First off, Happy (Day After) Father’s Day to all the father’s of VSB. Good job.
This past weekend, I finally saw Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail. Now slap me silly and call me Susan, but it seems to me like his movies are getting better. Granted, Madea Goes To Jail seemed like two movies that they tried to make into one (there were actually times that I forgot I was watching a Madea-focused movie) but I wasn’t appalled at myself after it went off. And I’ve been mad at myself for watching Tyler Perry movies before.
Now that isn’t to say that it was a great movie or anything, but I found it entertaining enough. I know that sounds like blasphemy but I’m going to run blasphemy into the ground today so strap up, Sally Ride.
Tyler Perry movies serve as a perfect segue into thinking about some movies that actually are much better than they’re given credit for because, well, most of his movies completely suck. Then again, maybe we’re looking at them wrong, and his movies aren’t the only ones. You see there are two movies that are way better than they get credit for and today, they’re going to get their due.
And what movies are those?
Baby Boy and You Got Served
Yes, today, you suckas are gonna get served.
I think I’ve discovered why most people think both of these movies are horrible. And its a reason I can understand but one I’m going to have to ask that folks get over to appreciate the wonderment that was created for our viewing pleasure.
People have trouble suspending reality when it comes to some black movies – myself included.
I don’t think that’s fair. For instance, with Baby Boy, people just had a hard time believing that Tyrese was a hood dude that could wield a gun and be hard in any way shape or form. I’ll admit, it’s a major leap of faith but get this, we all believed Ice Cube was hard as hell in NWA and Boyz N Da Hood and believed he was the scariest person alive in 1991. Tyrese can’t get NO LEEWAY???? Cube was never the thugged out gangsta he portrayed himself to be, hell neither was Dr. Dre for that matter. We suspended reality then and believed these were the hardest cats alive. Cut Tyrese a break already.
The same has to be done for You Got Served, which to me is one of the best comedies of the past 20 years. To enjoy this movie you have to pretend that dancers are the cool cats in the hood and can simultaneously be drug runners, which is a major subplot of the movie. Yes, I know that’s a lot to ask, but if you can get past that, well you have a pretty damn good movie on your hands.
Now that we’ve gotten past the suspension of reality, let’s discuss what makes these movies great. I’m a fella that likes consistency. Both of these movies have total consistency in the terribleness of the acting. I almost think Jon Singleton told everybody on the set of Baby Boy, “look, I know you all thought you were coming to work on a serious movie and some of you have trained as actors/actresses…yeah thats great. F*ck all that, just do what comes natural and we’ll roll film.”
Though we have horrible acting, we have consistently horrible acting throughout the movies. This makes for a paradigm shift of good acting. Essentially, the bare minimum becomes the status quo and voila!!! You’ve got quality acting, relative to the movie. This leads to some memorable scenes and complete unpredictability.
For instance, due to some horrible writing and craptastic plot development, stuff happens that you just don’t see coming – at all. Who could have really predicted that MH and Omarion would be DRUG RUNNERS??? Talk about pulling some sh*t out of you’re a**. Who could predict that Omar Gooding, Jr. would be the HARDCORE cat in a movie and be a cold murderer?
Who could predict that Ving Rhames would have soliloquies about “guns and butter”, “Oedipus complexes”, and drink Kool-Aid buckey nekkid in a kitchen?
Who could predict that a 9-year-old boy would be the hardest chap in You Got Served and would be the one to get murdered kickin’ it with his boys?? Umm…how many people know 9-year-olds who go ridin’ on the hood and end up murdered? Only in LA, I suppose. How many 9 year old gangstas do you know that want to become dancers instead, since that’s the cool thing to do once you’ve maxed out on possibilities from gangbangin??? At 9?
watch sweet land online You can’t tell me you saw that coming. Actually you probably can’t tell me you saw You Got Served, but you get my point.
Fact is, those movies are great when viewed properly even though about 90 percent of folks think they suck. But today…
…you suckas got served a reason to look at them differently.
Those are two of my pesonal favorite great terrible movies? What are some other movies that are actually great despite the bad wrap they get?
Share.
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL, HE A 3
@Panama: Bro, you lost your mind for about two seconds. Even before I keep reading and allow you to explain your theory…
You Got Served is one of the worst movies ever made. Omarion, Batman and Co. should never ever be allowed anywhere near a camera ever again. And thinking about that film only makes me think of “No Chris, No Chris NO” Stokes. SMH.
