Boomerang (1992)

Review #1642: Boomerang.

Cast: 

Eddie Murphy (Marcus Graham), Robin Givens (Jacqueline Broyer), Halle Berry (Angela Lewis), David Alan Grier (Gerard Jackson), Martin Lawrence (Tyler Hawkins), Grace Jones (Helen Strangé), Geoffrey Holder (Nelson), Eartha Kitt (Lady Eloise), Chris Rock (Bony T), Tisha Campbell (Yvonne), Lela Rochon (Christie), and John Witherspoon (Mr. Jackson) Directed by Reginald Hudlin.

Review: 

"We wanted to tell stories that hadn’t been told yet. And for black audiences, they were like, “Oh my god, this is crazy — this is my actual life, and I’ve never seen that [on screen] before!”

Not many films exist where one could split the cast in half and have two decent potential films. This is exactly one of those films, particularly with the trajectories to come for a significant portion of its cast, whether involving film stars, television regulars, and futures in between. Think about it: You have a prime star in Murphy, who hadn't had a failure yet with audiences (critics is a different story, but who's counting?), and you have folks that were near the point of stardom with Berry, which goes right with television players in Grier, Lawrence, and Rock. One can't forget about the director in all of this. This was the second film of Reginald Hudlin, who had started his pursuit of filmmaking with study at Harvard University, as his eventual first film came from his thesis project short film in House Party, based on his experiences growing up in Illinois. He made the film alongside his brother Warrington (an occasional documentary maker who served as producer), and House Party (1990) turned out to be a huge hit, one that Hudlin found to be a take on films like American Graffiti and Risky Business but with a black focus. Shortly after that, he was sent a script by Murphy that dealt with a playboy that gets involved with a man-eater just like him. He responded to it well from the very get-go, liking that type of romantic comedy that Murphy had yet to really do for himself (Coming to America sort of did this, but that one also had Murphy play a whole bunch of characters). In short, Murphy wanted someone to help him do a film where he could be his whole self, not just a persona. This was the fifth film that Murphy would contribute in the writing department. He wrote the story while David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein (who wrote for Saturday Night Live during Murphy's tenure) did the screenplay (which occurred before with Coming to America four years prior). Believe it or not, the film did not have its original ending in the script retained for the final finish. It was originally supposed to end after the scene with the three friends (Murphy, Grier, Lawrence) reconciling on a rooftop, with no closing sequence involving romance, but Hudlin was convinced to make an ending where there had to be a definitive decision (this is a rom-com after all).

With a budget of $42 million, the film managed to pull in audience returns that were triple of the budget. I sure can see why, because I found it to be a fairly enjoyable rom-com, one that while predictable is at the very least interested in making a breezy film involving love and friendship with a few gags in between. Between this and Harlem Nights, it might prove a worthy double-header of films I liked that don't have as much attention to them as they probably should - one was a bit understated in its attempts at crime comedy, while this has some raunchy moments without becoming a parody of itself that I found pretty interesting, even if its 117 minute run-time (which incidentally matches the other film) could be a bit too much. In this sense, I think Murphy pulls off a well-to-do performance, mostly because his self-satisfied charisma seems more interesting to sit through than if it was just a role to make faces and instead play a rendition of Cary Grant, albeit for the 1990s. He proves to be quite interesting his contrasting sequences of pursuit with Givens or Berry, showing tenderness in its varied forms when looking at the prism of love. Givens (whose biggest role to that point was five seasons on Head of the Class starting in 1986) proves a formidable match. She plays the role with carefree confidence, one that springs to mind similarity to her counterpart co-star with cool detached spirit that works to what is needed without being treated for a silly gag or a moral handwave. Berry (in her fourth film role, having entered show business in 1989) seals the triangle of romance with grace and warmth that resonates well for some charming little moments. When it comes to the triangle of friends, Murphy, Grier, and Lawrence do pretty well with what is needed, for which the latter two play foils in their own respective ways. Grier (best known for Streamers and In Living Color) plays the square aspect with reason and fair timing to go with interesting moments, one of which involving the typical (at least for some...) embarrassing family Thanksgiving dinner with one-scene wonder Witherspoon. Lawrence (who had been featured in House Party while having his own sitcom premiere a month after the release of this film) proves quite spry in parts, such as one sequence involving pool and racial nature due to the the color of the balls used in the game that is a pretty good rant. As for Jones, the role she plays is one written specifically for herself (with nobody else in mind for the role). With a chance to do a few wild things that start with a great entrance, she does quite well in showing commitment to the parody, never quite winking at the camera but also not missing a chance to have fun at the same time, and Kitt also reflects that side of the coin as well in smaller portions (she had accepted the role after the script toned down some of the bawdier aspects of the role). To top it off, you have a right-at-home Holder playing a Dali imitation while Rock and Campbell play peanut gallery jokes to Murphy that land fine. On the whole, one will know where they are going pretty quickly with a film involving a lesson about one's place in commitment and honesty between loved ones that makes it worth the ride. It certainly pulled a ride worthy enough for its own television series, which was created for airing on BET (with Berry as an executive producer) over two decades after the release of the film that ran for two seasons. On the whole, I found this to be a fair gem in the aisle of romantic comedies, packed with a game cast that clearly seems to be in their element that overrides any detours of overwrought narratives or outdated notions to make for a fine time for those in the mindset for a fresh director and an established star trying to branch out. 

Next Time - No introduction necessary. Malcolm X.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.