2021 Essence Festival Goes Virtual Over Two Weekends in June and July

Statement From ESSENCE Communications Inc. on the 2021 ESSENCE Festival of Culture

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ESSENCE, the leading and only 100% Black-owned media, technology and commerce company at scale dedicated to Black women and communities, announced plans and dates for our 2021 ESSENCE Festival of Culture.

In 2020, in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, ESSENCE shifted our annual multi-day celebration to an innovative virtual format to ensure continued delivery of our unparalleled Festival, the world’s largest cultural, entertainment and empowerment experience. The first of its kind and scale to be executed virtually during the pandemic, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture – which annually draws more than half a million people over July 4th weekend in New Orleans – extended its reach, engagement and impact via enhanced technology and streaming capabilities to touch more people globally. In a year of unprecedented challenges and mass isolation that made it even more critical to create and deliver the community, connectivity and engagement for which it is most loved, the ESSENCE Festival of Culture provided much-needed, only-at-ESSENCE content and experiences that informed, inspired and empowered – and our community overwhelmingly responded with 45+ million full-stream views of Festival content to date.

This year, with the theme ‘Live Loud,’ ESSENCE is thrilled to curate an invaluable hybrid experience that offers the best of in-person and virtual worlds via a celebration of the resilience, power and achievement of our community and the omnipresence of our culture. The Festival’s virtual programming will include powerful daytime interactive sessions and star-studded evening concerts and connections. Also, in continued partnership with the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana and under strict adherence to guidance from health agencies, ESSENCE will produce live-to-tape activations available only to local New Orleans and Louisiana residents, honoring essential workers and first responders. The entire Festival, which will present a ‘taste of New Orleans’ and a jam-packed schedule of can’t-miss content centered around culture, equity and celebration, will be broadcast on ESSENCEStudios.com – Friday-Sunday over two weekends, June 25-27 and July 2-4, 2021.

For ongoing updates, including upcoming talent announcements, and additional information, visit ESSENCE.com.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 14th to 20th, 2021 - Update #29

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Edgar Wright ("Baby Driver") will co-write and direct a new film adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novel, "The Running Man" (published under the pen name Richard Bachman).  It will not be a remake of the 1987 film adaptation of the novel, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Thanks to various sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, Hollywood power house, Brett Ratner, has not directed a film since 2014's Hercules.  He is ready to make his comeback with a biopic of disgraced musical act, "Milli Vanilli." 

DISNEY - From YahooEntertainment:   Disney's new animated film, "Raya and the Last Dragon" introduces the first Southeast Asian Disney princess and heroine.

TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  AMC and streaming service Shudder are developing a horror anthology series that showcases horror stories from Black directors and writers.

AWARDS - From Deadline: The nominations for the 2021 / 21st annual Black Reel Awards have been announced.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  CBS has cancelled its long-running sitcom, "Mom," after eight seasons.  The finale is set for May 6th, 2021.

From Deadline:  CBS is ending "NCIS: New Orleans" after seven seasons.  The series finale will end May 16th, 2021.

TRAILER - From YouTube:   This is the first  "official restricted trailer" for the "Mortal Kombat" reboot, which arrives on HBO Max April 16, 2021.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Ashley Judd is sharing photos and details about her recent African misadventure, which included shattering her leg in a jungle in the Congo last week.

MOVIES - From Variety:   Oscar-winning will produce and star in a film about Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman.  Oscar-winning screenwriter, John Ridley, will write and direct the film.

STREAMING - From ShadowandAct:   Netflix's Kevin Hart-Wesley Snipes drama series, "True Story," adds Lauren London, Will Catlett and more new cast.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Keke Palmer will star in director Jordan Peele's next film.  Little is known about the film, and Oscar-nominated actor, Daniel Kaluuya, is in negotiations to also star in the film.

MOVIES - From IndieWire:   Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese takes aim at streaming’s lack of curation and core: "cinema Is being devalued by content."

AWARDS - From Deadline:   The nominations for the 2021 / 73rd annaul Writers Guild of America Awards have been announced.

DISNEY - From Vulture:   Disney unveils new "Cruella" poster featuring Emma Stone.

POLITICS - From Truthout:  An alarming revelation from a Republican senator, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, on Wednesday night suggests that former President Donald Trump continued to incite his mob of loyalists during the Capitol breach on January 6 even after learning that his then-vice president, Mike Pence's life was in danger.

MOVIES - From CBR:  As Zack Snyder awaits the release of his new film, "Zack Snyder's Justice League," he talks about developing a faithful adaptation of the King Arthur legend.

DISNEY - From THR:   Digital TV Research says that the streaming service, Disney+, will have more subscribers in 2026 than Netflix's streaming service.  However, it says that Disney+ will only have more subscribers than Netflix in only one country - India.

MUSIC - From CNN:   Rapper Nicki Minaj's father, 64-year-old Robert Maraj, dies in hit-and-run that occurred in Mineola, Long Island, police say.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 2/12 to 2/14/2021 weekend box office is "Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 2.66 million dollars.  The film, from DreamWorks Animation, was originally a Thanksgiving 2020 release.

From Variety:   The Chinese New Year led to a record-breaking holiday weekend at the Chinese box office - 775 million dollars.  "Detective Chinatown 3" lead the way with a record 424 million dollar debut.

From Deadline:  Director Nate Parker's "American Skin" becomes distributor, Vertical Entertainment's highest grossing PVOD (premium video on demand) release.

From Deadline:   "The Mauritanian," "The World To Come," and "Willy’s Wonderland" battle at the specialty box office.

CRIME - From YahooNews:  Attacks on older Asians stoke fear as Lunar New Year begins

CULTURE - From CNN:  People reflect on losing parents to the QAnon conspiracy.

COMICS TO MOVIES - DC CINEMA - From YouTube:   There is a new trailer (Sun., Feb. 14th) for the film now known as "Zack Snyder's Justice League."

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:   This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of the eventual "Best Picture" Oscar winner, "Silence of the Lambs."  Star Jodie Foster admits in a new interview that she was afraid of co-star Anthony Hopkins, who played the infamous "Hannibal Lecter."

MUSIC - From Variety:   In the wake of accusations of sexism and misogyny against Justin Timberlake regarding his treatment of former girlfriend Britney Spears, and the “wardrobe malfunction” with Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl in 2004, he has apologized to both women in an Instagram post.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Stage, film, and television actor, Christopher Pennock, has died at the age of 76, Friday, February 12, 2021.  He is best know for playing "Gabriel Collins" on the final season of the former ABC soap opera, "Dark Shadows" (1966-1971).  Pennock also appeared in numerous other daytime and primetime soap operas, including "General Hospital," "The Young and the Restless," and "Knots Landing," to name a few.

From YahooSports:   Former NFL player, Vincent Jackson, has died at the age of 38, Monday, February 15, 2021.  He was found dead in a hotel in Brandon, a suburb of Tampa, Florida.  He played 12 years in the NFL as a wide receiver, first for the San Diego Chargers (2005-2011) and then, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-2016).  He was a three-time Pro Bowl player (2009-2011).

Negromancer's Trailer-O-Rama - Movies, Television

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

TRAILER LINKS:

SUPERMAN & LOIS - From DCBlog: "All Right Now" trailer (posted Mon., Feb. 8th, 2021).  "Superman & Lois" debuts Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 on The CW.

ZACH SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE - From YouTube:   "Zach Snyder's Justice League" the official trailer (posted Sun., Feb. 14th, 2021).  The film debuts on HBO Max March 18th, 2021.

#28DaysofBlack: "DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE" Chronicles Ongoing Rape of Africa's Natural Resources

[The continent of Africa – and yes, it is a continent – has seen a large amount of its natural resources exploited by Western Europe and the United States.  That includes people, fossil fuels, minerals, and food, with western corporations joining the exploitation fray.  However, neither the exploitation nor sale of Africa's natural resources has helped poor Africans escape poverty.  Sometimes, the situation becomes a horror movie scenario, as seen in the Oscar-nominated documentary, “Darwin's Nightmare.”]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 100 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Darwin’s Nightmare (2004)
COUNTRY OF ORGIN:  Austria, Belgium, France, Canada, Finland, and Sweden; Languages: English, Russian, Swahili
Running time:  107 minutes
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Hubert Sauper
PRODUCERS:  Barbara Albert, Martin Gschlacht, Edouard Mauriat, Hubert Sauper, Antonin Svoboda, and Hubert Toint
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hubert Sauper
EDITOR:  Denise Vindevogel
2006 Academy Award nominee

DOCUMENTARY

Starring:  Hubert Sauper, Raphael, Dimond, and Reverend Cleopa Knijage

Darwin's Nightmare is a 2004 documentary film written and directed by Hubert Sauper.  It was a multinational production, mainly Austrian, French, and Belgian.  The documentary examines the effects of fishing the Nile perch, a predatory fish, in Tanzania's Lake Victoria, which leads to food insecurity for many Tanzania families.