The only thing good about that movie was Jennifer Nicole Freeman. Period. The End. Ha Finuto.
OK, back to reading. I’ll comment again when finished.
@thismayconcernyou,
OK, I just served myself for commenting before I finished reading the post. The sarcasm is on point … But I still contend that I’d rather go to YouTube and watch 2 Girls, 1 Cup (never seen it) for two hours straight than watch Omarion or Batman act again …
On Baby Boy, IDK. I actually kinda like the film … although it’s horrific. I laugh every time someone tells me they’re making tacos at home thanks to Taraji P. Henson … and I couldn’t get enough of Jody’s mom saying “Please believe me.”
A Few Other Bad Movies I Love:
Hav Plenty, Breakin All The Rules and Armageddon…
@thismayconcernyou,
Watching Breaking All the Rules right now! Luv it!
@Nola Darling,
I love the premise of the movie, but I absolutely hate that Daniel Tapitz decided to write that Gabby Union looks like Halle Berry. All black people look alike, right? Massive fail.
@thismayconcernyou, yeah, that was a massive fail on his part. for white people maybe it was believable but every Black person I know was like WHAT?!?!?!
@Panama Jackson,
I watched Baby Boy after reading this post … and saying Gabby looks like Halle is like when Peanut tells his one clothing “customer” that she looks better than Tyra Banks.
*crickets*
But Peanut was selling a lie, and he knew it. Foxx’s character was trying to sell a 2520′s truth. Not cool. Again, massive fail.
Tyler Perry is awesome for giving new black actors a shot and resurrecting the careers of older black actors that struggle to find work. The only movie I can watch more than once is Diary of a Mad Black Woman. I saw Madea Goes to Jail and the movie was chugging along nicely but then it took a GIANT LEAP (no mother may I ?) to get to the end. Unacceptable.
Next is Belly. Nas & T-Boz leave no bad acting stone unturned. Yet I really enjoy this movie in all of its greasy black people glory.
Followed by State Property. Get down or lay down? Please don’t kill me Beans. Two thumbs up.
Last, I present Booty Call. Bunz & Lysterine anyone?
@Nola Darling,
“Please don’t kill me Beans”…lmmfao!!!…OH sh*t..HAHA
Booty call was funny alright, i liked that movie
@Nola Darling, people sleep on State Property’s comedic value.
@Mr. Mister,
yes. Yes they do.
“You better come with my money in a hurry, cuz if you don’t its a high probability that your girl MIGHT come back pregnant. Cuz she’s kinda cute, and I’m diggin her feet”
Classic.
@Dante_Alexander,
I FORGOT about that line.
**dearly departed**
@Nola Darling,
Belly, without a doubt, goes up here.
Without X being himself, we’d have no reason to watch other than Nas to give us emotionless lines like:
“Ayo, T. I been thinkin… Let’s go to Africa.”
His screen tests must have been off the CHARTS.
@Dante_Alexander,
nas was jus bein nas I liked the way he played the character it was real and believable
@Nola Darling, both State Property movies were greatly horrible. It’s like all of them were trying to be too cool to be actors…while they were acting. terrible.
i wish i had the kind of money to do vanity projects like that.
@Nola Darling,
I will have to agree with Belly too. That movie was so awful it was great.
Which leads me to Shottas. I love that movie. Despite the fact that the little boys in the beginning of the movie looked NOTHING like the men they grew up to be.
@V Renee,
“NOTHING like the men they grew up to be.”
“Weeeeeaaaaan!” (Wayne)
LMAO!! But Spragga and Kymani are so fine, I didn’t even mind. *blushes*
@Me fail english?,
Shottas is my shiiiiiiiii also except Lennox from Belly was a lil bia-bia
True. Ox was kinda lame in shottas. All layin up in the jacuzzi? Straight slippin.
@Nola Darling,
Speaking of State Prop, I’d like to nominate Dame Dash’s son for the world’s sorriest cameo appearance. I have never seen worst acting. And it was ONE effing line. Never before, have you witnessed such automatonicness and roboticism as when the line was uttered, “Psych, I always been fresh to death”. I thought his sprockets were gonna explode and his chassis would surely melt under the extreme heat.
On the flipside, I thought Freeway was alright.
