FEAR OF A BLACK HAT
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Rusty Cundieff, Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Kasi Lemmons. Screenplay/Director: Rusty Cundieff.
Film reviewers, myself included, often obsess over originality. Everything is derivative, we lament; everything is recycled. Then, periodically, I am reminded that given the choice between an original film and a good one, I would much prefer the latter. FEAR OF A BLACK HAT has been referred to as THIS IS SPINAL RAP on more than one occasion, and it is true that there is more than a passing similarity between the two. All right, there is a remarkable similarity. But ultimately, only one thing really matters: FEAR OF A BLACK HAT is very, *very* funny, probably the funniest film of the year so far.
FEAR OF A BLACK HAT is set up as a documentary being made by a doctoral student (Kasi Lemmons) as her sociology thesis project. Her subject is on-the-rise rap gangsta rap group N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats), whose members are rappers Ice Cold (Rusty Cundieff) and Tasty Taste (Larry B. Scott) and DJ Tone Def (Mark Christopher Lawrence). The documentary chronicles clashes between N.W.H. and their record company over their controversial songs and videos, including their breakout hit "Guerrillas in the Midst." But inevitably egos and women conspire to form a rift between the members, and each explores new avenues as a solo artist. Can N.W.H. patch up their differences and stage a big comeback?
In terms of plot structure, it often seems that writer/ director/star Rusty Cundieff decided simply to "colorize" SPINAL TAP. It is not simply the framing device which is borrowed, but a multitude of specific details: gigs with somewhat insulting billing on the marquis; internal squabbles triggered by a domineering girlfriend; Tap's series of ill-fated drummers replaced by N.W.H.'s series of ill-fated managers. Yet with all these borrowed elements, there are a couple of other things Cundieff might have been well-served to duplicate. One is keeping the framing structure consistent. Frequently the camera work breaks out of the verite style for shots a single-camera documentary really couldn't be filming. The other is keeping the performances as deadpan as possible. Kasi Lemmons in particular dreadfully overplays her part, and Howie Gold is a cliche as Manager #5. If FEAR OF A BLACK HAT tends to stumble, it's when it veers into campiness.
Even then, there are some huge laughs to be had in BLACK HAT. While some of the objects of satire are unnecessarily heavy-handed (white rapper Vanilla Sherbet; Slammer, formerly known as M.C. Slammer), others are dead on. Tone Def's solo project is a hilarious bit modeled after P.M. Dawn, and the rivalry between N.W.H. and other rappers over who has the longest rap sheet sets up a great confrontation at a grade school presentation. But Cundieff is perhaps most adept at skewering rap's self-important politics through Ice Cold's wonderfully improbable explanations of how songs such as "Booty Juice" actually contain an important social message. Even the misogyny in rap culture is nailed perfectly in a single line, perhaps the film's funniest (be sure to stay through the credits or you'll miss it). Also worth noting are the numerous song parodies by Cundieff and John Bautista, which range from the sublime (Tone Def's "I'm Just a Human Being") to the obnoxious ("Come and Pet the P.U.S.S.Y.").
There are a lot of great details in FEAR OF A BLACK HAT (my favorite being Tasty Taste's massive bowling-trophy-on-a-chain necklace), which makes it frustrating that Cundieff often plays up the broader bits. An obligatory scene in which Ice Cold is pulled over and hassled by a rent-a-cop is dragged out far too long, and a parody of NEW JACK CITY seems only to serve as a way to take a jab at black filmmakers ("Jike Spingleton" is the director). Still, I laughed harder and more often at FEAR OF A BLACK HAT than at any other movie in quite some time. Make sure you're in the house when N.W.H. comes to your town.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Niggaz With Hats: 8.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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