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Capone thinks that FOR COLORED GIRLS is not only Tyler Perry's best film, it's also one of the best movies he's seen all year!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
This film affords me the opportunity to do something I've never once done: review a Tyler Perry-directed film. (I'd also one day love to interview the man because I think his life and career are fascinating.) As difficult as it may be to believe, I've seen every single Perry joint since his 2005 big-screen debut DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN (which he didn't actually direct), and it seems that about every six to nine months, the man drops another film that either tackles some seriously silly material or a heightened drama or an unstable combination of the two. I've actually liked a couple of his films outright, but more often than not what I enjoy are certain sections of each film. Pretty much anything featuring Perry's female alter-ego Madea, I can't stand. It just isn't that funny. And while some critics who have reviewed his films in the past tend to take the position that Perry isn't a big fan of black men (who seem to be the villains in 100 percent of his films), I choose to think he just expects more of them than society seems to.
With this in mind, it seems that the 1974 Tony-winning play from Ntozake Shange, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf," would be right up Perry's alley in terms of its focus on the struggles of black women. The play was a series of poetic monologues spoken by one of nine women, but Perry has done something kind of remarkable with FOR COLORED GIRLS and turned that format into a series of interweaving stories, but with many of the monologues still very much in place. He's updated a couple of the characters' worlds (Perry introduces HIV into one of the women's lives), and he's turned the monologues into these rhythmic injections of a self-discovery and self-awareness that brought out some very deep emotions in this white male audience member.
Played by some of the most gifted black actresses of our time (Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton, Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Kimberly Elise, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson and Kerry Washington), these women are put through some awful tests of endurance--rape, physical abuse, the death of children, the absence of self respect, back-alley abortions, personal heartbreak, and the list goes on. What FOR COLORED GIRLS emphasizes to perfection is not that people can make it through such tragedies through inner strength, but that often inner strength comes from a communal experience and relying on others to carry you through the toughest times. This isn't a story about prayer or God, in fact the religious woman (Goldberg) is treated with a great deal of disdain. Instead, this is a call for women to unify around their shared experiences at the hands of men. (Sorry, dudes. While there are certainly a couple of nice guys in this movie, most of the men in this film are still the oppressors.)
While all of the actresses in FOR COLORED GIRLS are quite good, I want to single out a couple who are doing things I've simply never seen before. Kimberly Elise (BELOVED, JOHN Q, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN) is a goddess here as Crystal, a woman whose children are taken from her quite cruelly in a sequence that will haunt me for years to come. But even before that, she's endured years of physical abuse by a mentally unstable boyfriend (Michael Ealy) and mental abuse by her boss, a fashion magazine editor (Jackson). When Crystal finally collapses, Elise sells it so solidly that I don't know how either of them crawled back out of that hole. Her performance will quite simply destroy you and, eventually, fortify you. Another tremendous effort comes from Anika Nomi Rose (DREAMGIRLS) as Yasmine, who must find the strength to pull her life back together after a graphic sexual assault. The scenes of her cowering in her apartment are painful to watch.
I was also most impressed with Rashad's work as Gilda in FOR COLORED GIRLS. Rashad has pretty much owned the stage since her time opposite Bill Cosby. She plays the soothing voice of reason in an apartment building where a few of the characters live or visit frequently. I just look at her, and I feel a little bit better about the world. The monologues are handled quite nicely. Characters slip in and out of delivering them almost like they had fallen asleep (or perhaps finally woken up) and are someplace where poetry is the language of the time and place. (It's not that different than watching a musical where characters move from speaking to singing and back.) And the words... my goodness, those words are something powerful. Rose's speech about rape is traumatic. Thandie Newton's Tangie delivers a harsh poem about channeling the hatred she feels toward her mother (Goldberg) into an uncontrolled succession of sexual conquests, bringing home a different man every night. A lot of For Colored Girls is going to make you very uncomfortable, and every once and while that's probably an okay thing to happen.
I saw this film in a roomful of critics, many of whom were visibly shaken by its power (me included), some even cried. But I'd really love to see this film again with a paying crowd. It doesn't happen nearly enough that I get to share that unhindered emotional experience at any kind of movie, and I can only imagine what the outpouring of pure feeling would be like at FOR COLORED GIRLS. For those who think Perry is strictly an amateur-hour filmmaker, this work should at least temporarily silence that crowd. Clearly a passion project for Perry, one he took his time piecing together, FOR COLORED GIRLS takes the shortest and most painful way into your soul and rides it out until you're a quaking mess of pure liquid emotion. Yes ultimately, the film leaves us lifted and ready to face life head on thanks to these remarkable women. Don't be afraid of this one; step into the light and be a little bit reborn.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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Readers Talkback
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Is this the same Tyler Perry? The man who draws men with a crayon?
