Boomerang Is Black Excellence

 

30 Years Ago Today Boomerang debuted in theaters. Starring Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Robin Givens, Martin Lawrence, and David Alan Grier. The film is a romantic comedy about a player who gets played and doesn't realize it honestly. I first saw Boomerang as a kid probably all of 7 or 8 had no business watching it but as kids do I snuck and watched with my older cousins who were in their early teens, and had no business watching it either (shouts out to them though). Had no idea of the plot honestly, I just knew Martin and Eddie were in and it had some cuss words in it.

Fast forward to my early twenties when I watched it again and fully understood the title of the movie. Anyway in my opinion Boomerang is a classic, not only is the plot good and funny. As an adult now I realize Boomerang was one of the earliest examples of Black Excellence.

Marcus Graham was an executive for a cosmetics company. His company is acquired by a larger company founded by a Black woman in which she is still the face of the company. Marcus meets his match in a fellow executive Jacqueline Broyer.

Both characters dressed exceptionally well exuding confidence through their attire. Marcus had a spacious well maintained and furnished apartment, I'm assuming in Manhattan. And dinner scenes were frequently held at exquisite restaurants.

Boomerang was probably the earliest film I can recall that featured well off successful Black people across the board. That were not involved in any type of criminal activity. It even slightly addresses that in a scenescene where Marcus and crew are shopping.

Besides the core cast the Black Excellence was spread across the film. With legends like Grace Jones, Melvin Van Peebles, Eartha Kitt, Geoffrey Holder, Chris Rock, BeBe Drake, Tisha Campbell and John Witherspoon have parts in the film. John Witherspoon's Thanksgiving dinner scenescene is an all-time classic and probably the funniest scene in the movie.

Behind the camera there was just as much Black Excellence. The film was directed by Reginald Hudlin who directed House Party. And the film has a classic soundtrack primarily produced by Babyface with artist like Toni Braxton, Johnny Gill, TLC, A Tribe Called Quest, Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men contributing.

I thank the cast and crew for displaying Black Excellence before it was a term and showing the world that Black People were very successful in the corporate world. Without many people even realizing it, the characters likely motivated many Black People to go out and tackle the world and unapologetically enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Boomerang is currently available to watch on HBO Max.

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Robert Townsend Deserve's His Flowers Now

 Today is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite movies The Five Heartbeats. Watching the movie which is a beloved amongst the Black culture, I thought about just how much Robert Townsend has given the culture that is often acknowledged but really overlooked. With The Five Heartbeats Townsend was a star in the film, in addition to producing, writing, and directing the film. That's alot of hats to wear for a movie that is about as close to perfection as they come.

Looking over his filmography his first major break in Hollywood was Hollywood Shuffle. Another film he starred in, produced, wrote and directed. The movie is a satire on the Hollywood industry and it's treatment of Black actors when it comes to finding the "right" role, very relevant today as it was in the 80's when the film was made.

In 1993 before Blade, before Black Panther, hell a year before Blankman. He gave us the first Black superhero on the big screen I remember Meteor Man. A film that at the time had a who's who of Black actors and actresses in it (Marla Gibbs, James Earl Jones, Bill Cosby, Luther Vandross, Robert Guillaume, Don Cheadle) and the list goes on and on. This film employed alot of Black people and likely inspired the next generation.

Those three films are probably Robert's most well known contributions to Hollywood, but it doesnt stop there. He directed Eddie Murphy's RAW standup movie, he wasn't credited but I'm inclined to believe him and Keenan Ivory Wayans helped write some of the jokes for the film. He directed B.A.P.S, starring Halle Berry and Natalie Desselle. Carmen:An Hip Hopera, Holiday Heart, Playin' For Love, Living For Love: The Natalie Cole Story, and The Little Richard movie are some of the additional films he's directed.

On the TV side, he created and starred in one of the WB's first sitcoms in the Cosby inspired Parent'Hood which ran for five seasons. He had his own variety comedy special on HBO called Robert Towsend and His Partners in Crime. Directed episodes of Love Is, Black Lighting, Last O.G., Soul Food and American Soul along with other TV series.

For some reason when the conversation about legendary or most influential Black filmmakers comes up. Robert Townsend is almost never bought up, not sure if thats just because he's never came across as a guy who really cares for the spotlight. In any case he has provided the culture with so much, and it's time we start giving him his flowers now. 

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We Deserve Vampire In Brooklyn 2

 

Today marks 25 years since Vampire In Brooklyn was released in theaters, the film stars Eddie Murphy and Angela Bassett and was directed by Horror Icon Wes Craven. During the time of it's release Eddie was just waddling along having fallen from the height of his career in the 80's and not yet experiencing the resurgence of his career that he would just a year later. If you've been reading my blogs lately you can tell that I am a huge Vampire movie fan, and this film is another one I must watch during spooky season.

