50 Shades of Black – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)
Plot Overview A young woman meets a rich man who demeans her verbally and physically, yet she keeps giving him chances for reasons never really explained. Rating: Skip It Review Summary I honestly ducked this movie when it came out in theaters for while I find the Wayans family as a whole funny, I do…
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Plot Overview
A young woman meets a rich man who demeans her verbally and physically, yet she keeps giving him chances for reasons never really explained.
Rating:
Skip It
Review Summary
I honestly ducked this movie when it came out in theaters for while I find the Wayans family as a whole funny, I do feel when Kenan isn’t there to reel his brothers in and hone their collective talents, they are all over the place. Yet it is hard to deny that even without Kenan at the head, the individual members of the Wayans family aren’t funny. Problem is, the currently most visible Wayan, Marlon, is honestly in desperate need of someone who knows his talent and can refine it.
Main Storyline (with Commentary)
In probably one of the worse movies I have ever seen, yet finished, we watch as Hannah (Kali Hawk) for some reasons dates Christian Black (Marlon Wayans). This is despite him calling her ugly, basic, letting his friends insult her, him having no sex game, him being cheap, and his mother seeming kind of racist. But the storyline isn’t why anyone would watch a comedic film starring Marlon Wayans, it is the laughs. Well, they are in short supply. For despite all the bondage things which could be mocked, as well as the weirdness of the 50 Shades of Grey lore, honestly what we are given is potty humor made for teenagers. We sway from just licking everything to jokes about penis sizes, Christian drops a whole bunch of pop culture jokes which aren’t memorable, and ultimately you are left feeling that Marlon Wayans must be forced to release one comedy a year or else he is going to get sued.
Highlights
I remember laughing once or twice. One time during a Kevin Hart joke, and I’m sure there was a second. Well, maybe there was.
Low Points
To begin, there is Kateesha (Jenny Zigrino) who is Hannah’s roommate and seemingly her only friend. She is a ghetto white girl who is insufferable. I mean, she is a stereotypical big, multicolored haired, ghetto, fat white girl who loves her some big black penis. Which I’m sure is supposed to be a parody of someone, but I couldn’t once find out what is supposed to be funny about her. If anything, I felt bad for the actress since I assume the embarrassment an actor would get from working in a minstrel show is what she got working in this movie. But hey, she got a check, right?
Perhaps the big issue here is that along with there being a weak story, little to no chemistry between Wayans and Hawk, is that the jokes almost all flopped. To the point, I look at this movie like how some look at some musicians once they get up in age. There comes a point where you realize you only see their performances due to nostalgia and not because you think they still got it. Such is the case with Marlon Wayans. After all, who didn’t laugh at the many movies he did with his brothers, as well as his TV show on the WB network?
Yet here he is, still doing parodies, after it seems his brothers have moved on from the genre and he is still trying to pretend he is in his glory days. To me, I think he may have reached the point a lot of comedic actors have where it is time for him to perhaps move onto dramatic movies or start becoming a supporting character to help push future stars. Which isn’t me saying he isn’t funny period, for his interviews and stand-up remains comical. But like Eddie Murphy something just isn’t working anymore and if he refuses to adapt, step his game up, or what have you, he is going to eventually lose that audience curiosity, if he still has it, to portray a comedic character, much less do a parody, on film.