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Black dudes are villians and white men and women are all rich and completely brainless and petty. It's hard to get past his racial blanket statements to enjoy any positive message he tries to convey. I'll pass.
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Keep it real, Capone . . .
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But good for Perry. The actors made it interesting -- the pedigree, too. I'm glad you think Perry pulled it off.
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Nov. 5, 2010, 10:55 a.m. CST
I went on a date with a chick who loved Tyler Perry movies
by rev_skarekroe
I even went on a second date with her because she was hot. But clearly it was not fated to be.
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Hahaha! Man, that's some funny stuff. I think that's Spike Lee who used that term, not Perry, and you sure don't look "down" by using it.
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who hates black men. While he does get a lot out of his actors in dramatic films, his comedies are just NOT funny.
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So I won't.
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Black chicks as well as white chicks that have a thing for this genre eat it up, and damn it, I don't blame the dude for catering and making a mint. I'd do the same shit.
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Am I racist?
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and I do the same thing ric. Maybe both of us are racist.
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had had a nose job to give herself a cute little white girl nose. She wouldn't be my therapist anymore. When something is that incongruous out of the gate, any further investment you place in the film is pure generosity. <br></br> <br></br> As far as i'm concerned Tyler Perry owes me, OWES ME! for sitting through his best film. Which I thought was a shabby, glib insulting mess. <br></br> <br></br> With 'For Colored Girls' he has a headstart as he didn't write it he only adapted it. Sadly, Ice Cream dipped in shit is still shitty Ice Cream. So if it is in anyway not good. I'm going to phone the people that want Randy Quaid dead and tell them to add Tyler Perry to the list. <br></br> <br></br> Why Did I get Married? (More like What the fuck am I doin' up in this bitch past the 1st reel?)
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While good critics (thanks Capone!) make sure to mention Ntozake's play... I don't think all the press (including the film's TV spots) give enough credit. I'm not certain Tyler's re-write is where the emotional core is held...
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Nov. 5, 2010, 12:05 p.m. CST
Played by some of the most gifted black actresses of our time
by FloristGump
Sounds like a cracking film, and a great review, but...dude, did you really just type "Played by some of the most gifted black actresses of our time"? That's straight off the cliche ticklist. That apart, great review of what looks to be a brilliant film, I'l be looking out for that this side of the pond.
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No thanks.
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he DOES INDEED know his audience. I think his movies suck BALLS, but he's happy, the audience is happy, so good on ya'....
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To this day that film is still my gold standard dealing with topics of the black female experience and their struggles with both the white community and the male-dominated culture of the black community.
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I agree with awesome. Just too much double standard to sit through all that attitude and drama.
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Nov. 5, 2010, 12:50 p.m. CST
Mentaldominanc, you need to come to the Undercovers talkback
by Shut the Fuck up Donny
I think your qualms about catering to certain demographics might be relevant there, too.
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Tyler Perry doesn't have the skill and charm required to make a decent movie!
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to go in my House on my Personal Island"
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Because this is one of the worst trailers of the year. I actually laughed out loud in the theatre because it was so overly serious and the original play's title made me spew my Sprite. I leaned over to my buddy and jokingly stated "This is Tyler Perry's Magnolia". And can you imagine if someone made a film called "For White Girls"?!! Shit would hit the FAN!
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In the TV section here there's a discussion going on as to the reason why Undercovers--a spy show with involving two black protagonists--got cancelled. It's staying mostly on topic, but there is some discussion regarding whether shows like that are failing because the audience as a whole is racist. <p> The topic may not necessarily be your cup of tea, but I don't think enough people are taking into consideration (like you are) that sometimes shows fail or succeed because they focused strongly or relied too heavily on particular racial or cultural demographics.
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Dude obviously doesn't shit about science, because black is the absence of color. And, apparently, Tyler Perry movies are the absence of interest in drawing non-ghetto white people to spend their money.
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Nov. 5, 2010, 1:15 p.m. CST
Oh, and can I make a movie called "For white dudes"
by BIG_BAD_WOLF_IN_CAPS
or is that racist? I know in high school we wanted to start a European pride club and it got nixed because everyone thought it was a KKK type deal.
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Theres no need for a film called FOR WHITE GIRLS. White women have no shortage of films for them and about them. And this films is only named after the play its based on. They shortened the title, which is actually FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF
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then I have no business watching it.
