Sorry, Spike...

I wanted BLACKkKLANSMAN to be gangbusters for several reasons: a) I like really well crafted movies, b) I wanted to see Lee back in primo form, c) it's a movie we could desperately use and most definitely need, right now! And although this movie has a lot to say (as do all of Spike's joints) this was far from it; it pains me to say it, but this was such a desperately amateurish production. I left feeling both disappointed and a tad angered that Spike didn't deliver at such a critical moment with something smart, taut and on the money. Instead we were bludgeoned with heavy handed preaching and sermonizing, bludgeoned with caricature acting and deliveries, bludgeoned with a story line that seesawed from boring to ridiculous. And two thirds through the movie I was still praying it was all some elusive set up with a grand master pay off I just could not possibly foresee. Alas...

America Hates, Hates, Hates to talk about race- at least, the White portion does. Granted there's a whole lotta guilt there, a whole lotta stuff to acknowledge, work through, resolve- that's why it's avoided... at-all-cost. The same reason why America scoffs at the very notion, the very mention that every square inch of this land was stolen at the point of a gun. And that's what Lee always strives to bring out effectively- the history, the reality, the consequences of living in a racist society. But in a movie, a non documentary flick that the general populace so needs to see... ya gotta entertain the masses, ya gotta come with the carrot and the stick. And there are, most definitely, ways one can achieve that, be it a suspenseful thriller, or well crafted comedy/satire. This attempts both and fails spectacularly at each, while throwing in a high school production on the history of American racism- and I thought we had been there, done that with Bamboozled. Granted, so very many Americans never got that much needed lesson of our history... I'll listen (and have gladly done so) to Harry Belafonte lecture any day of the week, but cutting to see and hear him speak intermittently during the the course of the movie (unlike say, here) was not only a disservice to the narrative and pace of the movie, but to the eloquence and wisdom Mr. Belafonte most certainly has to disseminate!

Wish I could say different, but the very movie itself exemplifies its own weakness- the most potent portion that actually took it to whole other level was the very end that shows the footage of what happened at Charlottesville, the high definition video of the murder of Heather Hyer and other consequent injuries on the big screen simply takes your breath away. Capture that pure, simple recognition of the evil that is racism on the Hollywood silver screen in a way people can readily assimilate, and you got your blockbuster, and message delivered- minus the preaching. Yeah, you bet it's easier said than done, but I thought it was something Spike finally recognized, understood and was now putting into play. Fortunately, there are other Black filmmakers out there right now who are well on the road to that task...