‘Obsessed’ Wants to Run Smash Into You (And Nearly Misses)
by Guest Contributor SLB, originally published at Postbourgie
“Breathe,” Derek Charles says, as he vigorously shakes the leggy blonde psychotic in his hotel bed. “Bitch, breathe!”
And with this line, another awesomely campy stalker flick is born.
Trust me. You already know the plot of the newest Beyonce vehicle, Obsessed: naive married corporate exec (Elba) runs afoul of the wrong temp. You’ve seen it all before: things start off innocently enough (benign flirtation in the break room), then before long, the crazy chick can’t hide her crazy anymore and out come the crocodile tears, the trench coats covering presumed nakedness, and those ridiculous IM windows with the super-stupid, super-obvious screen names (here, Ali Larter’s Lisa calls herself TEMPGIRL).
The ending is telegraphed before the opening credits finish flashing (over a too-loud soundtrack of really crappy music). All the characters are pat and underwritten. The budget’s clearly low (The lace-front on Beyonce’s curly wig is visible in almost every scene), despite the truckload of “executive producers, including Magic Johnson, Mathew Knowles, and Beyonce (which would explain the laborious, overlong caress of the camera on the latter as she emotes). The dialogue is appropriately cliche-ridden. And, like most of the stalker flicks that came before it, Obsessed relies on a great deal of doltish behavior on the part of its protagonist in order to build its plot. (That is to say: with just a few more realistic, practical choices, there wouldn’t be a movie.)
For instance, when a married man is shoved into a bathroom stall and aggressively petted by a sexy lunatic at the office Christmas party (a lunatic who could finish him, Mortal Kombat-style, in a harassment suit, if she so chose)–and he knows the whole thing has been witnessed by a peeping coworker, he should probably let it ring from the rooftops–immediately.
But such watch-your-back vigilance just doesn’t occur to Derek. Instead, he proceeds to spend the entire first half of the film making himself appear more and more suspicious, by covering up sins he hasn’t even committed. He also does a great deal of really obvious sidelong glancing, righteously indignant yelling, and foolishly premature relief-sighing.
Derek’s wife, Sharon (Beyonce) is naturally wary of Lisa the Temp—because Sharon was Derek’s administrative assistant when their storybook courtship began and, apparently, before they married, he did a great deal of interoffice dating. You’d think this, if nothing else, would be the most glaring argument in favor of Derek being forthcoming with Sharon about Lisa’s increasingly off overtures, but again: without his stupidity, there’d be no film.
As movies of this ilk go, this one’s serviceable. At turns, Beyonce and Idris have plausible chemistry as a married couple; it’s most interesting to watch as they joke about Lisa in bed (before either knows what a loon she is) and in a confrontation scene in the family kitchen. Other times, they seem like slightly distracted, but otherwise overzealous drama students doing improv.
I’m sure at this point, you’re wondering why this review has mentioned nothing of race; it’s because the film backs way, waaay off any exploration of race dynamics. It leaves the audience to its own baggage and assessment of implications. For my part, the only potentially incendiary comment came when Derek tried to call Lisa’s bluff and get her to confess “her lies” to their coworkers. When she in turn says, “If I go in there and tell them anything, it’ll be the truth,” black audiences know better than anyone that she’s right. Derek, as the firm’s only black employee, would be little match for a fragile, weeping Ali Larter.
So Derek’s next move surprises no one. And the film has, just once, succeeded in subtlety.
A tour-de-force this ain’t—not even in a genre as cheesy as this one. It doesn’t push the envelope, like its obvious model, 1987’s Fatal Attraction. (Derek is neither layered nor culpable.) It doesn’t give its stalker sufficient motivation. (Don’t the greatest stalker flicks involve a mysteriously dead ex-husband our villainess tearily claims was abusive?) And it falls victim to the oh-so-improbable Woman-to-Woman beatdown, where the man at the center of the whole conflict is curiously absent and thus spared the messy work of violent resolution.
