The issue of race relations came to a head in 2014. If last year made anything clear, it is that there are a lot of discussions about race that America still needs to have. The lines of communication are down, and America has suffered a lot of pain because of it. While we struggled to have this discussion as a nation, two critically acclaimed films gave voice to complex racial issues in 2014: Selma and Dear White People. Based on the publicity for Black or White, it seems that a lot of people behind creating the film, thought that it would fit next to the aforementioned films as a thoughtful discussion of race relations. The problem is, where Selma and Dear White People were complex films with very specific things to say about racial identity, Black or White is a film that never knows exactly what it wants to say or how to say it.
The film opens on Elliot (Kevin Costner), a man who has just found out his wife died in a car accident and that he now has to raise his granddaughter Eloise (Jillian Estell) alone. Elliot's law partner, Rick (Bill Burr) and his inexplicably stupid girlfriend Fay (Gillian Jacobs) show up to comfort Elliot in his time of need. Elliot and his wife had been raising Eloise since their daughter died during labor, and Eloise's father, whom Elliot hates, has struggled with drug addiction for years. Worried that Elliot can't take care of Eloise by himself, Eloise's paternal grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer) asks her brother (Anthony Mackie), who is a successful lawyer, to help her get custody of Eloise. What ensues is a muddled family drama that isn't exactly sure what it is trying to achieve.
The cast here is impressive. Costner is a screen legend with a couple of Oscars, but his recent career choices have stuck him in an acting rut. Here he manages to take what could be a very complex character, and turns him into a one note drunk that for some unexplained reason audiences are supposed to root for to win sole custody of his granddaughter. Octavia Spencer, another Oscar winner, does the most with what she is given here, but that's not much. Hollywood seems determined to shove here into the role of "black woman with a big personality," but Spencer's best work is more subtle as can be seen in Fruitvale Station, her best scenes in The Help, and her guest starring stint on the sitcom Mom. Anthony Mackie has the ability to command attention on screen, and I find myself looking forward to every role he takes on because of it. Like Spencer, he does his best, but his character is a flat and at times offensive stereotype of an educated black man. One of the biggest wastes of talent here is Gillian Jacobs. Her character here is an inhumanly stupid woman who is placed in the film for no other discernible reason than to be a verbal punching bag for Costner. I imagine Jacobs' Community alter ego Britta Perry would have a lot to say about a female character like this existing on film. Jillian Estell is adorable here, and when they let her do something with the character, she is the only humanizing force in the film.
The true problem of the film is that it never knows what kind of film it wants to be. There are lots of references to race being a major issue in the story, but the reality is that outside of some very awkwardly placed lines in the script, this film offers no true commentary on racial identity. At times the film seems like it wants to tackle the issue of addiction, but really this just becomes a dramatic plot tool that the characters can use against each other in court. While the film thinks it is tackling these very serious issues, it also has the misguided notion that it can pull of being funny at the same time. Many of the jokes are pointed at Jacobs' character, and given the context of them, it comes across as more mean spirited than anything. Maybe if the jokes were actually funny, and if this film had fully committed to being a family comedy, then there might have been hope for the film as a whole. Instead it feels a lot like watching somebody try to do a stand-up routine at a funeral. By not committing to any one format, Black or White becomes a film that never has any sense of identity.
Rating: C-
The true problem of the film is that it never knows what kind of film it wants to be. There are lots of references to race being a major issue in the story, but the reality is that outside of some very awkwardly placed lines in the script, this film offers no true commentary on racial identity. At times the film seems like it wants to tackle the issue of addiction, but really this just becomes a dramatic plot tool that the characters can use against each other in court. While the film thinks it is tackling these very serious issues, it also has the misguided notion that it can pull of being funny at the same time. Many of the jokes are pointed at Jacobs' character, and given the context of them, it comes across as more mean spirited than anything. Maybe if the jokes were actually funny, and if this film had fully committed to being a family comedy, then there might have been hope for the film as a whole. Instead it feels a lot like watching somebody try to do a stand-up routine at a funeral. By not committing to any one format, Black or White becomes a film that never has any sense of identity.
Rating: C-
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