Spinning Into Butter

Sarah Jessica Parker steps away from her Carrie Bradshaw character and plays a Dean of Students at a small liberal arts college in Vermont. The film has an all star cast including Beau Bridges and Miranda Richardson as the other deans. James Rebhorn is always welcome on screen as the President of the College. Mykelti Williamson plays a local reporter. The story about a racism incident at the college creates a stir among the faculty and students. Parker's Dean character faces her own issues about race and her history in Chicago at a largely African American college, Lancaster College. In this film, Parker does a decent job but the script is weak and poorly adapted from the stage. Parker has her best moments when she confronts her racist views and feelings. While the cast is all star, the script weakens the film. To me, not much happens at all.

Wow, where do I even begin with everything that's wrong with this piece of garbage? Possibly one of the worst screenplays/plays ever written, this racially charged drama tries hard to make you think and feel for the characters when all you can think about is "why is race such a big issue here?" The entire film didn't make any sense. Unrealistic situations and unrealistic characters didn't help much either. Every white person is racist, according to this film. Every black person is racist as well, according to this. Same goes for everyone else. Including the so-called "New Yoricans" as one dumb ass student likes to call himself.

I don't get angry at films for any reason. Stupid teen comedies are that - just stupid. I hate them as well. Gruesome, bloody horror films are generally terrible, but then again, it's hard to get mad about something that's so fake. This film is the best example of a film that can truly get my blood pumping with rage because it gets everything so wrong.

According to this, every white person looks down on every other race - especially blacks. As a white man (who's closest friends were of all different races - white, black, Puerto Rican, including the love of my life who's black), this deeply offends me. It's the same as saying every German wants to maim or kill a Jew and every Muslim wants to strap a bomb to themselves and blow up a building or plain. Those stereotypes just aren't true; so neither are these crap accusations that this film is making. The screenwriter should be shot for this angering time waster.

Watch it only to see my point. Especially about the completely avoidable racial tensions. Other than that, I would strongly suggest you skip it entirely.

Usually I would never tell someone not to watch a film that I really don't like because for all I know I could be turning them off of the greatest film they've ever seen. It doesn't matter what it is. This movie is the rarest of exceptions.

My expectations were very low, so that may be why I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I like SJP much more in this type of role than the endless incarnations of Carrie Bradshaw that she has played. She has great comic timing, but she has more to offer, and that's on display here (check her out in Smart People for more of what I'm talking about).

Anyway, racism is a tough issue and hasn't been dealt with on film in any credible way for many years (I just saw a promo for a new Hughes Brother movie and it looks like a standard action picture with nothing much to say about anything). Spike Lee is making heist movies and John Singleton is completely MIA. So I'll take what I can get.

No, it's not a perfect movie, but it kept my interest and it tried to show a bunch of different viewpoints. That's worth watching right there. I found most of the characters sympathetic, even the awkward, messed up ones - everyone has their reasons for behaving like they do. Yes, the characters are "types" to some extent, but how can you address this issue without showing standard actions that we all have seen? I lived in Philadelphia for many years and worked at Temple University (not unlike the fictional Lancaster College in the film) and now live in very white Clay NY. I could totally relate to the Dean's dilemma - seeing people who fit the stereotype, but then feeling weak for avoiding the problem. I thought it was pretty real.

And I just loved the closing shot - great way to end.

Unless you are determined to hate it, check this movie out - it's not a waste of time and it just might make you think.

Sarah Daniels teaches in a Lancaster School, which is predominantly occupied by minorities, especially blacks. She soon develops a deep hatred and prejudice, even fear, against blacks, and avoids them even in public transportation. When she finds out about a vacancy in Belmont College in Vermont, she re-locates there. But her past will be put to the test when she is ironically labeled a liaison person for the minorities, as well as asked to prepare a 10 point list to resolve racism, after an African American student, Simon Black, becomes a victim of hate crime.

She will also realize that before she was hired, the Management expected her to be black.

Subsequently, she herself will question her prejudice as well as the Management's 'lip service' response to the hate crime amidst heavy media presence, and growing restlessness and hatred amongst the student body.

Quite frankly, one can only laugh out loud at the naivety shown by the school management in asking a lecturer to prepare a document titled 'how to resolve racism'.

For generations, judiciary, and human rights commissions have turned a nelson's eye on this issue, and that's precisely the reason why it continues on undeterred.

One must often wonder as to why most people on one hand are contemptuous of lawyers, but respectful of judges - who at one time were themselves lawyers. Many lawyers are appointed to the judiciary by politicians - thus issues never get addressed and get even more complex in the long run. This is why people take to the streets and there is violence when concerns and issues are left unaddressed.

A thought provoking movie, and a must-watch for all.

Greetings again from the darkness. Rainy days are always a good time to take a flyer on a movie for which not much is known. I should have just stood in the rain for 90 minutes. An award winning play from Rebecca Gilman, this one is turned into an amateur production by first time director Mark Brokaw. Even the abrasive Sarah Jessica Parker deserves better.

A decent cast with SJP, Miranda Richardson, Beau Bridges and Mykelti Williamson (Bubba from Forrest Gump) can't come close to saving this one. This is a failed attempt at having us analyze our own prejudices and views on racism and political correctness. I can tell you where my prejudices lay ... on lousy, exploitive film-making.

There are hundreds of films that bring more depth and reality to the topic so don't waste a nickel on this one at the theatre or even NetFlix.