The Color of Friendship

Saw it for the second time tonight. Black American family hosts a South African exchange student. They expect her to be black, she expects them to be white. All are surprised at the airport meeting. Father is a congressman in Washington, exchange student, played competently by a real California girl, become friends with host daughter. They both learn about each country's strange ways. We expect that the girl will have an enlightened view of race relations as she returns to South Africa and becomes an adult. We chip away, a bit at a time.

Father at first wants to send her home, by the end has bonded with white girl, even rescues her from an improper seizure done by South African embassy officials without permission. He threatens to claim "kidnapping" if they don't relent.

The whole film kept my interest and was for the most part well done. I give it a solid "7" of 10 rating, for a combination of good message and entertainment.

When I was watching The Color Of Friendship the only question I had was how a film like this was made at the Disney Studio. The answer is that it wasn't though it was distributed and exhibited by the folks at the Magic Kingdom. It's a film of rare insight and social significance, unlike the usual stuff you get from Disney.

In 1977 Congressman Ron Dellums through an incredible bit of bureaucratic snafuing got to host an African child as part of an exchange program. But our color blind applications don't take into account that he could and did wind up with a young girl from the apartheid Union Of South Africa. Her arrival proves to be a learning experience all around except sadly for her South African peers.

The Color Of Friendship works as well as it does because of the casting and chemistry of Shadia Simmons as Pieper Dellums and Lindsey Haun as Mahree Bok. What I liked most about The Color Of Friendship is that these two young ladies acted like real kids instead of Hollywood kids you see on so many shows.

The other thing about The Color Of Friendship is the hope it shows. We older folks live with so many built in prejudices and feelings and the hope of the world is that the younger generations as they come see past more and more of them. In another film about South Africa, a black character says to Donald Sutherland that it's all going to work out in the end because your son will not believe their lies. As we see here, young Ms. Haun does question the racist assumptions that the apartheid South Africa was built on.

Carl Lumbly, best known for playing Detective Petrie on Cagney&Lacey, plays Ron Dellums who is now Mayor of Oakland, California. Lumbly is fine in the part although if you look at pictures of Ron Dellums, he could be Morgan Freeman's twin brother. But I guess the producers could not afford Morgan Freeman. Penny Johnson plays Roscoe Dellums who sadly in real life got divorced from Ron Dellums many years after 1977 when this film is set. Her character is from the Phylicia Rashad school of mothers, that's not a put down.

Filmed in 2000 The Color Of Friendship turned out happily to be be a harbinger of things to come in South Africa. Don't miss this film if the Disney Channel ever broadcasts it again.

This is a Disney channel origanel, but it's very good. This movie can be understood and liked by kids but not be boring for adults. It contains a very strong message that even young children can appreciate. Mahree and Piper are acted superbly by Lindsey Haun and Shadia Simmons. I highly recomend it if you like very strong films. (The costumes are great and so is the music!)

Based on a true story, The Color Of Friendship centers on Piper Dellums, the daughter of Congressman Ron Dellums and her experience hosting a Caucasian South African girl in 1977. The film is unlike most children's TV movies (and most DCOMS of the decade) due to the high educational value. The film showcases the very real effects of South African apartheid and its influence on attitudes towards racism in South Africa in contrast to the relative freedoms of the US. Mari, through her worldviews, sees African Americans as second class, clashing with the Dellums, who no doubt still feel the emotional scars of racism. Tension eventually gives way to friendship and the realization that racism is not only useless but immoral. Overall,the movie succeeds in its goals to foster understanding and race relation in a way that is not heavy-handed or preachy.

Ok I don't normally watch Disney channel movies, but lately some of them have not been that bad. The Color of Friendship was one of these. It showed real problems in an atmosphere that was understandable to younger audiences and yet not wholly uninteresting to adults. The two teenage girls provided a great dichotomy, and though some of their arguments were unrealistic, for the most part the issues were clearly and logically presented. Even as an educated young adult, the movie still was delightfully surprising to me in that it opened my eyes and made me see more than a history book lesson, but instead real people with real feelings. It is noted in the movie, and important to remember in life, that it is not the people of the oppressive country that are inherently bad, but rather the system of beliefs that has been imposed upon them, often for generations.

Enjoyable and educational, I give it an 8 out of 10.