Guess Who

I’ll admit. What I’m about to do isn’t fair. And I don’t mean unfair in the my-sister-took-my-cookie sort of way. I’m talking 2000 election results unfair.

I’m about to watch the 2005 Sony Pictures offering, Guess Who.

I watched the “original” version of this movie a couple of years ago. And felt good about myself for doing so.

I’m not expecting the same feeling to result from this movie.

Now, I love Ashton (see previous blog re: Just Married) and Bernie and that Zoe girl looks adorable. But the Spencer Tracy/Sidney Poiter/Katharine Hepburn film was important. A little cheesy at times. But important, thoughtful and clearly so.

This movie…isn’t.

But I’m giving it the chance to prove me wrong.

There’s a lot of potential for a comedy dealing with interracial relationships. I’m in an interracial marriage myself and there are really funny moments that come up. Involving hair, slang terms and accidental racism. It’s real stuff and that makes it a prime candidate for comedy.

Comedy is a great vehicle to discuss things that are important. To expose things that are tragic. To make something icky palatable enough for us to be able to think about and digest. There’s nothing wrong with making a comedic movie out of a heady, intelligent or thought-provoking topic.

The trailers I saw for Guess Who indicated that while the filmmakers might have been aware of this concept, they were saving their A material for a different picture.

But like I said, I could be wrong. This might not be nearly as steppen fetchit as it feels at first blush. It might have something to say.

And as I blog while I watch, I’ll let you know if it does.

***

Bernie Mac is left-handed!! (sorry for the distraction. But I’ve wanted to be left-handed for a while. In life, about 10-12 percent of the population is left-handed. But nearly 50 percent of characters on television and in movies are left handed, indicating there’s something intrinsically more creative about being a lefty. Course, back in the day, they thought it meant you were a witch. And you were as likely to get burned alive as you were cast in the next touring company of “Much Ado About Nothing.”)

The first thing is that this movie has done within in the first few minutes, is done a decent job of showing the ethnic makeup of a major metropolitan city. I’m not sure what city they’re in yet—they have may have indicated with the Golden Gate Bridge or Lady Liberty or the Sears Tower, but I’ve been writing and I can’t catch everything!

Either way, there are actually minorities on the street! In business suits no less. Working. Something that the creators of Friends, Seinfeld and every other sitcom should take a look at.

And look at that, another few minutes into Act I, we’ve got an interracial couple making out in the background. White guy, Asian girl. Okay, so it’s a little bit of a fetish, but it’s nice to see some IR love going on.

Oh, in case you care about plot and not just my mad ramblings, the set up is that Bernie Mac’s going to meet his daughter Teresa’s boyfriend the same weekend he and his wife are re-exchanging their wedding vows. Teresa’s told him what a great job her boyfriend Simon has. And we’ve just learned that Simon quit said job.

And they appear to be in NYC.

Quick note comparing this movie to the “original.” We just found out that Ashton and Zoe (Simon and Teresa) are engaged and he has yet to meet her parents. Which begs the question…why not? Couples don’t get engaged that quickly anymore. Why wouldn’t they have met at least once?

I live several states away from my parents and though my husband and I were well on our way to being engaged, we did take a perfunctory trip home so everyone could meet just for good measure. And since my husband’s parents live nearby, I’d hung out with them a ton.

Anyway, the point is, that in the original, the girl who’s going to marry Sidney is impulsive. A free spirit. She’s blithe and beguiling and got engaged impulsively. Her character explains why the fiancé and folks haven’t met.

It’s not so much an issue of race relations on film as it is sloppy writing.

Simon also expresses confusion over a photograph in Zoe’s apartment that he would have ostensibly seen everyday.

It makes for a funny joke, but doesn’t make any sense.

The writing matters. Even in a comedy. Even in a romp. And especially when you’re making material for an audience that’s hungry for it. Just because they’re starving doesn’t mean you feed them scraps.

Oh, and a designer who says “oodles” and “fabulous.” But wait…he’s not gay! Hooray for a joke about stereotypes.

So far, pretty good. I must say I’m pleasantly surprised.

What? They’re only going down to Jersey? And they never met?

We didn’t need the cabbie telling them it’s going to matter that Simon’s white.

Okay, we’re coming to the middle of Act II and another family member, the grandfather, mentions out loud and awkwardly that no one told him that Simon was white. When I introduced my (white) boyfriend to my family, no one said out loud and awkwardly that they hadn’t been briefed on the fact that he wasn’t black. I’m not saying it wouldn’t happen. But it definitely feels disingenuous.

The problem with this movie is that because it’s the year that it is, it’s very hard to hang your hat on the “I don’t want my daughter dating outside of the race” hook. Especially with a family that’s so very Cosby. It’s funnier to just go with the odd couple Meet-My-Folks thing.

There’s nothing about Bernie Mac’s family that’s particularly ethno-centric. They’re both white-collar employees in a nice neighborhood. There’s no African art on the walls. Neither of them is an African studies or Harlem Renaissance professor. They’re just normal folks who live in diverse New Jersey…and who shouldn’t be that upset that their daughter is dating out of the race.

In the end, the movie was fine and mostly forgettable. I still love Ashton. And Zoe seems like she’d be fun to have on set. (see my blog next December about the latest “Untitled Paramount Picture” for more on that).

This film’s biggest offense was its writing. Which was sloppy. A little on the nose at times and generally not inspiring.

At the end of the day, my only concern is less complaint and more confusion. Why tie it to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. All that does is tick off people like me who appreciate the original for what it was. And teach the newer generation who hasn’t seen GWCTD that there is nothing to be gained from a serious discussion about race relations. That it’s okay to make racist jokes over the dinner table. That there might never have been a time when the subject of an interracial relationship was incredibly taboo and in fact, quite punishable.

On one hand, it’s great that more and more kids today are lovely shades of coffee with cream. Most of the people I know are in IR relationships. But to make such lighthearted conversation of a topic that people at one time were killed over just doesn’t do anything for anyone involved.

There’s nothing wrong with the movie that this movie is. A Meet the Folks for gentiles who are a few years younger than Ben Stiller. This is a fine movie to make. But to tie it to a classic like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is insulting to both films.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner spent the movie discussing societal issues. Guess Who is spending the movie discussing through innuendo how long Simon can...go. Which is fine, but definitely not an homage to Hepburn, Poitier or Tracy.

Make the movie. Just don’t tie it to the first one.