@Nola Darling, State Prop, especially #2, are some of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. They legititmately had a character called El Pollo Loco (played by Nore, the only non spanish speaking PR who reps so hard)
@Peysonic Temple #69,
yea he had his bay area slang in full effect “forshiggadale”? really Nore
@BLUNTBLAZER,
I’m not even from the bay and I noticed this too. This fool is a real life Queens dude playing like he’s from Philly by way of Miami talking bout “U fid-id-id-eel me?”
Someone buy this man an identity.
4real i thought i was tha only one who made the script? 4shiggidale I know e-40 was like dam somebody betta cut me a check
@Nola Darling,
Belly is a Great movie Hype Williams is a great producer The acting was coo for rappers thas my shiiiiiiiiii
@thismayconcernyou, you know, despite the fact tha Hav Plenty is a plenty terrible movie, I watch it every time it comes on. Same with G.
Chenoa Maxwell has to be one of THE worst actresses like ever, yet she entertains me so much. Especially in Hav Plenty. Her attitude seemed so retardedly fabricated.
I almost wonder if these directors in these movies just say, “look, anything you’ve learned in acting school..yeah, f*ck that…just do what you feel…and oh yeah, one take so make it a good one.”
@Panama Jackson,
Here we go Panama … “40 ounces of love … so intoxicating … 40 ounces of love … so inebriating … girl I’m getting drunk off you …”
That humor is ridiculous. But Hav Plenty actually has a good message. If it was remade with a real budget, it could do damage at the box office.
Just wonder who’d play Babyface and Tracey, cause they sure in the hell wouldn’t do that together.
tyrese playing the character of jody wasn’t the issue for me in Baby Boy. i dislike the movie becuz i think it’s a bad movie. the terrible acting aside, the plot wasn’t good and did not really (to me) address the greater dilemma, as presented in the first 30sec or so of the movie, about the maturing (or lack thereof) of adolescent males in the “hood”.
there are SO many things wrong in that movie that i won’t even get into. but the one thing that was completely ignored and unnecessary was jody’s other child. what ever happened to her?? they NEVER revisit her or the baby mama. they only focus on jody’s relationship with yvette and their son.
now if you just look at it from a comical perspective, it’s mildly entertaining. who doesn’t like to scream “JODY! JODY!” in that annoying high pitched voice that taraji has as yvette?? and the character rodney — pure comedy when he kicks through the pillows around jody/yvette’s son and says “f*ck yo lil fort”.
i basically can’t really find a way to make this movie NOT get it’s “bad wrap”… cuz it deserves it imho.
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay, “i dislike the movie becuz i think it’s a bad movie. the terrible acting aside, the plot wasn’t good and did not really (to me) address the greater dilemma, as presented in the first 30sec or so of the movie, about the maturing (or lack thereof) of adolescent males in the “hood”. ”
That was my problem with the movie. The acting and plot was not good and it was hard to get through the whole movie.
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay,
“f*ck yo lil fort”
HEEYIKHEEYIK *wild hyena laughter*
@Me fail english?,
lolololol ole snoop in the wife beater lol aka monty burns long lost son
@BLUNTBLAZER,
“monty burns long lost son”
Exxxxxcellent!
@Me fail english?,
Did I ever tell you how I love that your very moniker is a daily reminder of how much I adore Ralph Wiggum? Because I do.
“That’s unpossible!” and “This tomacco tastes like grandma” is full of greatness.
@Cheekie,
lol!
“Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and then the baby looked at me.”
Ralph is def in my top 3 Simpsons characters with Burns and Moe
@Me fail english?,
Oh hells yes. You rounded out my favorite Ralph quotables with that one! That definitely makes the tummy hurt.
@BLUNTBLAZER,
Hee! Right, he looks like he can’t pick up a toothpick. Like how Mr. Burns is always struggling with the lightest objects. lol
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay, so what you’re saying is that Jon Singleton has no effin’ clue what he’s doing.
In Higher Learning he did TOO much, in Baby Boy he didn’t address enough.
he has a problem with the happy medium. and no discussion of Jon Singleton is complete without mentioning the GREATNESS that is Poetic Justice.
seriously, Poetic Justice may be the most important movie in Black History.
or not.
@Panama Jackson,
poetic justice was good becuz JS wasn’t trying too hard to make the movie deep (aside from all the poetic soliloquies). it just ran it’s course without a lot of fuss. it had enough moments to tap into the view’s many different emotions. the acting wasn’t great, but the plot was good enough for a complete story.
