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Review
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Absolutely brilliant, mind-boggling film about race, in
inimitable Lee style. And like many of Lee's brilliant
films, deeply flawed-- yet unforgettable. Damon Wayans
plays Pierre Delacroix, a black tv producer, whose boss,
Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rappaport) demands a hip hit.
Everyone knows that black culture is cutting edge, so Pierre
decides to resurrect a minstrel show, with Manray whom he
renames "Mantan" and "Sleep'nEat" ((Savion Glover and Tommy
Davidson). He holds auditions-- a brilliant, audacious
sequence-- and brings a house band in, and Aunt Jemima and
Junebug and others, and produces an absolutely repellant
program that, of course, becomes a hit. There are big
echoes of "Network" here, but also some utterly amazing, "in
your face" revelations about race in America, including a
brilliant sequence of old film clips and toys at the end
that have surely been consciously or not suppressed for
decades. (All apparently from Spike Lee's own collection).
Some people-- not unexpectedly -- hated this film. Others
loved it. I can understand both points of view, but I can't
see how Lee's talent as a director/writer can be denied, and
I can't see how anyone can avoid encountering the only films
that comment honestlly on race issues in America today.
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