In his Oscar-nominated documentary, Darwin’s Nightmare, director Hubert Sauper portrays an Africa where the fittest thrive and the weakest starve and die of disease.  The film is set in Tanzania, in the Mwanza City, one of the cities on the shores of Lake Victoria.  European interests make huge profits from the local fishing industries, feeding approximately two million Europeans per day while the locals around Lake Victoria starve.  The Tanzanians fend for themselves on fish heads and scraps, while their waters are emptied of perch – an example of globalization feeding foreign markets while locals starve.

Lake Victoria, which stretches over the Tanzanian plains, is struggling.  In the 1960’s, a scientist introduced the Nile perch into the ecosystem.  An enormous variant of the American perch, the Nile perch devour the other fish, practically wiping out all other life in the lake.  This was and remains a disaster for the local communities, but the multinational fishing factories thrive from this ecological disaster by processing and shipping abroad thousands of tons of perch every month.  While the planes leave loaded with fish, they don’t return with food and clothing for the needy.  Instead, they bring more weapons for the various wars and strife in Africa.  Meanwhile, Tanzania teeters on the brink of devastation and war.

Darwin’s Nightmare is grim, and in a sense it is one of those “important films,” a movie that seeks to inform viewers about issues and situations about which they should want to know.  The film covers how globalization harms local economies and depicts how the introduction of a single new element into an ecosystem can be disastrous.  On the other hand, Sauper’s film was hugely controversial in Tanzanian and in some quarters of Europe.  Tanzanian officials found the film’s portrayal of extreme poverty in Mwanza City exaggerated, and some claimed that a greater portion of Lake Victoria’s Nile perch was consumed locally and within Tanzania.  The controversy over the film even resulted in a book, The Other Side of Darwin’s Nightmare, by Francois Garcon.

The film is occasionally hard to watch, but riveting.  Also, listening to all the interview subjects who speak horribly broken English is distracting and occasionally aggravating.  Sauper’s lack of balance is too evident, and the film also lacks a broader context.  Sauper doesn’t interview academics or experts on any of the topics this film covers.  Where are the government officials, aid workers, and a wide range of representatives of the fishing industry?  Because of Sauper’s focus on prostitutes, glue-sniffing street kids, impoverished fisherman, the sick, and the family members of those who’ve died of HIV and AIDS, Darwin’s Nightmare comes across as a trip through a nightmare land created by Hieronymus Bosch.  It’s a spellbinding trip, but what Sauper excludes keeps a very good film from becoming a great documentary.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards:  1 nomination:  “Best Documentary, Features” (Hubert Sauper)

Saturday, June 30, 2007
REVISED: Tuesday, February 16, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: "I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA" is Still Crazy Funny

[What can I say?  I'm Gonna Git You Sucka remains one of the funniest films that I have ever seen.  And I wish Keenen Ivory Wayans and his regulars were still giving us a regular serving of great African-American comedy … great American comedy.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2021 (No. 1755) by Leroy Douresseaux

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Running time:  88 minutes
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Keenen Ivory Wayans
PRODUCERS:  Carl Craig and Peter McCarthy
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tom Richmond
EDITOR:  Michael R. Miller   
COMPOSER:  David Michael Frank

COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bernie Casey, Ja'net Dubois, Isaac Hayes, Jim Brown, Antonio Fargas, Steve James, John Vernon, Dawnn Lewis, Kadeem Hardison, Damon Wayans, Clarence Williams III, Anne-Marie Johnson, Kim Wayans, Eve Plumb, Hawthorne James, David Alan Grier, Clu Gulager, and Chris Rock

