Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Carbon Copy

Carbon Copy
1981. Rated PG, 92 minutes.
Director: Michael Schultz. Starring George Segal, Denzel Washington, Susan Saint James, Jack Warden, Dick Martin, Paul Winfield.
Wealthy white exec Walter (Segal) suddenly discovers he has a 17 year old black son named Roger (Washington), much to the chagrin of his wife (Saint James) and father-in-law/boss (Warden). He is immediately fired and kicked out of his home. Wacky riffs involving racial stereotypes ensue. It's one of a long line of 1980s comedies that take a poor black kid, insert him into a situation where he's surrounded by rich white people and/or have a rich white person surrounded by poor blacks (this movie does both), tries to cull comedy from their differences and teach us valuable life lessons about the virtues of racial harmony and tolerance. At all of those things it does okay, not great. It's a decent watch but shouldn't be on anyone's list of must-see movies from the 80s. That said, it is notable for being Denzel Washington's first feature film. MY SCORE: 6/10

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