@Panama Jackson,
I liked Poetic Justice. And it earned major points for having a character named Chicago.
Like, who DOES that to their child? Hilarious.
@Cheekie, i’m gonna go ahead and take a shot in the dark and say that Chicago was his nickname, cuz he was from Chicago and his real name was something like Arthur. i have no proof, but i’m just guessing dude’s real name wasn’t Chicago.
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay,
Oh those were great moments! I love baby boy, not in spite of its horribleness, but because of it. It’s one of those “it’s so bad it’s good” movies. I loved every wretched moment! Especially at the end when omar gooding prays and askes God for forgiveness because he’s a dumb ninja and thus not accountable for his actions, and on top of that askes for protection from some other ninja’s they about to do a drive by on–CLASSIC!!! It hurts so good!
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay,
“f*ck yo lil fort”.
YES! I wanna build some obnoxious little kid’s pillow fort MYSELF just so I can knock it down and say this. Wish I looked malnutritioned in a wife-beater because then it would be art.
@Cheekie,
LMBAO@ the visual of you playing nice just to be able to kick the zhit over and make the baby cry!
@Me fail english?,
And I want to specifically do this to those precocious little kids who are wittier than I was at that age. HATE.
@Cheekie,
NOT build some little’s kids fort only to knock it down. wowsers!! *dead*
and yes, the super tall, malnourished look in a white wife-b is a MUST!
I think Baby Boy is a good film, minus some somewhat over the top dialogue moments and the presence of Snoop. Yes I die laughing every time I hear “F*ck yo lil fort” too, but I can’t take him seriously EVER. I’d like to believe there was some sort of poiganant irony in Singleton’s casting of one of the biggest living coons who is an eternal 19 year old in a film that deals with adulthood, but truth of the matter is that I am one of the few residents of Negronia who really hates Snoop. Le sigh. But not believing Tyrese wasn’t an issue for me. He’s a capable actor, I rode with him and lil Gooding (who is a better actor to me than his brother). Plus, Jody wasn’t hard, that was a big theme of the movie. He was grasping at masculinity as best as he could. I think the bigger problem was later on, when he believed he was hard in real life and tried to rap. Four words for you, Jody: “the My Way video”. Two more: “CHIN PIERCING”!
The only (other) bad part of Baby Boy was Mo’Nique’s then-huge arse saying she wore a size 16. I was a 16 back then and took deep offense to that. She was a 24 at the least.
I never saw U Got Served. I’m good on that.
I think She Hate Me is a great, terrible movie. It was about too many daggone things, but it was entertaining if not completely WTF and absurd. I’d say Girl 6 as well, because it was so universally panned. But I’d call that a “great, okay movie” or just a good movie.
@Sister Toldja,
“F*ck yo lil fort” too”
Thank you for bringing this back into play. I had totally forgotten about it …
@Sister Toldja,
“…Wash all my sins away so they can open up them gates for me. I don’t want Jesus to be like, ‘Turn yo ass around lil ni@@a.’” ~ Omar Gooding’s character in Baby Boy ….
SMH.
@thismayconcernyou, that scene alone made me revisit my life as a thugged out econ major. so much unintentional comedy. i love it.
@thismayconcernyou,
That line had me dying! Appearantly, Jesus is a thug too!
@Sister Toldja,
“The only (other) bad part of Baby Boy was Mo’Nique’s then-huge arse saying she wore a size 16. I was a 16 back then and took deep offense to that. She was a 24 at the least. ”
LOL!!!! As a member of team chunk, I’ve been calling Mo’Nique out for years…especially back then, she wasn’t fooling NOBODY!
@Sister Toldja,
lol. Yeah, I think that was one of the running jokes in the movie. That “Black Ty” was not hard at all. He was loser with a pissy attitude…which I can certainly believe.
I even bought Omar “Wild & Crazy Kids” Gooding’s gangster.
I just love when the hairdresser says he’s “gon squeeze [his] tiny asz in this” and then makes the popping sound with his mouth. LOL!
@Me fail english?,
“I just love when the hairdresser says he’s “gon squeeze [his] tiny asz in this” and then makes the popping sound with his mouth. LOL!”
YES! My bro-in-law gets hella angry when he does that.
Also, I wanted to kick Ving Rames’ arse in that movie…man his character was mad annoying with all that “you youngins don’t know nothing” jive turkey talk. But, my little self woulda just hen-pecked him behind his back just like Jody did. I ain’t even gonna front. That mf probably couldn’t broke my arm with his lip.