But come on. Who isn’t into this flick for the beatdown? Trust. You won’t be disappointed (unless you’re looking for an abundance of punny smack-talk). Just turn off your brain, embrace the derivativeness, and close your ears to the Beyonce power ballad playing over the credits. (”I wanna run smash into you,” Beyonce? Really?)
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Eva wrote:
I think the only reason people want to see the movie is to see the two women fight, which is a shame; I only want to see it for Idris Elba.
And I wasn’t surprised this movie has done well at the box office.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 9:10 am ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
Other times, they seem like slightly distracted, but otherwise overzealous drama students doing improv.
That’s because the “Beyonce Machine” got in Idris’s way of really connecting with his co-star. His words, not mine. I read comments from different viewers who felt there was absolutely NO chemistry between the two actors…
Great review. I love how you broke it down. I had no interest in seeing this feature; and still have no interest in seeing this feature. I feel like Beyonce-Knowles Carter is a great music performer, but as an actress she sucks. And I know she probably did this movie for ‘fun’, for ‘kicks’, for the sake of getting to kick another woman’s arse, not in record sales, not with awards given, not with the highest number of magazine covers, no, she physically gets to kick arse…something we would ‘never’ get to see the ‘real’ Beyonce do.
But let me get off the Beyonce bandwagon. The movie did well in its three-day weekend. Obviously people wanted to see the cat fight at the end.
I must commend you on pointing out another obvious sight in this film: the dreaded wig. Mrs. Knowles-Carter, I dare say, is the queen of the almighty lacefront wig kingdom. I remember seeing stills of this film from last year, after they completed filming, before the movie was pushed back for release, then pushed back again and again until this lonely movie-release weekend in April. I remember spying, not the almighty Beyahweh, but that GOD AWFUL WIG plopped on top of her head.
A few things:
-red wig, red hair, women with red hair…don’t they usually get a bad rap where concerns their temper? I wonder if Team-Knowles specifically chose to wear the red to reinforce this bit-stereotype?
-the wife, a former temp. who doesn’t believe in office-romances or is wary of them, yet her marriage is the result of one? hmm. hmmmmmmmm. I know in the previews she says to him, “I thought we agreed…no female assistants.” Huh? Insecure much? Trust the man to resist temptation…obviously “Sharon” doesn’t.
I like what you said about the racial aspect; lots of folks, commenters on other sites claim the movie’s success stemmed from the cat fight at the end…not just that it is a fight between two women, one noble, one insane, but that it’s a cat fight between and white and Black woman; those commenters posit that they were really into seeing a Black woman beat down a white woman for trying to take her man. They liked seeing a Black woman stand up for her Black husband, while said Black husband looks on eating popcorn and drinking beer…………………was “Derek” around during this fight?
Again, thanks for this; I look forward to other comments.
I hear Beyonce is in ‘negotiations’ to star as Eartha Kitt in a new biopic.
*if there was a smiley with bug eyes and a look of utter horror and disbelief I’d insert it here, now*
Posted 06 May 2009 at 9:11 am ¶
Shadow And Act wrote:
“Obsessed” is the celluloid equivalent of all those *literary accomplishments* that fall under the unfortunate classification we know as Urban Lit, or Street Lit. And just as those titles continue to sell impressively, there are indeed people out there who genuinely appreciate movies like “Obsessed,” and will continue to support them, no matter what people like myself say about them; which undoubtedly means that production companies will continue to produce them, and distribution companies will continue to distribute them.
Despite the fact that the obsessed is a white woman, and the one obsessed over is a black man, was of no significance. Here was an opportunity to actually explore some long-standing racial and sexual taboos, and unfortunately, no risks were taken. Amiri Baraka’s “Dutchman” it is not. Although, maybe it’s all par for the course in this new so-called “post-racial” Obama-mania epoch.
If Tyler Perry produced a thriller, Obsessed would be it!
Posted 06 May 2009 at 9:16 am ¶
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist! wrote:
hehehehehehh… this movie is so awesomely bad and cheesy. Love it!
