BLACK OR WHITE
PG-13
121 Minutes
Director: Mike Binder
Writer: Mike Binder
Kevin Costner, Bill Burr, Octavia Spencer
CAST
Kevin Costner...Elliot Anderson
Octavia Spencer...Rowena Jeffers
Jillian Estell...Eloise Anderson
Bill Burr...Rick Reynolds
Anthony Mackie...Jeremiah Jeffers
Jeremiah: Do you dislike black people?
Elliot: Not all of them.
Elliot Anderson, More Like Elliot Ness, Because Kevin Costner Was In That UNTOUCHABLES Film...Get It?
It's a rare treat, when you get an entire movie theater to yourself. Which got me thinking: is it still rude to use a smartphone if you're the only person in the theater? Kind of an interesting Zen quandary to ponder. Also, I loved yelling things at the screen like, 'quit drinking so much Kevin', and 'that's so racist'.
SWING VOTE was the last Kevin Costner film I saw voluntarily. So I noticed many interesting parallels between SWING VOTE and BLACK OR WHITE. First similarity, Kevin's character is an alcoholic. Second, his character is trying to raise a little girl on his own. Third, both feature absent mothers with drug problems. And lastly, these two films have black and white folks, not in the SCHINDLER'S LIST way either. I'm referring to race, not black and white film.
Costner's wife dies. Distraught with grief, Kevin stumbles through his days in a drunken stupor. Which is understandable. But it takes much more time than it should for him to sober up. Considering he's in the middle of a contentious custody battle.
Even with all its flaws, this movie has a strong conclusion. I'll give it that. And for a moment, I could see that Kevin Costner tried to make an honest statement on race relations in America. But his good intentions didn't make for a good movie. Things got crazy, and bizarre toward the end of the film. I love the knife fight/drowning of Kevin Costner scene. Ghost wife brought him up for air, or so it seemed. And the final custody hearing was straight out of an episode of NIGHT COURT. Many jokes were sprinkled throughout the court proceedings. Costner goes on a long diatribe about racial prejudice. The entire courtroom erupted in laughter, and applause. Gavel, gavel, order in the court...case dismissed. Elliot Ness gets custody. But it was all for nothing. Just outside the courtroom, the kid got hit by a car...just kidding. I really had you going there.
BLACK OR WHITE is superb. I like the part where Michael Jackson is on the Statue of Liberty. Oh, what's that? I'm thinking of a music video. Aahh geez, I hate when this happens. This is like BOYZ-N-THE-HOOD all over again; and to make things more confusing, both the movie, and the music video had Ice Cube.
In conclusion, if you want to see a film about race relations, I recommend watching PADDINGTON. The bear is brown, and the Brown (surname) family that he stays with is white. If the human race and the bear race can coexist peacefully. Then there is hope for everyone, even Kevin Costner. Additionally, Sally Hawkins is absolutely marvelous in everything she does.
Final Verdict: 60 out of 100
