I did see most of Beloved and it was good, though me and my partner were talking or sumthin and I fell asleep on it. It was entertaining tho'.

Anyway Roger is not racist he just misunderstood. I'm just gonn flat out say, if u are uptight, misunderstood and dont understand Madea or her plays DONT SEE IT

sosgemini said:

I never thought he was racist...but I just don't believe he has actually seen a Madea paly obviously and probably will never have an intention to see one. They are very good and sometimes extremely funny....plus they have great great gospel, soulful interludes.

Now on one hand. This movie has black stereotypes yeah but EVERY BLACK MOVIE has black stereotypes...ITS BECAUSE IT IS TRUE AT TIMES. That's why it is funny to us black folks, because we have been there or we know someone just like that. It is like a chance to enjoy ourselves and laugh and overexaggerated observations. i.e.

In Diary..after the 'Divorce Court' scene as they were leaving, the judge said, "next up Bobby Brown!" (Whiteny in the background Bobbaay! BOBBAAAY!" "Ms. Houston u have to sit down!!"


Anyway Roger is not racist he just misunderstood. I'm just gonn flat out say, if u are uptight, misunderstood and dont understand Madea or her plays DONT SEE IT

paisleypark4 said:

I think this is the problem right here...There are some films that are made to entertain. White Chicks , anything with Eddie Murphy, anything with Chris Tucker..

but there are also films that are there to provoke thought.....and african american's do not support these films.....Nobody walked into Schindler's List thinking they should be entertained....Yet, while walking Beloved I overheard people bitching and moaning about how boring the film was.....

one could easily say that this isnt a problem that just pertains to films....music, television shows.....we only support the fluff.....

hopefully things will balance out.

bwnladybug said:

while i respect your right i can not agree with it...i respect Roger Eberts opinion on films....There are times when I read one of his reviews and will ignore what he has to say and still see a movie. But if he makes a convincing explenation for me *not* to see a film (as he did with Diary) i will not go see it...And a film like Diary doesnt speak to me. I enjoy going to movies to be challenged. To think.....I understand that some people go to movies for escapism. And thats fine. But if a film perpetuates stereotypes or cheats its audience then I think everybody should avoid it. Dont support it just because a black person made it.

Roger Ebert is one of African American filmmaker's biggest supporters. Some of his number one picks of the year of recent:

Monster's Ball
Eve's Bayou
Do The Right Thing

Films he supported by pushing them in the media:

Badass
Hotel Rwanda
All of Spike Lee's catalog
Boys N Da Hood

heck, Roger Eberts wife is black (something Gene Siskel would call him out on for always picking african american themed films at the top of his best of the year list)...

So for supporters of Diary to call Roger Ebert racist is just disgusting....

paisleypark4 said:

see, and this is where i am lost...so, if you enjoy quality filmmaking you are uptight? misunderstood or just dont get it?

sosgemini said:

They did go back and forth sometimes because of that. I'm glad Ebert is one of the few vocal supporters of black films and especially independent type black films, but sometimes he recommends some bad shit - Love Don't Cost a Thing, Drumline and She Hate Me come to mind. He tends to give some films the benefit of the doubt just to get people to see these movies. Because of that, I give his occasional bad taste the benefit of the doubt.

Truly, if it weren't for him and Oprah, I would never have known about Eve's Bayou. The funny thing is, Oprah didn't know how to pronounce the damn title. She kept saying how great it was and pronouncing it Eve's Bio (even after she saw the damn movie!). Finally Lynn Whitfield leaned over and whispered into her ear that she was saying it incorrectly.

paisleypark4 said:

But if the movies are just for followers of the play, why not just make another play? Should the movie not stand on its own? I'm assuming the movie is to widen the audience for this character & story. They can't possibly assume everyone coming to the movie theater has seen the plays. So they should automatically take that into account when crafting the story, etc - that people WILL be new to this character & story. It should be appealing in some way.

I think I remember his review saying the Madea character is just over the top, said she stormed in like a trainwreck. Well that's not everybody's granmother, mother or aunt & it's not gonna appeal to everyone. I don't even like the idea of it - does that make me a racist? Or does that make me a person who just doesn't like the movie/character/story? Come on now...

sosgemini said:

If U dont like movies like "Dont Be A Menace" "Im Gonna Git U Sucka" "Scary Movie" or any kind of stereotypical parodies like that (although this movie doesnt really go that far or is that out of case) then I guess dont. But still it's a nice film. Madea makes me feel good that the girl is getting over the man whom hurt her so bad. Makes it not a drawn out drama about sum same ol' love story we have all seen b4.