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So are you implying that Undercovers is catering to a SPECIFIC (Racial) demographic due to its' two lead (black) characters? <p> Despite the ethnicity of the two leads, the overall tone of Undercovers is ambiguous racial-wise...So what's your point?
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by colored girls. its a film FOR (aka about) colored girls. Zack Snyders film about owls couldve been called FOR OWLS. but anyone can watch it. Spielbergs The Color Purple couldve been called FOR BLACK WOMEN. get it? besides, this film is probably not going to attract a big white male audience. my parents (who are black) will be seeing this today. i am NOT a tyler perry fan. in fact i hate his films. but movies like this are important, as was Precious. which was directed by Lee Daniels (who is Gay like Perry).
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Big Momma gotta eat.
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HOW DARE YE! What about Inception, The Social Network, or Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Capone should be banished from AICN!
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.....but can we concentrate on how SEXIST I'm sure it is? Because black or white, I bet less than 10% of the men in this movie are portrayed in a positive light.The acting might be great( not denying some of those actors their due) but this movie will be playing on a loop on the "O" and Lifetime channels in 6 months .
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Being Black I can tell you that accept for overweight Black women and Gay Black men, my people do not care about Tyler Perry's movies. In fact the average Black male or female feels his movies are an embarrassment and set us back 400 years with all the shucking and jiving (Meet The Browns). We also know that you guys don't like US especially the ones who claim they aren't racist and to be honest we don't care. Too much living to do to be concerned. Ok move it along nothing else to see.
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and u mines
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that *one* of the actresses involved in this movie will win this year's Affirmative Action Oscar.<P>It's like picking out a chocolate from a Whitman's Sampler; look around enough and you'll find at least one that's a worthy choice.
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Nov. 5, 2010, 2:28 p.m. CST
They aren't just your friends. They're your "Black Friends"
by BrooklynBred
Classic! "All my Black friends'. Where do u store these "Black Friends" when you aren't talking to them? A box under your bed? I guess you refer to every friend depending on race as that friend huh? My Latino friend, my Asian friend. Tell me do u refer to your Caucasian friends the same? funny guy. I have a buddy from work Jackson and when I invited him to a party I didn't tell my wife he babe my "White" friend is coming by I said one of my boys Jackson is coming through. SMDH
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but "hip hop culture" is alright with you probably, right? Or all the thugster sports heros? Like I said we got the memo. You dislike US.
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...Although it's so hilariously shitty, it doesn't really need one.<p> Tyler Perry has Kevin Smith's Disease, where everyone admires who he is and where he came from, but his talents are stunningly overrated.
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He isn't allowed to make them any more. I know his films aren't targeting my demographic, but come one, they suck!!! Racism and all the repetitive themes of his films are getting old. Fuck, CRASH felt stale when that came out!!! Hell, that won Best Picture, this will too probably, fuck!!
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That post started out hopeful and intelligent and just plummeted into stupidity and stereotypes. Everyone "knows" what they believe is true, even when those points of view are in direct opposition. So what that really means is that the only the only thing that you can truly know is that you know nothing at all. Speak only for yourself, everything else is pure bullshit.
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The Trailer is one of the worst I've seen in some time too. My God, horrible.
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Tossing a bunch of tired cliches at African American women does not a good movie make. the only thing that could make this shit worse was if Perry was in drag once again.
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Tyler Perry is a well known Homo Sexual around town... not that there is anything wrong with that.
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-case, please continue ranting so we can all follow your example and bow down and worship at the idol of Y-O-U.
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George Bush does not care about black people!
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Then we need another term for specifically considering different racial groups to be differentially desirable, attractive, or capable. That's all I mean when I talk about "racism." You can't not notice race any more than you can "not notice" gender. Anyone who says different is deluding themselves. That doesn't mean you are a bigot, by any means. But our visual cortexts and amygdalas are quite active, thank you.
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i agree with most of what your saying but whats your issue with rap and sports. thats kind of out of left field in a topic about films that focus on the plight of being black in america (you may wanna ignore these issues but they still exist). i love rap, r&b, pop, rock an all sorts of music. are some rappers thugs and drug dealers yes. others like kanye and common and will smith and mos def are educated well spoken men who have acted, written, produced and do good music. but at the end of day music is to be FUN and enjoyed. beyonce makes some great songs to dance to. BB King doesnt. BB King is not r&b. you sound like an odl out of touch fart. not to insult you. im just sayin. and as far as sports...just because a few guys get arrested doesnt mean athletes are bad people. PS white athletes get in trouble too. you seem to have this bad perception of blacks. makes me wonder if ur the racist.
