Emergency

This is an Amazon Original, I watched it streaming on Prime.

I found this movie a bit hard getting into, some of the characters seem unsavory and love to use filthy language. But I stuck with it, the first part featuring college fraternity parties serves to set the stage for the meat of the movie, filmed mostly in the neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia.

When two black men, both good college students and roommates, sharing a home with a "brown" Hispanic male, come home they are shocked to find a pretty and petite white blonde girl passed out on their floor from too much partying. They all know the "right thing" to do, call 9-1-1 and get proper help. But their fear of the situation, cops finding a cute white girl passed out in their home, cause them to do something else. Plus, we soon find out, the girl is a 17-yr-old high school student.

In all I found it an interesting viewing, to see in a fictional setting what fear of police might get men of color to do, just to keep from getting shot and killed. That is a real problem in some areas. The director is a black man which lends credibility to the exercise, however I was disappointed that the writer is a non-black female.

To the review titled "so basically nothing happens" I say, watch the movie and pay attention, lots of things happen.

Was it a genius script no but thought provoking YES. The low reviews are people hiding their racism as if there was no meaning to the things that went on in the movie. They are probably people that claim they have "One Black Friend". The movie touched on many cliche yet true stereotypes that black especially young black Americans face. I think every young black American should watch because dealing with law enforcement in certain situations can and have turned deadly. I liked the movie! I have also recommended it.

I thought parts of this movie was as funny as it gets. Not everyone gets satire. I'm even a white guy and I get the satire in this movie. You should try it. It's worth the try.

At its core, Emergency has an incredibly interesting and important story to tell. However, it fails to deliver a truly engrossing or cinematic experience. Scenes run long and there is a stark lack of music throughout most of the film. It results in a viewing experience that feels like "I'm just watching things happen" rather than watching a specific, artistic creation.

Still, I think there is a strong base to the movie's story, the actors' chemistry, and the characters' relationships. I simply wish there was more personality to the filming. A movie like this would have been much more engaging with a Jordan Peele-like take, honing in on the horror or suspense of the situation. Or perhaps, a stronger lean into the comedy. The actual result is a movie that fails to be very funny when it means to be, and also fails to deliver much suspense when needed.

This is an unusual find. I am not even sure what genre the film is in. However, I am sure it is very good and interesting. This film takes a college party night and examines an "emergency" and how it intertwines class, social, and racial issues as well as coming of age issues. The dialogue is smart. The young cast is relatively unknown but they are solid and interesting. The Direction and cinematography are strong. This is very watchable and I found the way this unfolded to be very admirable.