How du u feel about "Deliver Us From Eva" or "Barbershop"?

sosgemini said:

If U dont like movies like "Dont Be A Menace" "Im Gonna Git U Sucka" "Scary Movie" or any kind of stereotypical parodies like that (although this movie doesnt really go that far or is that out of case) then I guess dont. But still it's a nice film. Madea makes me feel good that the girl is getting over the man whom hurt her so bad. Makes it not a drawn out drama about sum same ol' love story we have all seen b4.


How du u feel about "Deliver Us From Eva" or "Barbershop"?

sosgemini said:

Very true, seems like Black folks shy away from serious films, I can't figure it out. It's like you suck if you don't support the silly Black films but don't call anyone out for not supporting the serious, better quality ones (I say this while still standing by my "Beloved was boring" statement )...

I think I'll pass.....

sosgemini said:

They did go back and forth sometimes because of that. I'm glad Ebert is one of the few vocal supporters of black films and especially independent type black films, but sometimes he recommends some bad shit - Love Don't Cost a Thing, Drumline and She Hate Me come to mind. He tends to give some films the benefit of the doubt just to get people to see these movies. Because of that, I give his occasional bad taste the benefit of the doubt.

Truly, if it weren't for him and Oprah, I would never have known about Eve's Bayou. The funny thing is, Oprah didn't know how to pronounce the damn title. She kept saying how great it was and pronouncing it Eve's Bio (even after she saw the damn movie!). Finally Lynn Whitfield leaned over and whispered into her ear that she was saying it incorrectly.

CalhounSq said:

Madea is meant to be over the top...ugh yall dont get it
Madea is like everyone's therapist in the movie. Everyone from the plays goes to her with their problems weather they are a bible totin christian or a drug dealer...and she is always funny and fun to watch..yet there is always a moral to the stories and appealing to people's real lives.

Why not make another play? I don't never get to see the plays in person so I like that the movie is out there to the masses. I really would like 2 c it again too.

CalhounSq said:

Madea is meant to be over the top...ugh yall dont get it
Madea is like everyone's therapist in the movie. Everyone from the plays goes to her with their problems weather they are a bible totin christian or a drug dealer...and she is always funny and fun to watch..yet there is always a moral to the stories and appealing to people's real lives.

Why not make another play? I don't never get to see the plays in person so I like that the movie is out there to the masses. I really would like 2 c it again too.

CalhounSq said:

I fell asleep during The Aviator and Schindlers List... *and* Titanic...but they are all quality and important films..Well, except for Titanic.

paisleypark4 said:

I'm gonna keep chiming in on y'all despite the fact that nobody's talking to me ...

These are great: "Dont Be A Menace" "Im Gonna Git U Sucka" "Scary Movie". Funny, straight up comedies...

"Barbershop" actually turned out to be okay though from the looks of it I wasn't that enthused.

"Eva" sucked nuts, as did "The Brothers".

"2 Can Play That Game" wasn't as bad as "Eva/Brothers" but still worse than "Barbershop"... or maybe it's on par w/ "Barbershop", can't decide...

CalhounSq said:

2 Can Play...and Eva was GOOD. Funny movie, both of em!

CalhounSq said:

2 Can Play...and Eva was GOOD. Funny movie, both of em!

paisleypark4 said:

you gonna address my Mel Brooks in About Schmidt comment?

paisleypark4 said:

So the Madea character is meant to be over the top. BUT if I don't like her character does that make me wrong somehow It's just odd man, that rejecting a stereotype is viewed in such a way. I guess me & Roger Ebert are uptight & misunderstood

Bottom line for me: the Madea character seems to be what they're selling in the ads & it's the very thing (along w/ the story) that turns me off. Well that & Shemar Moore's fake braids

CalhounSq said:

For the exact same reason, I am turned off by the film and the play as well. Oh, I couldn't agree with you more that Shemar has been looking tore up lately w/that wannabe thug like look. Lawd Have Mercy
[Edited 3/5/05 7:31am]

sosgemini said:

I dont know nuttin nuttin bout no About Shmidt

Hotlegs said:

And I will pass!!!...STILL!

This movie is good. It is better than what you will expect it to be. I have never seen any of Tyler Perry's plays but I enjoyed this film. My mother, who only likes dramas or thrillers loved the movie also. Don't go by what the critics say. It's a beautiful film with some silly moments