Yet it’s the film’s racial politics, particularly its stereotypical evocation of willing servitude by an African-American, and its characters’ refusal to acknowledge this imbalance of power, which make it not so much old-fashioned as downright retrograde – and likely to go down even worse with black audiences than Driving Miss Daisy. There’s also a fairytale subplot involving the salvation of the local drunk. Its badness is not just a gift, but should be taught at every film program in the country. But as an instruction manual, this movie is manna from heaven. Set in the 70s, Mr Church mercilessly trades in cliches – for instance, Charlotte’s former schoolfriend turns into a rich-bitch fashion designer, her extravagant lifestyle failing to make up for the fact that she can’t have children. Church is about as enjoyable as a plague of locusts. Instead he just enjoys going to Jellys, a supposedly seedy jazz club, and having a skinful – and with such a lack of agency in the rest of his life, no wonder. Sadly for the viewers, by night Mr Church doesn’t turn out to be a cat burglar, habitue of S&M sex dungeons or – better still – a revolutionary plotting to bring about the violent downfall of white America. What he does in his extracurricular time becomes an object of fascination for Charlotte, especially since Mr Church won’t tell. By this time Mr Church is part of the family unit, though he’s still waiting on the pair hand and foot from morning until night and calling Marie “ma’am”. Marie is suffering from breast cancer, but outlives her diagnosis by several years, long enough to see her daughter – now a less objectionable teenager played by Britt Robertson – get taken to her first prom. Con Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson, Lucy Fry, Natascha McElhone, Xavier Samuel.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |