The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings.

Review #1805: The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings.

Cast: 

Billy Dee Williams (Bingo Long [P]), James Earl Jones (Leon Carter, All-Star [C]), Richard Pryor (Charlie Snow, All-Star [RF] / "Carlos Nevada" / "Chief Takahoma"), Stan Shaw ("Esquire Joe" Calloway, An All-Star [CF]), Tony Burton (Issac, All-Star [CF]), Rico Dawson (Willie Lee Shively, All-Star [RF]), Sam "Birmingham" Brison (Louis Keystone, All-Star [SS]), Jophery Brown (Emory "Champ" Chambers, All-Star [3B]), Leon Wagner (Sam "Fat Sam" Popper, All-Star [1B]), John McCurry (Walter Murchman, All-Star [LF]), DeWayne Jessie (Rainbow, All-Star [Batboy]), Ted Ross (Sallison Potter [Owner]), Mabel King (Bertha Dewitt [Owner]), Ken Foree (Honey), and Carl Gordon (Mack) Directed by John Badham (#088 - Short Circuit, #1293 - Dracula (1979), #1456 - Saturday Night Fever, #1610 - WarGames)

Review: 

If you didn't already know about the Negro leagues when it comes to baseball, you really should. Oh sure, I will get to the review of the film soon, but I figured that this matched perfectly with this particular month in black history. Baseball, as we all know, is a great game. However, it was not a perfect game when it came to handling color, as the line between white and black players arose in the late 19th century that excluded the latter from league play. In 1887, the first black league was created, but independent play was the norm until the 20th century. In 1920, the Negro National League was formed by the legendary pitcher/manager Rube Foster, and it became the first definitive major league for black baseball. Six other leagues would come and go in the next two decades that featured many great players and managers all across the country, such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells, Turkey Stearnes, Candy Jim Taylor, Vic Harris, and plenty more. Integration of Major League Baseball occurred in 1947 with Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, which turned the Negro leagues into a barnstorming unit (most notably with the Indianapolis Clowns); Robinson would be the first black player to become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, but it was only nine years later that a committee was formed to induct players that were involved in the Negro leagues, starting with Paige. Although numerous great players have been honored from this era, it was only in 2021 that MLB made a decision to recognize those seven leagues as major leagues. To tie all this together with how Negro league baseball inspired folks, consider the fact that John Badham grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where the Black Barons played in the era. Badham (in his directorial debut) seemed like the ideal director to adapt the 1973 novel of the same name that was written by William Brashler. Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins did the screenplay for the film, while Berry Gordy (known for his work in Motown Records) served as one of the producers.

Honestly, there are ingredients for a great piece of entertainment, one that could have really been a tremendous period comedy that took inspiration from the famous names that starred in the Negro leagues. Some of this is present here when it comes to antics reminiscent of players such as Paige (who liked to call in the outfield in an inning to strike out the side on occasion) and Gibson (a power-hitting catcher) with a little bit of Jackie Robinson (of course, the film is set in 1939, which makes the ending of the film curiously out-of-place). Of course, by the time one finishes its 110-minute runtime, they will find a film that is...more of a long single rather than a home run, shall we say. It might sound dissapointing, but one does want a bit more from a baseball movie than just one that plays for a few laughs. There is something begging to be told about the story of players who toil to make a few bucks while dealing with both the realities of that time in America, but one seems to see more antics than foundational points. The baseball action is also just okay, since a good deal of it is meant to be charming in the style of the Harlem Globetrotters than say, The Pride of the Yankees. Charming, sure, but one can see where perspective might have helped when it comes to seeing people struggle to make a living within segregated baseball. 

At least one can say Williams and Jones are at their best here. Incidentally, Williams, who grew up in New York City, used to watch Negro league (and Cuban) players play in Central Park before he developed dreams of becoming a painter and actor. He proves engaging in a charming role filled with confidence that is quite infectious. Jones accompanies him with solid chemistry while essentially playing the straight man in a film with a handful of chuckles to go around, which works fine for him. Pryor is technically the third star of the film, even if he really only has four scenes to show for it, with two of them involving him impersonating a Cuban and Native American. He does fine schtick, I guess. Shaw does fine as the essential leader of the supporting cast (which includes a dwarf ballplayer), while Ross seems suited for more scenes to chew on as the heel (King is also interesting, but she is mainly used for a one-note joke). To me, the movie is most interesting when one sees the baseball diamond and the history it invites more than a few sly jokes (the firecracker bit being the best), but it generally manages to be charming enough to make the final result worth it. With a suitable cast and a fair foundation behind it, I would say this makes for a decent baseball movie and decent one to pick out for encouraging further research in black history.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: Friday.

Harlem Nights.

Review #1639: Harlem Nights.

Cast: 

Eddie Murphy (Vernest "Quick" Brown), Richard Pryor (Sugar Ray), Redd Foxx (Bennie Wilson), Danny Aiello (Phil Cantone), Michael Lerner (Bugsy Calhoune), Della Reese (Madame Vera Walker), Berlinda Tolbert (Annie), Stan Shaw (Jack Jenkins), Jasmine Guy (Dominique La Rue), Vic Polizos (Richie Vento), Lela Rochon (Sunshine), David Marciano (Tony), Arsenio Hall (Reggie), and Thomas Mikal Ford (Tommy Smalls) Written and Directed by Eddie Murphy.

Review: 

It goes without saying that Eddie Murphy was a prime comedic star for the 1980s. It sure is something that one can be the headline presence in nine feature films in that era and have only one of them be an outright stinker (Best Defense, although the jury will be out on The Golden Child, another one that Murphy detested, until I actually get around to it...). He had various influences growing up that ranged from Richard Pryor to Bruce Lee, but it is the former that he most aspired to be most like. After all, Murphy thought he was going to be famous from a young age, but it was listening to one of Pryor's albums that made him think about doing comedy. And...you know the rest, but there is one thing to state about this film: it is the only time he has directed his own film, for which he also served as executive producer. The film ultimately turned out to be a mixed result. On the one hand, Murphy and the others did enjoy themselves quite a bit, to which Murphy described it as a blur that was amazing for coming together - at least in recent times, since he also called it part of his bizarre periods that catered to what he thought would please everybody while plagued with adulation, where the funny stuff seemed to be more offstage than in the film. One apparent inspiration was the real life conflict between gangsters involving Harlem, as Dutch Schultz and Bumpy Johnson had a conflict in the mid 1930s. Strangely enough, Johnson had been used as the inspiration for a variety of films with gangster characters, such as Shaft (1971) and The Cotton Club (1984). 

It can certainly be said that this is a weird vanity project, one that has a labor of love for wanting to work with inspirations that result in a wild up-and-down film. It was a mild success with its $30 million budget, but it also received mostly derisive attention for its time that has only slightly molded down into the box of "cult classic" from others. In other words: a mixed bag, one that can either be the equivalent of a good time spent for amusement, or one that can be thought of as too familiar or vulgar to work in either action or comedy. For me, I thought it was just fine - cliché period piece or not, there was still something for me to enjoy, even though it obviously isn't the best way to make one's own vanity piece (believe me, The Postman (1997), vanity piece or not, was far more embarrassing to go through). If a regular film student had done this basic premise, we would probably think of it as average fluff, but Murphy being the driving force basically magnifies everything to 10. Of course, the obscenities don't help, but am I really going to be the one to cry about swear words in a film? Class and bawdiness are the yin-and-yang of any time period, really (at least the ones that people want to live in instead of their own). Truthfully, the film works best when trying to not strain for a joke, where it allows itself to enjoy the crisp look that one will either tolerate as something they've seen before or wish they were watching another film about switcheroos (once one does The Sting (1973), can one really ever go back?). In that sense, while Murphy likely should have had someone else direct or had a script polishing, he does a fair job in balancing himself out, being semi-funny with a few quips in a generally warm-headed performance that anyone would be fine with in having mentors around while blowing folks away. On the other side of lead actors, this one was near the close of Pryor's career. He had suffered a variety of health problems (having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986, for which he said got worse in 1990) alongside doing a selection of wide-ranging comedy work (which ranged from Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to Superman III), and this was his third-to-last starring role. He had his own reservations about his performance, one that he toned down from script-to-screen that seemed (to him) to be bothered by his MS diagnosis, and he felt that he never connected with Murphy and his "mean" comedy. Honestly, it is a fine performance, one that obviously is trying to play that line of weariness in being a mentor and also an adept player to what is needed - it results in a few amusing moments.  This was the last film role for Foxx, who incidentally would star alongside Reese in a Murphy-produced television show with The Royal Family (1991), which ended up being Foxx's last project prior to his death at the age of 68. He still seems to have the spark needed in wiry background amusement, and one can see a useful duo between him and Reese. Not to be forgotten for their own contributions in being a name for themselves before filming is Reese, who was known for her jazz and gospel singing for three decades alongside vast work in television. The film suits her well for a variety of amusing moments of bombast, with the sequences between her and Murphy (one of which involving a fight in an alley) proving a worthy highlight. Aiello and Lerner each make useful adversaries (cliché, but still), riding the line of imposing threat in each line of focus (whether as a beleaguered boss or a jealous cop in a hovel) that fits the standard needed. Others make appearances here and there that in theory could lead somewhere (such as a subdued Guy), but it ends up with Hall being the most interesting one to see in a short role, playing the crying game of mayhem pretty well. As a whole, 116 minutes of run-time is either too long for a film of this caliber or curious enough to want to see it all the way through. It is nobody's idea of a great crime comedy, but Harlem Nights could be worth your while if you find the sum of its parts enough to satisfy your curiosity. 

Next Time: The first film on my mind for this project - Boyz n the Hood.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Superman III.

Review #786: Superman III.

Cast
Christopher Reeve (Clark Kent / Superman), Richard Pryor (Gus Gorman), Robert Vaughn (Ross Webster), Annette O'Toole (Lana Lang), Annie Ross (Vera Webster), Pamela Stephenson (Lorelei Ambrosia), Jackie Cooper (Perry White), Margot Kidder (Lois Lane), Marc McClure as (Jimmy Olsen), and Gavan O'Herlihy (Brad Wilson) Directed by Richard Lester (#541 - A Hard Day's Night, #594 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and #785 - Superman II)

Review
There is nothing wrong with a bit of humor and/or slapstick. Some comic book movies even excel at moments of lightness in otherwise good films. Superman III is not one of those movies. It's a sad, desperate attempt of trying so hard to be both that it manages to fail at every turn. It's hard to tell when the first cracks appear, but it could be argued that it's either when Richard Pryor first appears, or when the title sequence is shamelessly put on the bottom of the screen so we can all see some slapstick immediately after Pryor shows up. Afterwards, the movie goes up and down from there. Reeve is the best part of the movie, carrying the movie even when you know it's already past the point of no return. He even gets to play a Superman who (briefly) becomes weakened by synthetic kryptonite (just go with it) and becomes...a Superman who fixes the Tower of Pisa and even drinks some alcohol (while flicking peanuts at beer bottles). It's a ridiculous aspect of the movie, but it gives Reeve something to do amidst the Pryor parts that really take up nearly 45% of the film. There's even a scene where the two "Supermans" fight each other, which while being ridiculous (especially in how it ends), is actually pretty interesting to watch.

The new villain this time around is played by Robert Vaughn, but he doesn't really stick out too much, coming off as a Lex Luthor stand-in. O'Toole is the new leading lady (by that I mean for only this film), and while she is relatively decent, she isn't given much to do, as compared to Kidder...who is essentially put on a bus early on. And then of course there's Richard Pryor. He's not inherently terrible, and he is somewhat funny, but he doesn't really feel like he should be in a Superman film. For most of the movie he is on the side of the villain(s), but the second that Superman is in actual danger, he switches sides, and it comes off as a dull surprise. The only thing that surprised me is the computer "robotizing" one of the characters near the end, but of course it's not permanent, so whatever (by the way, how does a computer who is supposed to know Superman's weaknesses not realize how a certain acid gets volatile under intense heat? Actually, forget it, the movie still stinks). The movie's biggest flaw is that there really is no spectacle to any of it. You never really care about anything that goes on, and nothing sticks out in this movie that you truly remember as a good thing. The main idea behind the movie isn't terrible, but the execution falls flat on its face.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.