Mjeteconer Just perfect...

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

view_and_review It was '92 or '93, I was home channel surfing and I saw Robert Townsend. I thought, "I'll give this movie a shot, I like Robert Townsend". I caught the movie in the middle but I watched it to completion. This movie was such a riot that I went out and rented it so that I could see it from beginning to end. Robert Townsend had me in stitches.The movie is a comedy about the stereotyping that goes on in Hollywood. It follows a young aspiring actor named Bobby Taylor (Robert Townsend) and his arduous road to becoming a Hollywood star. It's done in almost skit style as Bobby Taylor lapses into a series of daydreams that puts him in different roles. Each daydream is just a ball of laughs. Townsend approaches a delicate subject in an hysterical manner but still drives home a good message.Absolutely my favorite Townsend performance.

primona I just had the pleasure of seeing this movie again but this time through the lens of an adult. I'm amazed at how smart and funny this movie is. The film is a humorous and yet sad satire on how blacks are betrayed in film and television. The film focuses on Bobby Taylor (Robert Townsend) as he attempts to become a successful actor. It features over the top white Hollywood casting agents, producers, and directors who provide feedback to black actors (in some cases classically trained) on how to act "more black" or be like Eddie Murphy. The film is set-up as a series of vignettes which are all good but I had two favorites. One is a vignette that involves a television show called "Sneakin' in the Movies" which is a parody of Siskel and Ebert reviews, involving two ghetto teenagers. They review four movies: Amadeus meets Salieri, Chicago Jones and the Temple of Doom, Dirty Larry, and Attack of the Street Pimps. They're assessments, especially on what would really happen to Dirty Larry (a parody on the movie Dirty Harry) involve so many funny quotable lines that I dare you to not find yourself repeating one of them. The other vignette features Keenen Ivory Wayans as Jheri Curl. Now this second vignette might be hard to get unless you grew up in the 80s.Despite the topic, the film is not mean spirited but uses humor to educate us on the stereotypes we frequently see (even today) when it comes to blacks in film and TV and it's not hard to see how this enlightenment we have obtained would expand to other minorities and diverse groups like Hispanics, Asians, or gays. It's good to learn and laugh at the same time – Enjoy!

preppy-3 Robert Townsend plays a black actor who is trying to find an acting job in California...but all he finds are stereotypical roles. It seems the only acting jobs for blacks are as gangsters, hookers and such.Likable and ambitious but VERY uneven comedy. It shows parodies of TV shows, movies and commercials all making fun of how blacks are treated in Hollywood. It makes its point early on and just keeps making it again and again and again. It gets repetitious pretty quickly. Some of it is funny but other bits (especially a Siskel/Ebert bit and an Eddie Murphy gag) are pretty dated. This was a sizable hit when it came out but I never found it that funny. The whole cast is good (some are excellent) but the material just keeps repeating itself. Townsend did much better with his next film "The Five Heartbeats".Sadly this movie had no effect on Hollywood. From what I hear it's still difficult for black actors to get good jobs and just three years after this "New Jack City" was released--a very violent movie about black gangsters that was a monster hit.

vchimpanzee Bobby Taylor wants to be a respected actor, but he has to settle for stereotypical roles in the white-dominated world of cinema. It is clear, as he rehearses in the movie's opening scenes, that the role he is auditioning for is not exactly what he has in mind. When the movie is actually filmed, it gives the term 'Blaxploitation' a whole new meaning.Bobby lives with his brother Stevie and his grandmother, and he is often told he could work at the post office. He does have a job at Winky Dinky Dog, a hot dog place where Donald and Tiny are his co-workers, though his auditions interfere with his ability to be on the job when needed. The most popular sitcom on TV stars a comical bat/man who isn't exactly Cliff Huxtable.As Bobby agonizes over this role, he has fantasies about what could happen. The fantasies are the best part of the movie.In one scene, slaves are escaping, and the one guy who worked in the house makes Stepin Fetchit look like Sidney Poitier. The same actor later turns quite sophisticated in a commercial for Black Acting School, which is taught by white instructors, where aspiring actors only learn stereotypes. Light-skinned blacks need not apply.In another fantasy, Bobby imagines that, since Siskel and Ebert are white guys who don't know what they are talking about, his people are represented by a couple of brothers in 'Sneakin' In The Movies'. Among the characters lampooned in this fantasy are Amadeus, Indiana Jones and Dirty Harry. And there is a movie about pimps and hookers that is ten times worse than anything real.Probably the best fantasy of all happens while Bobby and his grandmother are watching 'Sam Ace', a Humphrey Bogart type movie. The film 'Death of a Breakdancer', done in black and white with the film noir style (including jazz music) stars Bobby as a black Sam Ace. While the film shows positive images, stereotypes can still be found--Jerry Curl is one of the suspects and very funny.Rambo becomes Rambro in another scene.Should we be enjoying all these offensive portrayals of African-Americans? Of course. Robert Townsend is black, and he produced, directed and co-wrote this movie and did a fine job of acting as well. His purpose was obviously to make fun of stereotypes. And Bobby shows that he has pride, and doesn't have to accept disrespect.As a white person, I was not bothered by the fact that the majority of white people in this movie are portrayed in an over-the-top manner, especially the people responsible for the movie for which Bobby is auditioning. We're not like that, and I know it.This movie was made on a budget, but one reason was the use of the same actors in many different roles. For the most part, it doesn't seem low-budget.One of the better moments in the 'real' world takes place in the barbershop run by Bobby's Uncle Ray. David McKnight does an admirable job in a dramatic scene.I highly recommend this movie.