A Raisin in the Sun

This film start slowly and at times is a little dull but this is mainly due to the lacklustre performance of Mr Combes, P Diddy, Puffy whatever. Every other performance is superb and this is what carries the film, however as others have already commented, what could have been an excellent film, with someone else in the lead role, becomes just a good film and I would still recommend it for anyone to watch. Combes performance is just not believable, sure he is moody and unlikeable but you get the feeling that he struggles to move away from his real persona and slips too easily back into being a 90s rapper rather than a black man struggling in 1950s America. It might be worth noting that if you hate the modern trend for films to be littered with foul language, sex and violence then you will love this film because it stays true to the original play in this regard and has resisted the mistake many remakes have made of modernising it and alienating the family audience. So for many reasons I would recommend this film and just think it is a shame another, much better lead actor was not chosen for the main male role.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film version of "A Raisin in the Sun." The play is an important work of American literature and this adaptation brings it to life with emotional, engaging performances. The strongest portrayals come from Phylicia Rashad (Mama) and Audra McDonald (Ruth). This film includes some scenes that have been added from the original play, but these do not detract from the story; rather, they add context that readers of the play may miss. For instance, the play is set entirely in the Younger family's apartment. However, the film includes scenes set in a number of different locations around 1950's Chicago; this allows the film to show some of the racism that the Younger family faces as African Americans living in pre-Civil Rights America. The theme of racism is present in Hansberry's original play, but it may not be obvious to all readers. This film version does an effective job of illustrating this important theme so that viewers can understand the Youngers' story as one of struggle to overcome systemic discrimination.

I just seen the 1961 version before watching this TV movie... frankly speaking this version put me to sleep Puff daddy ain't Sidney Poitier all the cast just don't click as well as the original.

P-Diddy's performance in the film is P-thetic. Apparently tired of saying the same words night after night on stage has dulled Mr. Combs into a stunned stupor to which his bland expressions and monotone delivery attest. He seems at home with "da Homies" (Willy Harris and Bobo) at "da Club"(The Green Hat) but he can't switch his New York gangsta talk with a Southside Chicago accent. The fact that Willy Harris is a dead ringer for Snoop Dog didn't help. Mama was right; Walter does look (and sound) "like somebody's hoodlum". Mama, by the way, played by Phylicia Rashad, was amazing. She looks younger than other Lena Youngers on screen which is good as Walter is only 35 so Mama is probably not the white haired old lady directors like Daniel Petrie tried to make her look. Besides the youthful look, Rashad gives a very heartfelt performance making me think that Bill Cosby did the world a disfavour by holding her back from honing her serious side. Audra McDonald, in my opinion, is the best performer in the group. As wife Ruth, she really hits home with her every emotion.When she cries, we want to cry with her although at times it seems she's just crying at the atrocious performance by her lesser half, the Puffster. Rounding out the cast is David Oyelowo as the Nigerian Asagai (Oyelowo is, himself, Nigerian) and John Stamos as a handsome Mr. Lindner (alas, the not so handsome John Fiedler is no longer available for the role). I watched this film continually thinking what heights it might have reached if someone more competent was in the Walter role. Maybe they can use Computer Generation to insert Sidney Poitier's performance. That would be great.

There is nothing wrong with remaking and recasting the Lorraine Hansberry masterwork; we shouldn't pay undue fealty to the original cast. I'm sure Olivier's, Jacobi's, and Branaugh's Hamlet would suffer in comparison to the original Burbage performance. Plays are meant to be inhabited by different people as the generations pass. Therefore, there is nothing wrong, in theory, to the making of this version.

This rendition is superior to the 1989 "American Playhouse" performance, which was poorly paced and largely overacted. The female parts are perfectly cast and performed. The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for the male parts.

P. Diddy, or Sean Combs, or whatever name he is going by these days, simply does not have the acting chops to bring out the complexities of the Walter Younger character. Where Sidney Poitier and, to a lesser extent, Danny Glover, were able to grasp hold of the anger and frustration of the man, Mr. Diddy twitches and frowns. He performs as if a lowered head and furrowed eyebrows are the makings of a great performance. I was reminded of Hayden Christianson taking the complex evil of Darth Vader and turning him into a naughty teenager. Combs plays Walter like a street punk.

Sean Patrick Thomas, as George Murchison, fares a little better. He does what he can with what is essentially a superficial and somewhat stereotyped character.

The greatest error is the miscasting of John Stamos as Lindner. He gives the character a harder, more outwardly racist edge than John Fiedler, who created the role. Stamos drips hatred and prejudice just a little too much -- it is easy to ultimately say no to him just to tick him off. Fiedler, working with Hansberry, had a much better grip on the role -- not a man who is outwardly racist, but as one who is sadly misinformed, ignorant (meaning, simply, not understanding), and afraid. Stamos tries to chew up just a little too much scenery.

David Oyelowo, as Joseph Asagai, is the most well cast male in the film, hitting every note required by the character.

The female cast fares far better. Phylicia Rashad recreates and improves upon the role of Lena Younger, breaking the "Mammy"-isms of the earlier performers. Audra McDonald certainly will not usurp Ruby Dee as the definitive Ruth Younger, but does an excellent job in a part that requires an extreme range of emotion.

The greatest revelation in the film by far is Sanaa Lathan as Beneatha. Beneatha is a key character in the play and is relatively ignored in the original, and not particularly well played in the 1989 version. Playing a character substantially younger than she is in real live, Lathan is able to exhibit the hope, anger, childish "know-it-all" attitude and sadness of a young woman in her position. Unfortunately, the screenwriters chose to omit her lovely, sad second-act monologue about her desire to become a doctor; this section was excised in the original film and restored in the American Playhouse version and should have been present here.

Overall, this is a worthwhile film, but imperfect in many ways.