@Me fail english?,
Oh my, I forgot all about “Wild and Crazy Kids”. I used to watch that on Nickelodeon. *sniff* To be young again *sigh*.
@Sister Toldja,
I also think Baby Boy was a good movie… because it actually attempted to answer some serious questions about serious and real situations… The psychological background of it all gives it some credence IMHO.
Also, I think that about 95 percent of the people who comment on this blog could write a better screenplay than Tyler Perry.
His story lines are remedial. Take this for example: How many times did Tyler Perry’s character in “Why Did I Get Married?” have to remind someone who already knew his occupation that he was a doctor? SMH.
I still support all of his non-Madea-laced films because he is getting better. But I don’t think the Academy is gonna come calling anytime soon.
@thismayconcernyou, LOL! “Could you believe, my dear friend, that when we were roomates in college where we attended together and became friends which we still are some 20 years later, that you would be a sucessful doctor and I a government contractor and that we would both have shaky relationships with our wives and middle class lifestyles?” I think that was a direct quote.
@Sister Toldja,
The one that got me was when dude was coming at him with his “IT BUUURRRNSS” situation, and he was like .. “Hello, I am a doctor.”
Well no sh1t, Sherlock. That’s why he came to you. Get his a$$ some medicine and stop spewing sh1t that we already know. You’re wasting my damn time. smh.
@Sister Toldja, that one scene was definitely a stretch. however, i don’t actually think they over did it too much on that end. in fact, i think that was the only scene were they specifically and overtly stated what htey were doing…and i’m guessing its bc TP had no clue how else to write it in.
The Best Man had a similar scene when all four of them were playing cards and Taye Diggs went out of his way to mention that Morris Chestnutt graduated Summa Cum Laude, etc. And talking about Merch’s lawyer possibilities, etc.
sometimes i think these folks just dont know how create dialogue that isn’t so in your face…but they’ll sacrfice one scene for it.
d’oh well.
@thismayconcernyou, I’m not going to lie… Seeing grown up Rudy portray a prostitute…. not believeable to me. The attitude…all that made me giggle.
I’ll stick to the plays…at least there the over acting is accepted.
@Ro,
Google thismayconcernyou and Rudy Huxtable… this is my hope for Rudy. Not the crackwhorish prostitution. lol.
@Ro, you know what made it unbelievable to me?
them hoez were SO dirty. in ATL, most of our hoez look way cleaner then that. I mean the wigs were terrible. back in the day, on Stewart Ave (or more recently Metropolitan) the tricks looked pretty well put together. I mean ATL is a pretty chick city, the competition is steep. you cant’ just show up looking like a dirty yamp. You got to be nice and clean lookin’.
plus, she looked dirty as hell but had the best set of pearly whites you ever did see.
she needed more people.
and on another note, there were so many plot holes in that movie.but its a TP movie, they all have plot holes.
@Ro,
i think i read in essence “rudy” was saying she had to talk to women who’d been on drugs to get down the “addict” part. i was like chick please!!! you’s a cokehead if i ever knew one!! it’s no secret around ATL that ms. knight-pulliam likes to PARTAY.
@Gem…BeThatAsItMay, lol. so true. did you read her interview where she laughed off the rumors of her “use”. as if to say she never did that…LOL.
we don’t believe you…cuz lots of us have seen you…
@thismayconcernyou,
“How many times did Tyler Perry’s character in “Why Did I Get Married?” have to remind someone who already knew his occupation that he was a doctor? SMH.”
C’mon now…you know that’s REAL LIFE. Doctors always feel the need to make themselves feel better by announcing the fact that they are a “doctor”.
@Monk,
Maybe your doctor or the MDs that are just finishing medical school and are amped to put M.D. behind there names. But not a seasoned doctor. That ish is annoying as hell.
What Tyler Perry did with that character in that movie is akin to some hoodrat tattooing her own name on her person.
Do you really think that you’re going to forget your name? Do you think that you’re going to forget that you’re a doctor? smh. lol.
@thismayconcernyou,
“Maybe your doctor or the MDs that are just finishing medical school and are amped to put M.D. behind there names. But not a seasoned doctor. That ish is annoying as hell.”
Naah dude…a lot of them are pretentious a$$ holes. There’s no way of getting around that.