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a 1988 comedy film written and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.  The film is a blaxploitation film (Black exploitation film) and also a parody of the blaxploitation films of the 1970s.  I'm Gonna Git You Sucka focuses on a Black wannabe hero who joins a former Black hero on a mission to stop a crime lord who is plaguing the Black community with vice.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka introduces Jack Spade (Keenen Ivory Wayans), a soldier who returns home (“Any Ghetto, U.S.A.”) after ten years away.  He has learned that his brother, Junebug Spade, has died of "OG" – overdosing on gold chains (wearing too many gold chains).  Jack looks around his old neighborhood and sees the effect of gold chains on his community.  Jack wants revenge for his brother's death, but he also wants to stop the proliferation of gold chains in his community.  That means he has to stop “Mr. Big” (John Vernon), who rules the crime world and is responsible for the epidemic of gold chains that claimed Junebug's life.

Jack and Junebug's mother, Bell Spade (Ja'net Dubois), does not want her only remaining son engaging in something that could get him killed.  Junebug's widow, Cheryl Spade (Dawnn Lewis), who once loved Jack, does not want him killed now that he is back in her life.  Still, Jack is determined to be a Black hero, so he seeks the help of the retired hero, John Slade (Bernie Casey), once the community's biggest Black hero.  While Slade is initially wary, he eventually brings in other classic Black heroes from the past:  Hammer (Isaac Hayes), Slammer (Jim Brown), and Kung Fu Joe (Steve James), and also a once prominent pimp, Flyguy (Antonio Fargas), in on the mission.  But can this group really come together and “take it to the man?”

I saw I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in early 1989 in a movie theater at the Bon Marche Mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a group of friends.  We laughed until we cried.  Although I did see parts of it again over the next few years, I have not watched I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in its entirety since that first time.  As a parody of a film genre, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is more like the films of the former team, Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun series), than it is like the work of Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles).

Keenen Ivory Wayan's talents as a writer are underrated.  What I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and his later hit, Scary Movie (2000), reveal is that Wayans can pile on sight gags, comic references, riffs, funny sounds, replications of famous film moments into a movie, but none of that stops the movie cold.  Almost all of it fits seamlessly into the narrative, so the movie works as whatever genre it is parodying, and is not just a series of gags pretending to be a film narrative.  I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is not just a parody of blaxploitation films; it is a blaxploitation comedy film.  In fact, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is also a loving send-up of blaxploitation films.  There is never a moment when it seems that Wayans holds the genre in disdain.

It would take an incredibly long essay to talk about all the wonderful things in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, so I'll point out a few.  I was happy to see actor Clarence Williams III as the aging revolutionary, Kalinga, show his comic talents.  I also enjoyed Ja'net Dubois' sense of humor and comic timing.  Kim Wayans, Keenen's sister, is always a welcomed sight, here giving her all as a wacky nightclub singer.  Of course, the distinguished Bernie Casey, with that wonderful voice and the way he carries himself, gives any movie in which he appears some credibility that it would have lacked without him.  He should have been a major movie star … alas …

Since Keenen Ivory Wayans co-wrote Hollywood Shuffle, it was often connected to I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.  However, each film had a different purpose, and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka revealed how quickly Wayans arrived as a major Hollywood comedy talent.  I hope new generations of movie audiences discover this thoroughly underrated cinematic comedy gem.

A+
9 out of 10

Wednesday, February 17, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: "HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE" Still Has Something to Say

[Upon its release, Hollywood Shuffle felt like something that needed to be said.  It was time to say enough to the way Black people were portrayed in Hollywood film and television productions.  And yes, maybe some Black actors should have said no to stereotypical roles, as long as they didn't have bills to pay …]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 of 2021 (No. 1754) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Running time:  81 minutes (1hour, 21 minutes)
MPAA – R
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Robert Townsend
WRITERS:  Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Deming
EDITOR:  W.O. Garrett
COMPOSERS:  Udi Harpaz and Patrice Rushen

COMEDY

Starring:  Robert Townsend, Anne-Marie Johnson, Craigus R. Johnson, Helen Martin, Starletta DuPois, David McKnight, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Lou B. Washington, John Witherspoon, Eugene Robert Glazer, Lisa Mende, Dom Irrera, Brad Sanders, Conni Marie Brazelton, Sena Ayn Black, Jesse Aragon, Verda Bridges, Grand L. Bush, and Damon Wayans

Hollywood Shuffle is a 1987 American satirical comedy film from producer-director Robert Townsend.  The film focuses on the trials and tribulations of a Black actor limited to stereotypical roles who dreams of making it as a highly respected actor.

