'3BlackChicks Review...'
THE HOMEBOY (2000) Rated R; running time 95 minutes Genre: Comedy Official site: http://www.thehomeboy.com/ IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0160370 Written by: Rick Kronberg Directed by: David Gebroe Cast: Dave McCrea, David M. Wallace, Downtown Julie Brown, Benjamin J. Cain Jr., Soby, Keith Hunter, Victoria Rong, Ben Wang, Audrey Mar
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamshomeboy.html
When reviewing independent flicks, especially those where I was asked to honestly critique them, I'm always concerned about how my review might impact negatively on that filmmaker's career. Not to brag on myself - I haven't ruined any careers yet (I think) - but I sure don't want to be the one responsible for squashing the next [insert name of Great Director, here]. Then again, I also don't want to be responsible for unleashing the next [insert names of abominable directors of MONKEYBONED, STUPORNOVA, LAME TAME WEST, UNLUCKY NUMBERS, et al, here].
Still, I worry about the fine line between giving my honest opinion, and wanting to promote films outside of the mainstream. The big studio-paid boys and girls, I figure, can take care of themselves; I reserve the bulk of my wrath and disdain for them with no hesitation. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) After a three year drought following his breakout hip hop CD, rapper MC*2 [uh, Squared, as in "that Einstein sh*t"] (Dave McCrea) finds himself teetering on the precipice of "Beyond The Music" status; things are so bad for Squared in his suburban New Jersey home, that he only has club soda to offer his guest with their cheeze doodles and caviar. Even Squared's prize kitchen sink - er, sorry; Wentworth - no longer loves him.
With the help of agent Don (Soby) and producer Jarvis Alley (Benjamin J. Cain Jr), Squared does an interview with entertainment reporter Tallulah Jones (Downtown Julie Brown), who doesn't take kindly to the White rapper calling Jarvis "nigga" - a phrase which she objects to as "ugly" and "despicable", but that Jarvis himself seems more tolerant of hearing come from long-time friend Squared. "After all," the men reason, "it's 'nigg...A'".
Upset after Jones threatens to expose what she implies is Squared's latent racism, Square is surprised to find out that the sink...er, sorry; Wentworth...repairman is not mild-mannered Wendell Everyman, but is instead Squared's childhood icon, White hip-hop legend Hoolie Hooligan (David M. Wallace). The question is, is Wendell ready to give up his low-key life and become a Hooligan again?
The Upshot: With a lead like the one above, I bet you thought I'd spend the next few paragraphs apologizing for what I perceive to be a bad movie. Guess again. I can't, in good conscience, call THE HOMEBOY a *good* movie, but with one notable exception, it did manage to keep me interested, and entertained; and it even provoked a few laughs and an AMEN! or two along the way.
Since I mentioned a "notable exception", let's get him out of the way first. David M. Wallace, as Wendell/Hoolie, did absolutely nothing for me. Bad enough that his accent was far more indicative of Australian/New Zeland origins than his purported British citizenship - and that either way, I could barely make out a thing he said throughout. No, Wallace's true crime is that he played Hoolie much too Large, to the point where his irritation factor extended far beyond the reaction Hoolie was *supposed* to induce in the viewing audience. I found myself extremely grateful for those moments when Hoolie would shuthell up; his every utterance made me want to thrash him with that huge spanner. A little less Hoolie, or even just a wee bit more subtle Hoolie, would've worked better for me (yes, I know: "Hooligan". There's that Subtlety thingy again...)
With Wallace playing Hoolie like there's no tomorrow, there wasn't room enough for me to despise Downtown Julie Brown (the oldschool MTV-jock most in need of a duct-tape-to-mouth operation). She was used just sparingly - and effectively - enough to keep my "must beat down Downtown Julie Brown at every possible occasion" tendency at bay.
Actors I have Issues with aside, I was pleasantly surprised by Dave McCrea's portrayal of Squared. The big gold chain on the video's back case cover should've clued me in that his would be more of an old school rapper portrayal than a more modern day bile-spilling Eminem-wannabe (though Squared got checked on his paradoxical statements quite nicely; and conversely, Eminem isn't given a break, considering that he's more complex than the media prefers to portray him. But that's Another Issue For Another Time).
McCrea was well-matched by Benjamin Cain's calm, sensible producer, Jarvis Alley. Actor Soby (huh?) threatened to work my last nerve, but he had some of the best lines in the movie (with no sense of context to go on, you'll just have to trust me that "oh jesus...it's with a 'k'!" is one of them). And in true "imitation is the best form of flattery" fashion, director Dave Gebroe's decision to follow in Kevin Smith's footsteps by having Keith Hunter play Beatbox as a Silent Bob-like character (even more humorous, considering a beatbox is anything *but* silent), worked well for me.
But you know what, Gebroe? I *really* could've done without that nasty toilet scene. Fo' real doe.
The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]:
Two "Ethnic Factors" for the price of one:
Though the whole bit with Squared falling hard for a Chinese Chick (played by Victoria Rong) was way out of control, adding very little of consequence to the rest of the movie [except the nasty toilet scene, for which Gebroe needs an old-fashioned butt whuppin], the reaction of Lin Chan's mother (Audrey Mar) and father (Ben Wang) to the new couple, was great, both as mere entertainment, and as a quick peek into the politics of mixed marriages.
And of course, the central Issue of the movie - namely, who can, and cannot, use the term "nigga/nigger" - was handled well here. In fact, I would've been just as happy if Gebroe and company had concentrated exclusively on this issue, excising Hoolie Hooligan altogether. Still, I applaud Gebroe for the way he addressed, and ultimately "resolved", the "nigga" conundrum.
[and, for the record, I don't go for *anyone* using that term. ya dig?]
Bammer's Bottom Line: It's easy to judge a videotape by its cover. In the case of THE HOMEBOY, with its thug-lite posing White rapper and friends lingering in the background, that prejudgement would be a mistake. Uh, except for that Hooligan character. He was pretty much the way he looked on the cover. Ooh, what a weirdo. But if weirdo characters in the vein of Kevin Smith's creations don't turn you off, or if you're more into Vanilla Ice than Eminem (assuming you even know who either is), THE HOMEBOY might be worth a look-see. My props to producer/director Dave Gebroe for defying my expectations...but you might suggest to Mr. McCrea that that snarl of his isn't the best way to cruise chicks, eh?
THE HOMEBOY (rating: flashing yellowlight): Well, that was...strange. I can't say that I liked it; it'd be more accurate to say that I found it intriguing, bizarre, "Dogma"-like in spots - and quite truthful, in its way. And yeah, strange.
Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Entertainment Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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