@Monk, agreed
Baby boy is one of my favorite comedies! I keep it right next to the Will Ferrell movies.
You got Served…. *sigh* You got served was and still is a horrible movie to me. I’m sorry but seeing the soul glo from q-ball houston’s head for an hour and a half or the pippy longstocking inspired braids of the icebox king… yea I’ll pass.
@Ro, i love You Got Served. i laughed so hard the first time I watched it. i was like, how come nobody else see’s the unintentional comedy in this.
great great horrible movie.
@Panama Jackson, 1/3 into the movie my posse and i started a drinking game with lemonade cuz it was mid-afternoon and we’re not lushes. But everytime q-ball’s head had a spotlight glisten you throw one back.
Needless to say I’m glad alcohol wasn’t involved….we’d all be dead.
Seriously I’ve been telling people for years now that Baby Boy is the funniest unintentional comedy ever created and no movie shall take the throne. I mean Snoop is the villain. I know it has been said already but everyone needs to know Snoop is the villain. The guns and butter scene, the scene when Snoop calls the house and Tyrese answers, the scene when they caught the kids that robbed Tyrese, the scene where Ving choked Tyrese out, there are so many classics. I’m laughin just thinkin about it.
I don’t remember You Got Served so I’ll let y’all have that one although I did see it at one point.
@A-Town Genius,
Speaking of Ving……..Holiday Heart.
@Nola Darling, STOP, just stop!
@Nola Darling,
*dead*
I like Tyler Perry movies. The writing could be better in most of his movies, but considering he didn’t get the backing and support from the major film studios/Hollywood like other movies, he’s done a good job.
@Leila,
I think he’s done a good job of filling a void — making black films.
Hollywood stopped seeing them as profitable for some reason or another after about Brown Sugar, which makes little to no sense.
All Tyler did was work his way up, and fill the void — albeit with some trash, specifically Madea, that the city dump wouldn’t accept.
@thismayconcernyou, @ Leila
I think this is a case of opening the fridge to see only ramen noodles and deluding yourself in to beliving that ramen noodles are a nutritional and acceptable meal. In reality, you eat them because that is all you have and memories of the last time you had some fish and broccoli will not fill you up. And so you are appreciative of the person who brought home those noodles, even though they had saved up for quite a while and could have brought you some salmon or at least some whiting. Plus, ramen doesn’t require much thought and can be so easily digested.
I’d say more, but I am gonna save this analogy for my own blog.
@Sister Toldja,
I didn’t get any further than “I think this is a case of opening the fridge to see only ramen noodles and deluding yourself…” before I started laughing.
Your analogy is so on point.
@Sister Toldja,
I absolutely love that you just compared Tyler Perry to Manchurian’s finest product. It’s quite fitting.
I’ve got something for you to play with while writing this … I’m about to DM you. Not that you’d need it.
@Sister Toldja, yeah I tend to agree with you too. despite the fact that they suck, i’m sort of glad that they’re at least getting made. but i often find it difficult to understand why they’re SO beloved. i’ve gotten into heated debates with people about his movies who have defended them as being great and for me hating myself (lots of folks apparently think i hate myself) for not loving them. lol.
@Sister Toldja,
Oooh, what an apt analogy. Co-signage.
@Sister Toldja,
WHat’s your top ramen doing in the fridge?!
I agree with you though. The only thing Tyler Perry is good for is raking in a whole buncha dough so other black films get green-lighted. I hate his films with a passion so deep, my soul’s been displaced.
You Got Served…..UHMMMMM NO COMMENT! (THEN AGAIN….THIS IS THE SAME DUDE THAT SAID THE RAY-J CD WAS HOT *SMH*)
Baby Boy on the other hand I did like. I actually had to go see the movie for an African Studies class. There was no pre-discussion we were just told to go see it. I left the theater thinking it was bad until I got to class. In class we discussed black men & how a lot of black mothers sort of ruin their sons. We looked at the history of black men in America and why as mothers we feel the need to protect our sons in such a manner that we actually stop them from growing. It was a deep convo and I believe that was the point of the movie but I think a lot of this was lost due to poor acting.
So I really do appreciate the message from the movie as a mom & it actually has become one of my favorite movies after that discussion. Also, one of my favorite movie lines “HE DONT LOVE ME NOOOO MO” comes from Baby Boy & the fact that I got to sit and lust over that fine a$$ chocolate chip Tyrese for 90 minutes!!
