Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

frenchjuice The most intriguing aspect of this film is not the film itself but the public's reaction to it. From multiple message boards I saw questions like if this is racist, a new Do the Right Thing, or if this film is even needed. From there it is clear that this film is doing something right. A great film does not try to make you agree with the issue but it raises the correct questions. It does not matter the answer the viewers got from the film as long as the viewers are asking the questions. After this film I too asked a lot of questions about race, and not about black cultures but of all different ones. The film does a really good job of balancing the four main characters, and while sometimes the characters seem more stereotypical, there are also couple of quirky aspect there as well that balances it out. Tessa Thompson as Sam White is the centrepiece of the movie, and she excels in her job as she does not overshadow the other characters but often compliments them. Lionel Higgins played by Tyler James Williams plays a very lovable character that faces not one, but two different prejudices. However in the film his skin colour dominates his sexual orientation making this feel more like a gimmick than a fully realized character sketch. Kyle Gallner as Kurt Fletcher and Teyonah Parris as Coco Conners rounds off the main characters and they too felt authentic in their role. Kurt's subplot with his father was very real but Coco's problem about wanting to be white felt so superficial. There is a lot of quirky shots as well, and for the first ten minutes I was hooked by it's use of documentary style shots of the various campuses throughout the school. Unfortunately the unique style dissipates after a while, and the film whilst beautiful filled with unique shots never goes back to the quirky, almost meta style it had before. I wish that the level of ingenuity remained throughout the movie. Overall the movie is fun and has different styles to keep you entertained and in the end you will want to ask all the right questions while leaving with very different answers.

Jeong Ung Song The most intriguing aspect of this film is not the film itself but the public's reaction to it. From multiple message boards I saw questions like if this is racist, a new Do the Right Thing, or if this film is even needed. From there it is clear that this film is doing something right. A great film does not try to make you agree with the issue but it raises the correct questions. It does not matter the answer the viewers got from the film as long as the viewers are asking the questions. After this film I too asked a lot of questions about race, and not about black cultures but of all different ones. The film does a really good job of balancing the four main characters, and while sometimes the characters seem more stereotypical, there are also couple of quirky aspect there as well that balances it out. Tessa Thompson as Sam White is the centerpiece of the movie, and she excels in her job as she does not overshadow the other characters but often compliments them. Lionel Higgins played by Tyler James Williams plays a very lovable character that faces not one, but two different prejudices. However in the film his skin colour dominates his sexual orientation making this feel more like a gimmick than a fully realized character sketch. Kyle Gallner as Kurt Fletcher and Teyonah Parris as Coco Conners rounds off the main characters and they too felt authentic in their role. Kurt's subplot with his father was very real but Coco's problem about wanting to be white felt so superficial. There is a lot of quirky shots as well, and for the first ten minutes I was hooked by it's use of documentary style shots of the various campuses throughout the school. Unfortunately the unique style dissipates after a while, and the film whilst beautiful filled with unique shots never goes back to the quirky, almost meta style it had before. I wish that the level of ingenuity remained throughout the movie. Overall the movie is fun and has different styles to keep you entertained and in the end you will want to ask all the right questions while leaving with very different answers.

westplainsmom Dear Brown People...Yes, I see I have already offended some people with this title. I made myself set through the whole monotonous film trying to something out of it. It just didn't happen. It was like an after-school special that was an hour too long. I believe Justin Simien had to create this movie to remove some pent-up emotion from some traumatic racial episode he has had in the past. I am giving it a 3 only because I am feeling in a generous mood today. I believe Rodney King could have created a movie called 'Can't We all Just Get Along' and it would have been ten times more entertaining than this depiction of racial hatred. I had a bad feeling those who were not singing 'Follow the drinking gourd' in the theater might be escorted out...

AntoineMDevine I was not sure how I felt about this film until gave it more thought after viewing it. I was thrown a bit because James was not really the star. I thought he might play the Greek chorus role, narrating and summarizing what was happening as the movie progressed. While Lionel had some impact toward the end, it seemed that he was just another student whose experiences came to the forefront on occasion in the midst of other events. His actions at the party seemed tacked on rather than a depiction of actual anger. He seemed too detached up to that event to care that much. The scene that struck me the most was when Dean Fairbanks (Dennis Haysbert-"The Unit") lectured his son. It was what he didn't say that was important. He told his son, in subtle terms, that hanging out and acting like the white frat boys would sink his ambitions. If Spike has written this speech, I believe he would have been more explicit. I believe Mr. Lee would have said, in no uncertain terms, that those "white boys" had their futures set for them as long as they didn't blow it completely. The path to the executive suite, law firm partnership or high political office was already theirs as long as they followed the tried and true path set for them by their parents. College was a just a step along the way. Graduation (not high grades) is all that is needed. He didn't tell him explicitly that these same people would be the ones leaking information about his past if he ever came in competition with them. Their families and friends could protect them; his could not. He would have told him that he was mistaken to believe that he was equal by merely attending the same school. That soliloquy and what it suggested comprised some of the movies' best lines.The party scene, offensive enough on its own, took on new meaning during the credits, which reported that parties like this one were occurring today at the nation's college campuses. A sad indictment that informs us the notion of racial equality is still a pipe dream in the US of A, generations from fruition. The children have, unfortunately, been "taught well."