Girl Week 2016: Bessie

Get on Up

Ride Along

Directed by Tim Story.

2014. Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.

Cast:

Kevin Hart

Ice Cube

Tika Sumpter

Laurence Fishburne

John Leguizamo

Bryan Callen

Bruce McGill

Gary Owen

Jay Pharoah

David Banner

Gary Weeks

Ben (Hart) is in love with his girlfriend Angela (Sumpter). In fact, he plans on asking her to marry him. Since he's a traditional guy, somewhat, he wants to get permission to ask for her hand. Unfortunately, her dad is no longer around. That permission will have to come from her brother James (Ice Cube), an Atlanta cop. There's one small problem. James hates him. Ben's big plan to change James' mind: joining the police academy to prove his worth. Not wanting to let the process play out, James takes Ben on a ride along the next day while he's on duty. James intends to prove Ben doesn't have what it takes to take care of his baby sister. The trick he's going to use is he's going to respond to all of the worse calls possible. Hijinks and shenanigans ensue.

Once we get past the setup stages, Ride Along settles into buddy cop mode. True, only one of our leads is technically a cop, but it functions just the same. We move from one outrageous situation to the next where Ben talks himself into trouble and James has to get him out of it. In the background, there is also the case James is really working on: trying to bring down a local drug kingpin that no one has actually ever seen. To help with that, even though his boss has forbidden him working on it at all, are detectives Santiago (Leguizamo) and Miggs (Callen). All of this keeps the movie moving forward at a pretty good pace in a light-hearted manner.

The cast is a mixed bag. Kevin Hart loud talks his way through another role. You either find him funny or you do not. My experience has been that his stand-up is hilarious while what he does in movies is rather 'meh.' It's no different, here. That said, I must admit that most of the movie's funny moments are his. Mostly, this is because everyone else just makes the same joke over and over: Kevin Hart is short. We get it. Can we please move on?

When not making fun of his co-star's size, Ice Cube fares well as the one tasked with handling all the tough guy stuff. We're not talking any amazing stunts like the stuff he had to do, or make us believe he did, in XXX: State of the Union, but he definitely has the most physical role in this movie. Aside from the action scenes, though, he gets to be the annoyed, scowling Cube, but in a somewhat comic way like he was in Are We Done Yet? He's not going to remind anyone of Jason Statham, but he doesn't embarrass himself, either.

What Ride Along tries to be is a comedic spin on Training Day. It even explicitly references that film several times. However, the weaknesses of RA serve only to highlight the strength of TD. For one, there is no personality here anywhere near as strong as the one provided by Denzel Washington in that movie. Denzel commanded our attention. He made us thoroughly hate him. It was some of the actor's most compelling work in a storied career. In this movie, every character comes off as standard fare, regardless of the role they're playing. There is no depth to any of them. The same can be said for the story. It's all run-of-the-mill and completely lacking the tension that drives TD. I know. This is not a heavy police drama, but a fun cop flick. Even at being that, RA is only moderately successful. It's funny in spots, but never gets us to sustain our laughter long enough to overlook its faults.

MY SCORE: 5/10

Sparkle (2012)

Directed by Salim Akil.

2012. Rated PG-13, 116 minutes.

Cast:

Jordin Sparks

Whitney Houston

Carmen Ejogo

Derek Luke

Mike Epps

Tamela Mann

Tika Sumpter

Omari Hardwick

Brely Evans

Michael Beach

Cee Lo Green

Terrence J

Sparkle (Sparks) is a songwriter with stage fright. Since she still wants her music to be heard, she recruits her oldest and most brazen sister named Sister (Ejogo), no less, to take a bus across town and sing her songs at a nightclub. Eventually, the girls meet up with Stix (Luke), a budding promoter. With dreams of making them into the next Supremes, by the way this is 1968, he recruits their middle sister Delores and transforms the trio into a girl group. He then begins getting them work all over Detroit in hopes of making it big. Even though the girls are grown, Sparkle is the youngest at 19, all of this requires repeatedly sneaking out the house of their tyrannical mother Emma played by Whitney Houston in her final feature film before her death in February of this year. Yes, this is a remake of the 1976 ‘hood classic.

If the title leads you to believe this movie is about Sparkle, you’re only partially right. We don’t focus on her until the final act. Honestly, the original did the same so that, in and of itself, isn’t a major complaint. The difference is the girl’s relationship with their mother takes center stage in this version while it was only occasionally touched upon in its predecessor. This moves our title character down to third on the totem pole. It’s probably just as well. Jordin Sparks isn’t a very good actress so lightening her load makes some sense.

In the older movie, the mother is a supportive sideline player. Here, she’s the complete opposite. To make sure we know who’s in charge, Whitney Houston is in full blown, stark raving mad lunatic warden mode. You get the feeling the girls have to ask permission to use the restroom or risk her wrath. She embodies the role well. Sadly, it’s a role that feels specifically written for her. Emma is a woman who has battled drug addiction along with the ups and downs of the music business and now wants to protect her daughters from suffering the same fate, or worse. As she continually rages, it’s difficult to watch her, listen to the sounds come from her obviously shredded voice box and not think of her tumultuous real life and the once flawless pipes with which she serenaded us all. It’s distracting and depressing which makes it a morbidly effective portrayal.

Also of more importance than Sparkle is Sister. She’s clearly the most like her mother. Indeed, much of the film’s fireworks are made up of shouting matches between the two. In the role, Carmen Ejogo gives a powerhouse portrayal rivaling Lonette McKee’s in the same role in the original. Sister’s story also contains another excellent performance, albeit from a surprising source. As comedian Satin Struthers, the movie’s lone unrepentant villain, Mike Epps turns in what is easily his best work. Though playing a comic, which is how he started in his real career, he really does bring this character to life and not just rehash the old Mike Epps schtick.

People who love this movie, and there will be plenty, will do so on the strengths of the aforementioned performances, the music and prerequisite ups and downs of high octane melodrama. However, there are serious problems. Beginning with the second act, the movie shifts into overdrive, propelling itself forward at breakneck speed. The various strands resolve themselves suddenly and/or predictably, leaving plot holes in their wake. In this regard, it pretty clearly follows the Tyler Perry template of filmmaking: scream, bicker, fuss and fight until an instant moment of clarity, kiss, make up.

In comparison with the original, Sparkle also suffers mightily in the charm department. That one is flawed, but it has a much more genuine feel. The grit and grime of the Harlem setting infused the characters not only with a sense of urgency about changing their station in life but also a naiveté about the temptations even minor success may bring. It also gives us a sense of danger. The same could’ve been achieved for this movie in Civil Rights-era Detroit. However, we’re given what feels like a glamorized version of the city wherever the girls perform. At their nicely sized suburban home they want for nothing tangible and can retreat from one another in a way the girls in the original could not. There is a real sense of a unit breaking up as the older movie progresses. Here, each of the sisters wears their individuality proudly on their sleeve, weakening both their bond to one another and ours to them. The glossiness of the sets, flossiness of the outfits and four ladies constantly proclaiming “I am woman, hear me roar!” mark this effort as falling off the assembly line of movies aimed at black females over the last decade. Girl power is great and I generally applaud movies for the attitude but it misses the point of its predecessor.

MY SCORE: 5/10