Watching a Tyler Perry movie is just as bad as reading a “black” novel by one of those authors with initials or 3 d@mn names!!! WE CAN DO BETTER!!!!
@Yaa,
So you mean to tell me that Zane, EJD and E. Lynn aren’t your favorite authors? You disappoint me. *smh* … lol.
@Yaa,
On a basically unrelated note, I cringe when I see profiles (especially of those 18 and under) whose favorite books are “Sex Chronicles,” anything the EJD or Omar Tyree writes (including Flyy Girl), and “The Coldest Winter Ever.”
Nice books? The verdict’s still out on that. I mean they helped pass the time when I had a free hour or so (still haven’t delved into a Zane novel. After reading a chapter in high school I was permanently scarred). Will we learn any lessons from them, literary or otherwise? Probably not.
Bonus points for those whose favorite books are any of the above, preceded by The Bible. Fixeth thy lifeth.
@Beez, I attempted one time to read a EJD novel and 4 paragraphs in, I started sneezing uncontrollably and got a sharp pain in my temples. I thought it was just because spring had started. Then, a few weeks later, I attempted a Zane offering, and felt ill to the pit of my stomach. I realized then…
I’m allergic to bad “literature”.
@blackberry molasses,
yeah, I’ve heard bad literature is one of the main causes of brain cancer in people whose vocabulary surpasses that of an 8th grader. I suggest you stay away from it at all costs….
@Yaa, UHMMMMM NO COMMENT! (THEN AGAIN….THIS IS THE SAME DUDE THAT SAID THE RAY-J CD WAS HOT *SMH*)
so um, have you actually listened to a Ray J CD? now, i’m not saying its Marvin Gaye, but his album Centerview actually was a good album. sure its Ray J, but he did manage to put together a good album. i think folks get more caught up in the fact thatits Ray J, which is fair, that its impossible to look at him in any other light…even though his music is about the same sh*t we all laugh at him about…so its very authentic in that vein.
i like Ray J in general though. i swear i feel like he’d be the perfect hanging partna. you’d get into all kinds of shenanigans dealing with that dude.
and ain’t that what life’s about? shenanigans??
and um, SMH deez.
Shenanigans with Brandy’s Lil Brother?? I would pass!! Yeah I listened to it but I would rather write a research paper with corresponding timelines, charts & exhibits on the disappearance of her hairline than to listen to it again. But to each his own!!
Dayuuum..I gave you props for Baby Boy lets just keep it right there
On the quoteability scale, Baby Boy ranks right up there with The Color Purple and You So Crazy. Can’t count how many times I’ve told a boyfriend “I hate you Jody” after he’s done something good and terrible. That line pretty much deads any argument because you’ll both be on the floor laughing. Quoteworthiness is a good enough reason to rewatch a flick, so I can overlook the acting.
For that matter, I’mma go out on a “revoke my negro pass” limb and say the acting in ANY John Singleton movie is plum terrible. Boyz in the Hood (except Fishburn), Higher Learning (really Tyra???), et al feature some of the worst acting performances known to man.
As for underrated great awful movies, I submit the entire cinematic canon of one Jennifer Lopez. Selena? Killed it. The Cell? Dope. Wedding Planner? (with the exception of her character, Maria, being inexplicably Italian) Exceptional. Monster-In-Law? TBS, you can’t possibly play this movie often enough. I think I own the most JLo DVDs of any non-latina this side of the Rio Grand. Matter of fact, she’s the only way I’d ever see a Tyler Perry movie.
@Sheffield Swats,
“Higher Learning (really Tyra???), ”
You know they were dating when that came out right? I’m convinced that’s the only way she got a role in that movie…lol
@miss t-lee,
he saw her “Ohh!” face and immediately said “THAT’S DEJA! WHEN SHE DIES!”
@Dante_Alexander,
*snickering*
@Dante_Alexander, OMG GNR
@Dante_Alexander,
*playing toni tony tone song “Deja”* lol
@Sheffield Swats,
You didn’t think Morris Chestnut or Ice Cube did a good job in “Boyz”? Matter of fact, I think Cuba and the black cop were the only ones who really sucked.
Also, I luv J. Lo and HATE her films. You honestly liked Enough? Maid in Manhattan?
*vomits on your DVDs*
@Me fail english?,
*vomits on your DVDs* .
I quit you.
