FEAR OF A BLACK HAT
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 7.6
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:25 Rated: R (Language, lewdness, strange hats)
Starring: Rusty Cundieff, Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence,
Kasi Lemmons
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Producer: Darin Scott
Screenplay: Rusty Cundieff
Cinematography: John Demps Jr.
Music: NWH
Released by the Samuel Goldwyn Company
FEAR OF A BLACK HAT is the 1990s version of THIS IS SPINAL TAP, skewering rap music on the same stake that Rob Reiner used to impale heavy metal. For three-quarter of its running length, this is a first- rate parody of the most bawdy kind. It is unapologetically politically incorrect, and some of the biggest laughs come at the most off-color jokes. There's virtually no stone in the world of rap music left unturned by BLACK HAT, which has something to say about everything from drug dealing and gun violence to the new wave of black film directors.
As was the case with SPINAL TAP, the premise behind FEAR OF A BLACK HAT is that someone is doing a documentary. In this case, the filmmaker is a graduate student in sociology, Nina Blackburn (Kasi Lemmons), whose has decided to focus her doctoral dissertation on the rap musical culture. The group she chooses is NWH (Niggaz With Hats), comprised of the fast-talking leader Ice Cold (Rusty Cundieff), the ultra-violent Tasty-Taste (Larry B. Scott), and the spiritual Tone Def (Mark Christopher Lawrence).
The film opens with a warning to the audience that FEAR OF A BLACK HAT will make use of a number of potentially offensive terms, but does not intend to do so gratuitously. It then repeats each of those words several times, and prints them on the screen for good measure. From this moment on, we know that we're in the hands of an accomplished satirist, and the result is predictably better than other feeble efforts such as CB4 and those elements of the WAYNE'S WORLD movies which tried something similar.
The documentary-within-the-movie starts by interviewing the members of NWH. These three, who come from "Tough Neighborhood, USA," give their views on why it's never a good idea to smile. In the process, we learn that Tasty-Taste was once a "pharmaceutical distributor"--but they're not going to get into that.
From that point on, the jokes come faster than the uses of the word <*term censored*>. The parodies of rap videos are inspired--writer/director Rusty Cundieff injects an MTV-like glamor, but makes sure that each possesses all sorts of excesses. With titles like "Guerrillas in the Midst" and "My Peanuts" with lyrics that will not be reprinted here, Cundieff has found rich ground to hoe.
Almost every facet of the rap culture gets similar treatment. Security guards at a concert are shown doing amazingly "thorough" gun searches. NWH becomes the target of an anti-obscenity campaign. Their first manager gets gunned down in a dispute between opposing rap groups. A marquee in Chicago refuses to use the word "Niggaz," so it calls NWH "Negroes With Hats."
Certain well-known personalities don't escape Cundieff's attention, either. There's a white rapper named Vanilla Sherbert and an "M.C. Slammer" who wants to excise "M.C." An all-girl group is called Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. ("We have four spices.") Then there's Jike Springleton (hmm ... I wonder which two prominent directors he could represent?), the black filmmaker who gives Ice Cold his feature film debut.
The humor of FEAR OF A BLACK HAT rolls along nicely for about an hour before beginning to sputter and fizzle. The last quarter of the movie is uneven, and seems like an attempt to stretch a concept beyond its natural playing time. There aren't many notable moments in the final twenty minutes until the end credits start scrolling.
Using parody as its means, FEAR OF A BLACK HAT has a lot to say about the exploitation that surrounds the rap music business. This movie is not tightly-scripted or elegantly produced, but it is (for the most part) highly entertaining. For those who have been waiting for a sequel to SPINAL TAP, this may be the best alternative.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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