The movie is a horror/comedy and at the time of it's release reception was mixed and it only grossed $19 million at the box office. As the years have passed, the film has come to be beloved and while watching it recently I wondered...where the hell is our sequel?

One of my favorite parts about the film (besides the hilarious John Witherspoon) was the idea of Black Vampires and their backstory. Eddie Murphys character Maximillian was a smooth ass dude from an unknown Carribean island where it's suggested they existed in abundance at one time and were very wealthy. Max's mission was to get Angela Bassetts character Rita a Dhampir to fall in love with him to sustain their race with time ticking.

Maxmillian displayed traditional vampire powers such as enhanced strength, flying capability, beast like ferocity, and  abundance of thirst while never growing old. He also had additional powers such as metamorphsis and telepathic powers, leading me to wonder does one have to be a vampire for a certain amount of time to gain those additional powers? He also had a ghoul named Julius by his side, who was slowly deteriorating. What was the end game with the ghoul?

At the end of the film the door was left open for a sequel, when Julius becomes a vampire after putting on Max's ring. Which begs the question does one become a vampire in the traditional sense or is a piece of vampire created jewerly all thats needed to become a vampire and have the powers of a vampire? 

    

A sequel could have answered all these burning questions that I have. It could go one of two ways following the ring and a new unsuspecting victim putting it on, learning the ways of being a vampire in modern day Brooklyn. Or following a new vampire going to the Carribean island and learning about their culture. Touch on where Rita and Justice have been all these years later. Is Julius still a vampire or has he been staked for being a damn fool? How does voodoo play a role in defeating these vampires? Why do these batch of vampires dress so immaculate? 

Throw in some comedy, gore and possibly a love story and it would be another B-movie horror classic. We also need more Black horror vampires and vampire hunters.  As the streaming wars grow, these studios have to dig in the vaults to revisit old tales. Besides all that Damnit we deserve A Vampire In Brooklyn 2!

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B's Remake Series-Blacula

What does Grace Jones, Aaliyah, Thandie Newton, Michad Brooks, Adina Porter, Rutina Wesley. Kat Graham, Edi Gathegi, Wesley Snipes, and Eddie Murphy all have in common? They've all played vampires on the big and small screen. The film they have to thank for making that possible is 1972's Blacula.

Starring William Marshall as the smooth laid-back title character. Blacula sparked an series of horror films within the blaxplotation genre during the '70's. The gist of the story is African Prince Maulade is working to free his people from slavery in 1780, but get's transformed into a vampire by Dracula and imprionsed in a crypt. Fast forward to 1972 and he's inadvertently released and comes across a woman named Tina played by Vonetta Mcgee, he believes to be the reincarnation of the wife he left behind.

Making his way around town with the fashion statement of his cape strapped to his back. He makes attempts to woo Tina while wrecking havoc on the town to survive, and keep who he really is a secret. This movie is prime for a reboot.

With the increased focus and embracing of Black culture, and the horror genre overdue for a new Black vampire. Blacula could be the horror film we didn't know we need. 

Maintain the African Prince character and make his personality that of a smooth lothario. Have him awaken in the 2020's unsure of where the hell he is, which has a clear Rip Van Winkle influence and could be used for some comedic effect. One thing the original film didn't address was how awakening centuries later affected Blacula as a person. He just went with the flow and instantly knew how use his new powers as a vampire.

A reboot should focus on the mental psyche of a vampire awakeing alone to a unfamiliar world, a vampire who was of royalty as a man, and show the growing pains of his new life. Keep the love story component of him just wanting to reunite with his true love, because people love a good love story. Throw in some gory bad ass vampire scenes and special effects of how they move, add in classic vampire lore and we have a new Blacula that a new generation can love.

Casting the role, as I mentioned earlier in the blog Blacula is one smooth guy, should a reboot ever occur a smooth fella like Idris Elba would have to play the part. There is an abundance of talented female actresses who could play his love interest so a reboot couldn't go wrong there.

Watching this film it was clear to me Eddie Murphy used it as inspiration when he crafted Vampire In Brooklyn. Maxmillian is the pinnacle of Black vampires for my generation, just as Blacula was for Eddie's generation. The film is by no means perfect but it sparked a sequel Scream Blacula Scream, so it certainly has a legacy. The DNA is there for a rebooted Blacula to be a success, let's hope someone realizes it and inspires a new generation of Black vampires and Black vampire fans.

 

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