad, a black version anyway.  He is uptight, overbearing, and a massive Jeff Gordon fan.  Not only that but he specifically says and does things in the same manner my dad would in this film and that makes it funnier to me. In 2008 Bernie Mac died suddenly from complications when he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Mac had a disease called sarcoidosis that he had said was in remission during the time this film was made in 2005.  The disease has something to do with inflammation and affect the organs in the body, particularly the lungs.  It was an unfortunate problem to have and even more unfortunate that it took such a talented entertainer from us.  I will miss Bernie Mac and always cherish the movies like this one that maintain his legacy.

I loathe Ashton Kutcher because I have never been able to figure out what the big deal was.  For most of my adult life he has been a really marketable celebrity that was everywhere,  I always felt like he grew so popular by simply acting like a douche bag on his MTV show Punk’d. I never thought Punk’d was funny, only immature and messed up.  I remember one episode where he tried to punk Warren Sapp.  Sapp didn’t see the humor in it, instead getting really angry.  What was funny was that Ashton Kutcher didn’t run out in that episode to have a laugh with his victim, he didn’t come out at all.  What a loser. I can’t stand the guy that tries to pull that on the wrong person then can’t own up to it when the person gets seriously pissed. Nevertheless Kutcher is funny in this movie and I can admit that.  I may not like him but he isn’t that bad, he had great chemistry with Bernie Mac in this movie too.

I think this is a really funny movie that anybody can enjoy.  I think it’s also a great opportunity to remember and laugh with a really funny comedian. Bernie Mac will be missed and all his ultra dark glory, RIP MacMan.  This movie is worth your time and I would recommend it to anyone.

AMBER’S REVIEW

This is an easy-going and fun movie. I think it’s a funny take on the relationships between black and white people. About culture differences and takes on life in general. Of course, this movie leads you to see that everyone is the same and love can happen between anyone. I really like the take they have on race. This movie is funny and easy to watch. You can usually catch it on TBS if you try. I really recommend it.

NEXT MOVIE: Gung Ho (1986)

Movies By Request

The Great White Hype

Year: 1996
Directed By: Reginald Hudlin
Written By: Tony Hendra Roy Shelton

There are more movies made about boxing than any other professional sport.  I think there is a very good reason for that and it is simple.  Boxing movies are awesome, even if they are all the same. I have said as much before in my post on Cinderella Man but I think deep down we all have an instinctive desire to see fights. The men that choose to spend their lives as fighters always have interesting stories to tell as well.  Yet all boxing movies seem to follow a similar template, and this movie is no different.  It covers many elements of the boxing world that we see in others films, but the redundancy of boxing story lines somehow never seems to be a problem. I often find myself realizing this is the same thing I have seen before but still loving it in all boxing films, and or TV shows in the case of Lights Out. I was a really big fan of that show and disappointed to see it cancelled.  My main point here is that while they all might be so similar they are usually interesting in other ways.

This movie specifically makes fun of the racial element in the sport.  I despise racism but do enjoy the humor that can be found in stereotypes across the board.  We all fall into stereotypes, it doesn’t necessarily always have to be about race, but it is funny so long as it is in good humor.  There is a big difference between making a joke about a stereotype and making a racist joke.  I think this movie made fun of racist behavior albeit in a crude manner at times.  One of the times I laughed the hardest was when Samuel L Jackson accused a reporter of being racist.  He responds by saying he is Jewish to which Jackson then accuses him of being an “Uncle Tom.” The reporter says Jews can’t be “Uncle Toms” and Jackson turned to look at his cronie Jon Lovitz playing a Jewish man and puts the question to him.  Lovitz defensively says “we can be!” and it is just such a funny exchange.  This movie is about race all the way through and I did think it was really funny, but these kinds of films watched by the wrong people always send the wrong message.  I have found in my experiences that racist tend to feel validated by comedies or tragedies about race when in fact they should be humbled by them.  I don’t understand the disconnection but it is a disappointing reality about some people.  Racism at the root is a product of ignorance and people who embrace it are often not clever enough to see the error of their ways.

I remember always wanting to see this movie during my Action Video days but somehow never getting around to it.  So I was pleased when a co-worker brought it in among a stack of other films the other day.  I had completely forgotten about the film altogether and was glad for the opportunity to see it.  I was even happier to have liked the movie as I anticipated I would long ago.  Samuel L. Jackson has a charisma that reaches out to everyone and I am no different.  I have thought he was awesome for almost twenty years now since I first saw him in Die Hard with a Vengeance as an eleven year old. I had yet to see Pulp Fiction, that one was off limits for me until I was old enough to seek it out myself.  Nevertheless I have thought he was great since then and he has done nothing to dissuade me from that opinion.  If anything he has only made his image greater in my eyes as he has now become such a key figure in the Marvel movies as Nick Fury.  As to this film he is what would easily be expected, awesome.  As the key figure of a really large cast he does great with a powerful and commanding presence at all times. He is funny in this movie while playing a really flamboyant and enigmatic boxing promoter; he is exactly what he should be in that role.

Of this large cast that includes many notable actors I think the best one playing a supporting role was Jamie Foxx.  He is another actor that is very charismatic and good in most of what he does.  He plays someone kind of stupid in this movie and pulls it off well.  As a big and lifelong fan of The Shield I also really enjoyed seeing Michael Jace in a movie. He played Julian Lowe on the show and I thought he showed great range as an actor throughout the series.  The rest of this cast is made up of other notable actors who do a great job.  Among them are Jeff Goldblum, Cheech Marin, John Rhys-Davies (Gimli from Lord of the Rings), Jon Lovitz, and Damon Wayans (the first one).

I am glad that at long last I have finally seen this movie and I really enjoyed it.  It was a fun and funny movie that didn’t let me down after I had waited so long to see it I had actually forgotten about it.  I am grateful that my co-worker lent it to me to see and I would recommend it to anybody looking for a fun boxing comedy to see.