Flint

It won't take you too long to watch this movie so it's totally worth your time. This movie tells the horrifying worse than third world nightmare that took place in Flint. What change will take place so that no county has to go through this again? Queen Latifah is a subtle and effective actress - need to see her more on screen. After this I'm going to use my filter more regularly.

It's the story of water mismanagement in the financially-strapped town of Flint, Michigan from the view of various women activists. Iza Banks (Queen Latifah), Melissa Mays (Marin Ireland), LeeAnne Walters (Betsy Brandt) are normal everyday women who find their families suffering and a scary lost of faith in their water supply.

This Lifetime movie tackles the real life scandal in the headlines. While I understand the use of these women as protagonists, they may not be the most compelling. Their stories are essentially the same giving the same tone. Time and time again, they face off against an uncaring powerful political force. It gets repetitive and the villains are all the same. A better POV comes from EPA whistle blower Miguel Del Toral who has a better progression arc in his story. Being Lifetime movie, they needed the mothers and women's point of view. It's a less dramatic plot and Miguel would be a more standard protagonist.

This movie should have been a big-budget, all-star Hollywood hit, with every A-list star donating their salary to Flint, Michigan. It should have been another Erin Brockovich, reducing the audience to tears and making those with healthy water grateful for their basic human right. It should not have been a cheesy tv movie with only one well-known name in the credits. It was insulting that the story felt compelled to focus on two white women "saving the day" with two black "sidekicks", when the demographics of Flint is predominantly black. Would no one care about the story if the main leads were two black families?

While I was looking forward to this movie because of the subject matter, I also wanted to see Queen Latifah. She was one of the producers and got the "and" in the credits, but she was hardly in the movie. Why did she want to portray an elderly woman with a cane? She's far too young and pretty for that role. The actual leads in the film lack the talent and screen presence to carry it. The script is patronizing, lacking in depth, and full of clichés. An angry woman storms into the mayor's office demanding to be seen. A water shortage in the grocery store is the background for a coincidental meet-up of the leads who happened to be shopping at the same time. One woman decides to move out of Flint, and instead of being happy for her, her friend is rude and selfish. And why wouldn't the woman who works as a radio broadcaster use her publicity as a way to bring attention to the water problem? Why would the gluten-intolerant woman refuse to eat guacamole? Why would a family waste bottled water on a filled-up bath for their son during a water shortage, instead of insisting on sponge-baths for everyone?

I have a very good track record of Queen Latifah movies and have only seen two that I didn't like. Unfortunately, Flint makes number three. But she's still one of my favorites! I just didn't like this movie.