Emergência

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.

'Emergency' is one of those films where if a single character did the common sense thing the movie would end immediately - or in this case never even begin. It is very frustrating. Every single step along the way is based on a ridiculous decision being made that does nothing other than to service the run time reaching a minimum length.

Putting that aside the film isn't bad. But it does struggle to pick a genre. At first it seems like it is going for the 'Superbad' style of comedy. It kind of gives up on that after the early scenes though and there is barely a laugh found (or attempted) the rest of the way. I think it would've worked better as a comedy. So many of the characters are over-the-top and too unrealistic for any drama to feel natural.

It does remain watchable though and the message it goes for at the end is a decent one. It's not one I'd be going out of my way to recommend however. 6/10.

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.

For someone who is African American, it felt very relatable. Really enjoyed the movie and understood why they did what they did. If you've never been in the shoes of the main characters you would never understand the reasons behind their actions. I would watch it again, great cast!

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.