Will Smith’s latest action flick is another certified hit, grossing over $100 million in its first five days of release. It is certainly good (although I wouldn’t say it’s great) but there is one thing that has bugged me more and more since I’ve seen the movie. (Okay, if you haven’t seen the movie and like surprises please stop reading now *Major Spoiler Alert).
What bugged me was the “romance” between Will and Charlize Theron. This was supposed to be a major plot twist in the movie.But if you ask me Charlize was telegraphing as much as should could with her eyes from jump (either that or she was playing a schizophrenic racist). My problem is that the proof of what they supposedly shared became a blink and you missed it moment. I suspect that the more meaningful scenes were sacrificed and ended up on the cutting room floor. If there weren’t any additional scenes than the movie has a major flaw.
Yes, a blockbuster movie can be flawed, especially in this case when this premise is what drives the pivotal scenes. It’s disappointing that the director and even Will didn’t demand more. This is not unusual, of course, Denzel Washington was supposed to be romantically involved with Julia Roberts in The Pelican Brief. Now I must say that I am not clamoring for an interracial love story but if that is the point then don’t shy away from it.
I don’t know what I was expecting. It is difficult for Hollywood to get black love right. I could probably use my fingers to count the good ones (and I probably wouldn’t use all of them) so interracial relationships, may be even harder for them to grasp, especially if it is a black man and a white woman. (Note: in real life those pairing, even when for artistic emphasis don’t fare well either Vogue’s LeBron James/Gisele Bundchen cover was definitely not a hit on the newsstand.)
And where are we, the sisters, in all this? Invisible and silent in this and many other movies. I am not saying that Hancock’s twist would have been better if the love interest would have been a sister because it would still be half-baked. What I am saying is that I am longing to see black love meet the Hollywood box office and succeed. And yes, I want more than Vivica A. Fox’s nominal role in Independence Day.
Log on to myblackgirlsite.com to vote for your all time favorite black love stories on film.
If you liked this post, we think you might like these too:
July 10th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Okay now you made me curious about the movie. I had not planned to see it, but I think that I will rent it from Netflix when it comes out. I love me some WILL, but I couldn’t get with the story line…. HUUUMMM … Right now I am not moved by many movies. WOE is me…
July 10th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
This post contains plot spoilers.
It’s funny, my wife and I JUST got in from seeing Hancock at an empty 4:10 matinée this afternoon. I got home, checked my email, and a notice about Corynne’s article was the first mail in my inbox.
Yeah. I mean it was clear that there was some ‘history’ between Hancock and Charlize when they first met, and both the actress and the director of the movie made SURE we were ‘clued into’ this history with unnecessarily long eye contact sequences and the emotionally strained looks on her face.
Was it even a love story? I think the story line was innovative, but I don’t think that enough was done to really fully establish the connection between these two, other than what Charlize said about them being in ancient Rome together, and such and such date B.C., etc. It was touching that Hancock understood the need to get the hell out of dodge after ol’ girl flat lined, in order to save her life.
So…was it a love story? I’m not sure. The movie got a 35% rating on rottentomatoes so my wife and I went in expecting basically nothing. Going in expecting nothing we actually enjoyed it a lot. I certainly did not expect there to be ANY love interest, much less a Black Love story. I do agree that interracial love story takes even more work to pull off. These two stars, who in reality are both young and attractive, are supposed to be thousands of years old, and had this interracial love story that spanned over the course of several centuries…and it was all based on what? If you’re going to pull off that story , then you need to provide some context. A LOT of context. In reality, race would have been an issue in their relationship throughout antiquity in the present. In a more sophisticated story, we would see how the persecution they faced may have been partially related to the fact that they were in an interracial relationship. Maybe that WAS the case. Maybe it was implied. Maybe it’s in the book.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen real Black Love in the cinema. I think it’s good that people like Corynne keep demanding it.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I went into the movie expected so much more but thought overall it was satisfying but not great. I totally get your point that this may not qualify as a love story after all. This was such a missed opportunity to tell a good story along with the action like Wanted did. I wasn’t expected anything more than a typical action flick and it was so much more. Lots of gore but with a wry sense of humor thrown in.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Yes, I agree…..there’s a feeling of ambiguity that comes over you after having seen it.
Most people (who actually think about movies that they watch) will probably think “hmmmm…. if I DECIDE to call it a love story, I will be disappointed. But if it’s an action story with a love twist thrown in then….it’s able to qualify as a half descent movie”.
Definitely a missed opportunity. Maybe the book has more. I’m assuming there’s a book. Maybe its just a comic book. But I’m hungry for more. Where do these two people really come from? There had to be a beginning to this. Who were the ‘others’ ?
Ok, I suppose I’ve gone on enough about this.
Great to see this website up, running and thriving.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Hancock looks like interesting spin on the latest superhero movie craze… if nothing else at least Will Smith tends to be pretty funny
July 14th, 2008 at 4:20 am
“real” black love doesn’t exist in reality. how can you expect to see it in hollywood?
July 17th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I have to agree that the love story piece was messed up big time.
Where was the jealousy from Jason Bateman’s character? And why didn’t we see at least one kiss, they talked about a kiss, but it just looked like Will and Charlize came really close then she threw him into a wall. And where was the dialogue about him letting her go to be with Jason’s character? It just felt empty in some parts. Maybe they should have just left that whole love thing out of it.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
You’re so right about the lack of jealousy. The scenes in the hospital were kind of unbelievable. And then Jason and Charlize live happily ever after? That was a pretty pat ending to the supposedly love triangle.