Hollywood Shuffle introduces Robert “Bobby” Taylor (Robert Townsend), a young black man aspiring to become an actor.  Bobby has been preparing for his audition for the lead role in Tinsel Town Pictures' new urban drama.  Entitled “Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge,” this movie about street gangs is full of stereotypes about African-Americans and Latinos.

Bobby's grandmother (Helen Martin) overhears the “jive talk” Bobby uses to practice his lines, and she vociferously expresses her disapproval, while Bobby's mother (Starletta DuPois) is more supportive.  Bobby wants to be a great actor so that he won't have to work at places like his current place of employment, “Winky Dinky Dog.”  Bobby's grandmother says that if he desires a respectable job, there is honest work at the post office.  Bobby believes that if he lands the role of Jimmy in Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge, everything will get better for his career and for his family.  But is that true?  As Bobby works towards his dream, the film also takes a satiric look at African-American actors in Hollywood and at Hollywood in general.

As far as I can tell, it has been over twenty years since I last saw Hollywood Shuffle.  Seeing it after such a long time, I find that it has actually aged well.  African-American actors have made great strides in the American film and television industry since Hollywood Shuffle's first release.  However, in some ways, African-American actors, indeed actors of color and non-white actors, continues to deal with stereotypes about who they are, what roles they should play, and in what kind of films and TV in which they should appear.

There are notions about the limited box office potential of films featuring African-American and non-white actors, especially when they have lead or major roles in films.  Because of that, Hollywood Shuffle's satire remains sharp, if for no other reason than that there are still Bobby Taylors and Bobbi Taylors dealing with casting directors that have concrete, incorrect ideas about the physicality of Black people and performers.

Meanwhile, Hollywood Shuffle is more than a satirical comedy about Hollywood.  It is also a comedy that is both a send-up of and tribute to Hollywood's most familiar genres.  Writers Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and comedian Dom Irrera (who did not receive a screen credit as a writer) fashion numerous skits and sketches that fit well with the main story line, Bobby Taylor's quest.  “Sneaking into the Movies,” a send-up of the late film critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, is unforgettable and much-copied.  Sam Ace and “The Death of a Breakdancer,” a spoof of the detective movies of Hollywood's Golden Era, surprisingly works much better than one might think.  Having a villain like “Jerry Curl” (Keenen Ivory Wayans), with his curl activator addiction, helps.  “Black Acting School” is satire so savage that it is almost strident … almost.  And “ho cakes” is worth remembering.

I am still amazed at how much Townsend and his cast and crew got out of a one-hundred thousand dollar budget.  An exercise in guerrilla filmmaking, Hollywood Shuffle remains one of the top indie comedies and African-American films of the 1980s, showing that imagination, inventiveness, and working together for a common cause can overcome budget constraints … for the most part.

Yes, things are “better than they were.”  As long as white supremacy and white privilege reign in the United States, Hollywood Shuffle will always be relevant and also funny.

A-
7 out of 10

Tuesday, February 16, 2021


NOTES:
1987  Image Awards:  2 nominations:  “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Helen Martin) and “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Robert Townsend)


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: Heroes Abound in "MARSHALL"

[The year after he first played Marvel Comics superhero, Black Panther, the late Chadwick Boseman played real-life hero, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, early in his career when he was a defense attorney defending oppressed African-Americans.  There is something about playing both Thurgood Marshall and the Black Panther that makes an actor special.  That is why some of us both mourn Boseman's passing and celebrate his work.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 of 2021 (No. 1753) by Leroy Douresseaux

Marshall (2017)
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hours, 58 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexuality, violence and some strong language
DIRECTOR:  Reginald Hudlin
WRITERS:  Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff
PRODUCERS:  Reginald Hudlin, Jonathan Sanger, and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Newton Thomas Sigel (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Tom McArdle
COMPOSER:  Marcus Miller
Academy Award nominee

BIOPIC/DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER

Starring:  Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown, Keesha Sharp, John Magaro, Roger Guenveur Smith, Ahna O'Reilly, Jeremy Bobb, Derrick Baskin, Jeffrey DeMunn, Andra Day, Sophia Bush, Jussie Smollett, and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas

Marshall is a 2017 biographical film, period drama, and legal thriller directed by Reginald Hudlin.  The film's lead character is Thurgood Marshall (1908 to 1993), the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Marshall the film focuses on one of the first cases of his career, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, which concerns an African-American chauffeur accused of raping a white woman in 1940.