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For people who think Perry only villifies men, take a look at The Family Who Preys. Saana Lathan plays who has to be one of the top 5 EVILIEST chicks in cinema history. I don't know if anyone mentioned this flick in the Talkback as I don't have time to read the whole thing, but I'm hearing a lot of "Perry only makes villians out of men". This flick puts the absolute kibosh on that nonsense. She's so fucking EVIL that she's about 7 movies worth of chick villians. Don't beleive me? Check the flick out.
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...EVER! I love it!
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The reason there are films catering to demographics is because without someone to decide otherwise, those stories don't get told. Same as when you look in a newspaper and there's 5 pages of celebrity gossip and nothing a bout a kid dying in a ghetto. <br></br> <br></br> Just cause it isn't important to you doesn't mean it isn't important to us. <br></br> <br></br> We all have a need to feel we are being represented in the wider world. Me I'd prefer that someone a little more focused than Tyler would tell those stories. Nut in the Absence of BSG you watch Firefly...
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If were YOU i'd shut the fuck up !
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I also read the book and saw the original play. Perry screwed Shange's work.<p></p> Check that ... he gave it a "Federal pound you in the ass" raping; most of it because he felt the need to not only have the women know each other but to bring it into modern times.<p></p> Then there was the awkward way in which he tried to weave in Shange's amazing monologues.<p></p> However, the fact that he didn't have "Madea" as one of the Ladies ... and kept his typical "Coonery Bufoonery" to a minimum ... I guess he should be applauded for that much
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Nov. 5, 2010, 3:59 p.m. CST
Amadeo Zeller, I'm REALLY late to this reply, but...
by Shut the Fuck up Donny
I wasn't trying to imply that Undercovers itself was catering to a specific demographic. I was just mentioning that in the other talkback there were people arguing arbitrarily that the poor response to the show was specifically because the two main characters were black--which I think is a extremely poor argument. <p> I was then agreeing with Mentaldominance that sometimes demographics are catered to extensively for some shows and movies--which sometimes benefits and sometimes hurts said program. <p> Since I was reading posts in both this thread and the undercovers thread (as I've found there to be some very interesting discussions on the factor of race and film/television going on in both places), I may have been mixing up my thoughts. I had no intention to imply that Undercovers was catering to a racial demographic, as I had the impression from the previous that the show was racially ambiguious.
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I as a black man can't stand his shit, spike lee had it right some of his shit was a modern day minstrel show. Most of his movies end the same way except for 3, dramatized and self serving. Forgiving the man who beat you. Finding love and other Bullshit. Overall I'm just mad that a successful black man still prefers to dress up in drag and do stage plays. Where's your self respect? What the fuck! You made your money, kill off madea, move on. You talk about being a writer, then write some new shit! Goddamit!
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With all due respect, have you read Nagel's "What Is It Like To Be A Bat"?<p></p> If you haven't I strongly suggest you give a read.<p></p> as far as your opinion about rap, you're entitled ... just be aware that the shit coming out of Lil Wayne and Drake's mouths is NOT Hip Hop but the bastardized & commercialized bullshit that Middle America is able to digest.<p></p> That's not to say that that era of Gangsta Rap was Hip Hop either ... that was just ignorant shit put out by, I'd guess, 95+% posers who actually grew up in Middle Class homes.<p></p> However, where you cross the line, is stating that Hip Hop/Rap is not "real music" because it doesn't take musical talent and is built on the music of others.<p></p> Are you aware of the history of Rock? Do you know where Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis got their sound and performance ideas?<p></p> The days of Chopin and Amadeus are long gone bud, everything has built off of what came before it ... or in the case of Elvis & Jerry Lee, stolen.
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Anyone else hate that song in those Papa Johns commercials? GOOO, BIG PAPA!
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I actually laughed out loud at that one. A completely and overly serious argument on race and you mention the Papa John's song.
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He does suck. How is it that no matter how much money goes into his films they all look like stage plays? I swear I keep waiting for someone to pull the fucking curtain. It's terrible. He should never be allowed to direct anything. He fucking terrible.
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No thanks.
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I'm scared to have an opinion about Tyler Perry movies, somebody might call me racist.
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RACIST! There, now you might as well let it out now and enjoy it.
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i'll see it
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but good God man. You're so off target here it isn't even funny.
