Aaron Loves Angela

This film is a disaster.

The big plus here is Kevin Hooks, who plays high school basketball player Morris Thorpe in one of the greatest shows ever, The White Shadow. He even plays school basketball here!

However, this is an extremely lightweight film where nothing much ever goes on. There are many scenes for instance of the young couple just walking and playing around, all that sort of thing, whether they are alone or with Aaron's friend and her friend, who seem to end up as a couple themselves later on, but that's simply not explained at all. But plenty of other things aren't explained either.

For instance, the local drug dealer/pimp ("Bo"), in some scenes he's pushing Aaron against a wall in his building being tough (why?), and in another he's in Aaron's dad's coffee shop giving the dad a very hard time and making fun of him (why?). Then in other scenes, Bo saves Aaron from Puerto Rican toughs, offers to take his hooker around the world when he doesn't have to, and gives Aaron a suitcase full of money (as Bo is dying). What's his story? Who knows? There is a supposed plot line in the film where there is trouble between the blacks and Puerto Ricans because Aaron (black) is dating Angela (Puerto Rican, or "Latina" for today's PC audience). A few times early on, when Aaron talks to his buddy about liking Angela, there's some talk about how she's "one of them." But after a scene where Aaron takes Angela home (not to her door, just the street outside a little down the block she insists, for his safety), and he gets chased and a slight beatdown from some Puerto Ricans ("we don't want outsiders with our girls"), there is then nothing more between any conflict between the blacks and Puerto Ricans. As a matter of fact, Aaron even waits for Angela in her doorway with no problem and no fear from any Puerto Ricans. The whole conflict is completely forgotten about.

Aaron and Angela also hide their relationship from their parents. Why? We see Aaron's father a bunch of times, and never once does he mention that he hates Puerto Ricans, or even against Aaron having any girlfriend. There's never a single reason shown why Aaron should hide Angela from his father. Same thing for Angela and her mother, who we never even see. So that whole thing is unexplained.

But all that is pretty much how this mess of a movie goes. Despite all this, there are a few good points of curiosity, mainly cameos from Walt Frazier and Jose Feliciano. Frazier is very unnatural and speaks as if he is reading off cue cards, but seeing him in full 1975 "rich basketball player" regalia complete with cheesy fur and an old Rolls Royce (where he found a parking spot right outside the Garden's stage door) is a blast. Feliciano sings at a club, and he also does a number of songs for the movie, which haven't really lasted over time that well but are pretty good nonetheless.

The actual locations of filming are great to see if you are into gritty 1970's New York City films. NYC was a mess in the 70's and Harlem especially wasn't pretty. There are some good character actors you may recognize in the film. And as far as Irene Cara goes, she's a little less than OK, a little pretty, but she doesn't deliver a knockout punch on screen or anything. She's obviously not as good on screen as the actor playing Aaron. Her friend who you sometimes see may have been a better choice for the role.

The film picks up just a little bit in the last 15 minutes, as the drug dealers are searching for their suitcase full of cash. There's a great scene where they run down Bo's buddy, a great piece of stuntwork done before stupid computer effects came long. It's a great shot that adds the the grittiness even more. The "livery" plates on the drug dealer's limo is a funny thing.

One funny thing is Aaron's buddy telling the drug dealers where Aaron is at that moment, after they beat it out of him. Aaron was at Grant's Tomb waiting for Angela. Grant's Tomb? Even though it was the truth, how fake did that sound? And the drug dealers bought it immediately? If it was that easy, why didn't Aaron's buddy just lie, and say "The Empire State Building" or "The 4-5-6 subway station at 125th and Lexington?" Seeing Aaron's good buddy reveal where Aaron was, was a letdown.

The end of the film seems to be a cop-out, what exactly happens? Did they run off? Do they go home? Angela warns Aaron that unless he returns the drug dealer's money, they'll be chased down forever all over the world until they are finally found. So what good did throwing the money into the crowd do? Are the drug dealers going to forget about it then, and not search for Aaron? Like everything else in this film, it makes no sense.

The romance, you never get the feeling that their feelings for each other are simmering. Part of it is Cara's wooden acting, but it really never materializes into anything, especially a "Romeo and Juliet" thing, because no one really cares if they are together or not. Another unexplained thing (of so, so many) is how in one scene, Aaron and Angela are in the abandoned building, scared from hearing gunshots, and they run from the building together after Bo, dying, gives Aaron the suitcase of money. But then, right afterwards, Angela isn't taking Aaron's phone calls anymore. Why?? Unbelievable.

So really, there may be a few reasons to watch this film out of curiosity, but this movie is a huge mess.

This movie was so bad, terrible storytelling, inept acting all around, disjointed hodgepodge is the result. It seems like it was a black neighborhood play made with Goodwill workers. Tbe only redeemable thing in this entire mess was the gritty location filming of the dystopic NYC of the 70's.

I recently watched Aaron Loves Angela (1975) on Tubi. The story follows a young Black man trying to survive on the streets of New York, who meets a beautiful Puerto Rican girl and falls in love. As their families and the streets put pressure on their relationship, they must decide if leaving New York is their only chance to stay together.

This film, written and directed by Gordon Parks Jr. (Super Fly), stars Moses Gunn (Shaft), Kevin Hooks (Innerspace), Irene Cara (Fame), and Robert Hooks (Passenger 57).

The movie feels incredibly authentic in its portrayal of characters, dialogue, and circumstances. It's as though you're following a true story. The characters are easy to root for, and the situations are both realistic and perfectly executed. The settings, costumes, and performances all blend seamlessly. This is the kind of film where you find yourself hoping for a happy ending, but with so much stacked against the main characters, you remain in suspense until the very end.

In conclusion, Aaron Loves Angela is a well-written character piece with relatable characters and situations. I'd rate it 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

Kevin Hooks is a pretty damn good high school basketball player with dreams of becoming a pro player. This dream is heavily encouraged by his dad Moses Gunn, a former football player left to raise Hooks on his own when his wife ran out on him. He operates a neighborhood bar, drinks heavily and lives vicariously through his son.

Hooks has a crush on Irene Cara. It's reciprocated. They start seeing each other, but can only do it in secret since he's black and she's Puerto Rican.

This is an odd film. There's almost too much going on it. There's the love story. There's Hooks' ambitions to play sports. There's his dad's frustrated life. There's a small time pimp played by Hooks' dad Robert Hooks, who is tasked with finding heroin to sell to some generic mafia thugs. This last plot line quite unexpectedly takes over the film, and the fairly sweet character-driven love story becomes a crime flick.

It's far from a bad film. Hooks is not a great actor, but Cara is much better, and she kind of pulls him up to her level in their scenes together. It feels of a piece with films like "Cooley High" that attempted to pull the Blaxploitation craze into new areas ... stories about people living normal lives in the inner cities. That makes it all the stranger that it reverts to fairly typical crime action in the last act.

Sadly it was Gordon Parks Jr.'s last completed film. He died in a plane crash during the filming of his next one.