I've looked forward to watching this movie, for a while.
I love Black American comedy. I love Chappelle's Show and The Boondocks. I was weaned on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The most entertaining film i saw in 2010 was Black Dynamite (Dyna-mite, Dyna-mite!); I love Blazing Saddles and even the Wayans Bros have a sparkling gem in their shitty output, 'Don't be a Menace...'; so went into this movie with high expectations, not knowing much about the writer/director Robert Townsend or cast except hearing that the film is a cult classic...
You know when you listen to a piece of music or see a movie and realise, 'Oh, so this is what that comes from...' or 'ohh-that was based on this...' This is was the feeling impossible to shake while watching Townsend's not-quite-linear/not-quite sketch-movie satire about the role of Black actors in Hollywood. I wrote the previous paragraph before watching the movie and with the exception of Blazing Saddles (because it pre-dates it), everything i mentioned would not be here without Hollywood Shuffle (Also there also shades of Gervais & Merchant's 'Extras'). In hindsight, this movie was made by a supergroup of Afro-American comedy makers:- from Keenan Ivory Wayans to Rusty Cundieff who later went on work on Chappelle's Show as well as John Witherspoon and Paul Mooney. I had noticed that the film was co-written by Keenan Ivory Wayans, during the start titles and it made me make a mental *hurm*. To be fair, as I mentioned he did make 'Don't Be a Menace...' and also I'm Gonna Git You Sucka but he also made the abhorrent first 2 'Scary Movie's' and White Chicks. They're horrible because they lack any subtlety. Hollywood Shuffle is a masterclass in crediting it's audience's intelligence with sketches like this pearl, Black Acting School (FFWD to 3.40mins)-
I know i suggested fast-forwarding to the broader/jokey'er second-half of the video above but really it's the first-half that illustrates my point because it makes reference to 'Roots/Color Purple' style fare:- it's satirising well-made culturally-defining stuff. Today, movies spoof You-Tube memes. As we know, Scary Movie was a spoof of Scream which was a satire of horror films in the first place!
Anchoring the film, is the story of Townsend's protagonist, an actor working fast-food and the audition circuit while waiting for his big break, which of it's self is nothing new but since being black, the only avenue open to our hero is auditioning to play pimps or slaves or thieves which is the internal conflict going on in the movie- Do you really you really want to work in an industry where you only get to protract negative stereotypes/images? or can you really be improving your lifestyle, if you're damaging your culture?
And if that wasn't confusing enough, there's a moment in a sketch based on a urban-version of Siskel and Ebert's 'At The Movies' where the 2 'street' film critics actually make a crappy non-sensical flick called 'Attack of the Killer Street Pimps' their movie of the week(?!) - Begging the question, do they like it because they're so indoctrinated by crap or that there's absolutely nothing better in the marketplace... or both?
This was such a great movie to start my blog. I really liked it. It didn't blow me away and it only really suffers in the respect that it kinda lacks memorable set-pieces but it's great 4star/80%/A- stuff
Hollywood Shuffle is not available on DVD in the UK but in their gracious wisdom, LoveFilm are streaming it free on their website to their subscribers here- http://bit.ly/gChV0x
My 2011 in Movies will return with Love and Other Drugs...
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