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...are you kidding me? Man, you're really "down" with the "street"...also, "word up". "...the man drops another film..." This is the slang used for rap albums being released. You know this. Give me a break "...that brought out some very deep emotions in this white male audience member." Why even mention this? Would this bear repeating in any other review? Or do you only watch films that cater to pasty man-children? "Played by some of the most gifted black actresses of our time..." Oh, good God. "Sorry, dudes. While there are certainly a couple of nice guys in this movie, most of the men in this film are still the oppressors." Oh, lol itz ok then, rite...? No. "Don't be afraid of this one; step into the light and be a little bit reborn." I don't have any words.
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Capone's willing worship of MACGRUBER has soiled his reviews until the internet itself comes to an end.
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The trailer and commercials for this piece of crap make me cringe.
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His role as the Starfleet Admiral was Oscar-worthy! ;P
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'...brought out some very deep emotions in this white male audience member ' Wow. And I couldn't disagree with you more, Capone, on your assessment of his work. Madea being the only tolerable thing in a sea of cliched characters and after school hallmark lessons for the african american audience handled w/ with the deft subtly of an iron fist. Judging by the promotional material alone for colored girls, looks like he trumped his previous work in those terms. May have worked fine as a play in '74, but today, oh HELLLLL no!
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...at his production studio and supposidly he has a secret little gay chum that he set up in some nice New york apartment that he keeps. Also he treats everyone like complete dogshit...
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PROPS.<p> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRfDgnapUAw
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otherwise I don't.
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...the fact that an entire nation can't spell 'coloured' correctly.<p>There is no such thing as 'American English', there's 'English' and there's 'functionally illiterate'.
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Now that's how you troll!
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Because they're loud and opinionated. True story!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJf4dmRKMwU
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Blackness in the face of adversity goes to...
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Was fucking epic, they basically shifted on Tyler Perry and all his works. And I've been hearing those super gay rumors a lot too. It's funny I heard he blew a fuckin gasket when that episode came out...
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I never read the comic, but the TV series just seems to be so confused in itself. It's like its written by a 14 year old black kid on weed. I mean is that the point? <BR><BR> It seems like McGruder just needs to be mad at the world and get all this pent up shit out from 20 years ago.
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this is the kind of shit whites enjoy seeing blacks do. Go thru alot of SHIT, go thru a personal HELL. thats why whites loved Precious. this is the same kinda BULLSHIT. <p> but let blacks be on top, be in charge in a movie starring many other blacks, and whites are like NAH NAH NAH FUCK THAT I AINT WATCHING
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Whites enjoy seeing this? Well, blacks enjoy MAKING this. Tell your peeps to start making respectable shit and I'll tell mine to watch it when it happens, you fucking goof.
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Am I allowed to say ticket for colored girls? Or do I need to say african American girls or black girls ?? I'm soooo confused Flame on
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that try to show that only poor noble black people suffer and their despicable cultural behavior isn't their fault.... No thanx
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http://tinyurl.com/293ebqk
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Im about to go take a shit. Are you gonna hold the toilet paper for me?
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boondocks since season one is the most funniest, truthful diatribe of black america, that is made by a BLACK man... everything aaron mcgruder writes is great. His diatribe of tyler perry or the story of the little kid sociopath. Every story is funny and eye-opening. Dont you see the subtle pop culture references in the episodes? or is you just a hater. What i truly like about mcgruder is that he didnt have to put on a dress to make millions. I mean he fought for self respect and earned it. that's why i like him as a person and his work. Tyler perry is getting boring and self depricating... He needs to step his game up...
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Nov. 7, 2010, 8:02 a.m. CST
How is the death of a child one of the "struggles of black women
by Rupee88
This movie sounds racist or at least unnecessarily racial. I'll pass.
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That was a fucking movie!
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They already had a few of those. Sisterhood of the traveling pants, beaches, sex and the city, Valentine day, etc, etc. LOL
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Aint It Cool Talkbacks Strike Again!!
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Loved movie-in-60-seconds clip.<br><br>Disturbed by the dance number.
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He'd be more comfortable calling the shots on a daytime soap opera, because thats all that his movies are. And for Capone to call this one of the best films of the year? Check the year-end reviews alongside other critics, and I think Capone will be very, very alone with this choice.
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called "My big fat Greek wedding" and that's no problem. People make movies referring to ethnicity all the time. "Race" is the only ethnicity blacks have, because other designations (Ashanti? Ibo?) were stolen from us along with our names and religions. Whites commonly wear t-shirts about how God loves the Irish, Italians discovered America, or whatever--perfectly reasonable examples of cultural pride. "For Colored Girls" is no more than this. The people who jump on the movie because it references culture are hypocrites unless they also criticized every other reference made by whites. Fair is fair.
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