jericho4119

So many movies come out of Hollywood every year that it is difficult - if not impossible - to keep up with them all. There has been a recent trend of A-list actresses appearing in horror movies, so if you did the same as I did and groan "not again" when this movie was released, do yourself a favor and put this baby on your Netflix list. Good performances from Halle Berry and some real scene stealing from Penelope Cruz make this movie a must see. The key action is laid out from scene one: beautiful psychiatrist (Halle Berry) has a session with a seemingly deranged patient (Penelope Cruz) that she discusses with her husband/supervisor (Charles S. Dutton) and a clearly romantically interested co-worker (Robert Downey Jr.). Got all of that? Take notes as the roles shift multiple times and the crazy people seem normal, the normal people seem crazy, the responsible people seem dangerous and your scorecard will be busy trying to keep track. There are so many suspects in this movie (and I haven't even introduced the paranormal ones) and the movie does an excellent job of juggling them all right up until the final scene.

Today - more than ten years after Wigstock 1994 was immortalized in this film - I finally watched this movie. So today, I want to reach back a decade and say thank you to the producers of this movie, who took it upon themselves to chronicle this day of joy in a city that needs it now more than ever. I encourage everyone - whether or not you have ever taken RuPaul's advice to get yourself a wig, some heels and some pantyhose and then live fierce for even a short time - to view this movie with an open heart and an open mind. I defy anyone to do that and come to any conclusion other than this film depicts people who are the heart and soul of our democracy, the very essence of what makes this the world's greatest nation.

Viva Wigstock!

. . . as I have ever seen on film. Danny Glover is an incredibly convincing devilish character - tossed into the midst of your average, striving African-American family. To see his interplay with the parents - who thought they had left their small town ways and superstitions behind - as well as with the two sons - an almost classical prodigal son story - was to witness what surely was one of the best movies of a great movie decade. This movie cemented my status as an ardent admirer of the work of Charles Burnett, surely the cream of the new crop of talented American directors. This is a very suspenseful film, one that will enlighten those with a desire to learn more about the Black experience in America.