Marshall opens in 1941.  Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) is an attorney for the “NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,” which he founded.  Marshall travels the country defending people who are accused of crimes solely because of their race.  Upon his return to his New York office, Marshall finds more work waiting for him.  Walter Francis White (Roger Guenveur Smith), Executive Secretary of the NAACP, sends Marshall to Bridgeport, Connecticut.  There, he will defend Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), a chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), in a case that has gripped the newspapers.

In Bridgeport, insurance lawyer, Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), is assigned by his brother, Irwin Friedman (John Magaro), to get Marshall admitted to the local bar, against Sam's will.  At the hearing for Spell, Judge Carl Foster (James Cromwell), a friend of the father of prosecutor Lorin Willis (Dan Stevens), agrees to admit Marshall, but forbids Marshall from speaking during the trial, forcing Friedman to be Spell's lead counsel.  Now, Marshall must guide Friedman through the trial via notes, but is this case a lost cause when Thurgood and Sam discover that it is rife with lies – on both sides.

Marshall is technically a biographical film, focusing on a specific period in the life and career of future Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.  Early in the film, however, it is obvious that director Reginald Hudlin has his mind on making Marshall a film that resembles a 1940s film noir with elements of a legal drama and a crime thriller.  The audience can hear that in Marcus Miller's lovely film score and in the way Hudlin stages the action, uses space, and places the actors.

In one of the film's early moments, when Marshall has his back to the camera and is ironing a shirt, I immediately thought of my favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart, and one of his most famous roles, that of Sam Space in director John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941).  From that point, there is hardly a setting in which Marshall's life does not seem to be in danger.  Hudlin races his audience through a movie that seems to be shorter than its almost two hours of run time.  Is Marshall a courtroom drama?  Yes, and it is also a courtroom thriller with a mystery at its center.

I do wish the father-son screenwriting team of Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff had given the script  more depth, as the narrative is mostly style and genre.  There is also a lack of depth in the  characterization, and the characters are a bit shallow.  As hard as actor Sterling K. Brown tries, he can't seem to really draw anything from the well of defendant Joseph Spell's soul.  Spell comes across as more of a stand-in than an actual portrait of a man whose life is on the line.

The very talented Josh Gad is able to give a lot of color to Sam Friedman, playing as a subtly wily man who is able to navigate his way between conflicting sides.  Kate Hudson, mostly known for romantic comedies, shows some serious dramatic chops as the trapped suburban wife and alleged victim, Eleanor Strubing.  As usual, Roger Guenveur Smith is spry, this time as the real-life Walter Francis Wright.

Of course, in the wake of his 2020 death to complications of colon cancer, Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall will be the center of attention in the film, Marshall, going forward.  Despite a lack of characterization in the film's script, Boseman turns Marshall into a relentless paladin, traveling the countryside fighting the forces of white bigotry and racism.  His field of battle is the courtroom, and black men falsely accused because they are black are the people he defends.  Boseman makes me believe that he is a stubborn attorney and hero in an old-fashioned courtroom drama.  He also makes me believe that he is a superhero, almost a year before he became the beloved Black Panther of Disney/Marvel Studios' Oscar-winning film, Black Panther.

Marshall convinces me that Thurgood Marshall was both a heroic lawyer and a superhero.  The film also convinces me that Boseman was the best at bringing the most famous African-American men to life on the big screen.  Plus, Marshall is a really good movie.

8 of 10
A

Monday, February 15, 2021


NOTES:
2018 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Song” (Common and Diane Warren for song “Stand Up for Something”)

2018 Black Reel Awards:  7 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Jonathan Sanger, Paula Wagner, and Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Victoria Thomas-Casting Director), “Outstanding Score” (Marcus Miller-Composer), “Outstanding Original Song” (Andra Day-Performer, Common-Performer, Writer, and Diane Warren-Writer for the song “Stand Up for Something”), and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (Sterling K. Brown)

2018 Image Awards (NAACP):  5 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Sterling K. Brown), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Keesha Sharp), “and  “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Reginald Hudlin)

The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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