@Me fail english?, Also, I luv J. Lo and HATE her films. You honestly liked Enough? Maid in Manhattan?
Then you are my mortal enemy. *bows. Takes out samurai sword* I pretty much despise JLo’s entire career (who makes odes to both Diddy and Ben Affleck) except her acting. The hairstylist for Maid in Manhattan should’ve gotten an Oscar for special achievement in baby bangs. And Enough is just damn entertaining. Lest we forget U Turn and Out of Sight *slaps you with both vomit-covered DVDs*
In Boyz, Cuba, the Black Cop, Morris (it’s hard to play someone who can catch, barely read, and wear leather pants? Doubt it.) were all awful as was Nia Long. Watch it again and listen to her telling Cuba why she’s saving it for marriage. Her first role, yes, but her delivery borders on tragicomic.
@Sheffield Swats, “The hairstylist for Maid in Manhattan should’ve gotten an Oscar for special achievement in baby bangs.”
Bwhahahhahaha
@Sheffield Swats,
*prepares for battle*
HOW COULD YOU?! The way Nia got pushed when Trey went looking for justice? That alone deserves a Tony of some sort. And yes i’m aware that Tony’s are for stage productions, but..uh..that’s how much she broke the mold (doesn’t feel like hitting backspace)
@Me fail english?, I prefer Nia’s performance in Made In America
@Sheffield Swats,
I liked that one too! I used to tape stuff off of HBO and on one 6 hour tape I had “Stay Tuned”, “Searching for Bobby Fisher” and “Made in America” on the same reel. Best tape…EVAR!
@Me fail english?,
Girl, stop. I LOVE Enough. It made me wanna buy some new Timbs just to kick some ninja’s arse.
And that little girl is so cute. Like when that lady asks her name and she’s like, “I don’t know anymore” because she had to keep changing her name for protection. lol
@Sheffield Swats, i think Boyz In The Hood was a good movie. now you’re right, Cuba’s acting was on some BS but it was sufficient in that he didn’t ruin the movie.
PLUS…and this is a big PLUS…it taught us all to zig-zag-zig when running from somebody who’s shooting. we all probably thought about, but seeing Ricky’s ass get lit up b/c he ran straight put it all in perspective.
no straight lines.
@Panama Jackson,
Also, no room for scratch-off lottery tickets in the ghetto. It’s a war out here!
@Panama Jackson, so it gets what, a PSA award? Whatever award they give to extra good after-school specials, I’m cool with. Aside from nostalgia’s sake and Cube’s extra wet curl I’m good on BITH.
Movies that come out in January or September aren’t released…they ESCAPE.
Movies that involve Cube, Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, or MTV tend to come out during these death months for a reason. Vacations are over and everyone is focused on getting back up to speed with work/school, so these flicks get to avoid any real abuse. And anyone desperate enough to see a movie in these times (e.g. you need somewhere to go on a date because you live in Slidell) won’t mind much.
Now, that aside, there are types of suspense of disbelief one can employ to enjoy different types of movies. One excellent way is to look at a movie as a video game. This is what makes the more “doin’ the most” *ss action flicks like Live Free or Die Hard, the most recent Rambo, or a Transporter or Fast & The Furious flick fun to watch. This will NOT however, help Punisher: War Zone, which was simply an atrocity from soup to nuts that made Elektra look like an Oscar winner for best picture.
Other good likenings include thrill ride (the Bourne movies), cartoon (Role Models), and acid trip (Vanilla Sky).
But none of this will work for a movie that isn’t the type you want or like to see. If you’re some indie film freak, you’re likely better off waiting until December to nut off in the theatre…that’s your time because mainstream America is busy buying gifts, leaving theaters open to hipster queers like yourself. All you strict chick flick types better let your boyfriends roll with the fellas to the summer blockbusters (vice versa for the dudes when Sex & The City 2 is due out). And parents getting nagged by your kids to see the umpteenth CGI talking animal convention…well, bring a flask and some Eclipse and brace for impact.
@Stuff Ghetto People Like,
If you’re some indie film freak, you’re likely better off waiting until December to nut off in the theatre…that’s your time because mainstream America is busy buying gifts, leaving theaters open to hipster queers like yourself.
That made me laugh out loud… because I had an Indie fest in my living room this week-end… Couldn’t find any good movie to watch at my local foreign art theater… Hipster queer, you say? Hmmm! I like
By the way, Arranged and Chop Shop rawked!