Posted 06 May 2009 at 10:10 am ¶
jen* wrote:
ok Mme. Z – please tell me that’s a lie. I can’t bear to see Bey as Eartha Kitt. That would just be wrong.
And [back on topic] Obsessed sounds fun – and stupid. I’ll probably catch it when it comes on tv.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 10:13 am ¶
Celeste wrote:
My husband actually suggested that we go see this mess. I told him that I’d watch Obsessed with him if he’d watch The Dragon Emperor with me. Not surprisingly, he didn’t take the deal. Although we did watch Rush hour 3 (talk about jumping the shark) this weekend, so perhaps I owe him.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 10:39 am ¶
Celeste wrote:
Also, I’m getting just about fed up with all this fake hair and lace fronts! It setting this impossible standard of beauty that few women can acheive without enhancement.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 10:46 am ¶
G.D. wrote:
Shadow: Woo, boy. Where to start?
Ah. The evergreen, classist low/high culture whining. Besides the weird logic here — could you explain why exactly *this* movie like *those* books — does anyone really think this movie wasn’t deliberately trying to be a schlocky popcorn flick? Isn’t there a place for that?
I guess you don’t think so:
damn, homie. self-important much? Why can’t this film just not be your bag? That is allowed, right?
Posted 06 May 2009 at 10:59 am ¶
G.D. wrote:
oh, and this:
Yeah, because thoughtful celluloid critiques of race and gender were de rigueur before Obama, right?
Posted 06 May 2009 at 11:05 am ¶
Queen B wrote:
I watched Obsessed with my family and I enjoyed it. It was better than expected. I can bet the rest of audience in the theater enjoyed it. I guess that what separates me from a critic.
I do not get the hatred of Beyonce. From the criticism of her acting, to her diction and hair is rather juvenile. Beyonce is no Meryl Streep and this movie was never going to win an Oscar, so what. I would much rather see Obsessed than some ridiculous comic book movie where the man character is called “Wolverine”.
The movie was low budget-so what. Obsessed cost 20 million and as of last Sunday made $47 million. In contrast, Matthew McConaughey, who plays the same kind of guy in every single movie, Ghost of Girlfriends Past, only made 15 million its first week.
If you don’t like Beyonce and think she can’t act the do not go and see her act.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 11:27 am ¶
aimerrouge wrote:
G.D. –> I am an evergreen, classist low/high culture whiner. Your comments made me chuckle. They could have easily applied to me and my bookclub. I finally decided to “exhale” and just read the books and enjoy the opportunity to meet with my friends (who have the temerity to have different literary tastes than I, but somehow manage to be good people).
I do like to tell myself I couldn’t possibly be classist because I enjoy too many low brow activities.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 11:37 am ¶
Talulah wrote:
Oh, God. My friend tried to talk me into going to see this with her last weekend, and I had to be blunt with her: this is the kind of thing that I rent from Redbox because I would be thrown out of the theater for laughing so hard.
Also, 10 bucks for this shit? I think not.
“The lace-front on Beyonce’s curly wig is visible in almost every scene”
Ha! When I went to see Unfaithful lo those many years ago (shut up, I was 17), my hometown theater had apparently gotten some earlier cut, because the boom mic was visible in like, every indoor shot. Richard Gere and Diane Lane would be lying to each other and it would be all intense and then BAM! Boom mic. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. I love it when editors eff up like that.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 11:54 am ¶
ceecee wrote:
I went to see the movie for Idris Sexy Alba
Beyonce acted some parts pretty decently it’s not like she is a trained actress, it would have been nice to see a *real* actress act the part but I can’t knock her hustle.
I know the movie is low budget but honestly I was hoping that it wouldn’t be as predictable as it turned out to be. Good script writing does not depend on budgets.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 11:56 am ¶
Michelle wrote:
You know, Beyonce is no Meryl Streep. You are right.
The problem is, there aren’t any Black women who are equivalent to Meryl Streep.
Now, perhaps for some people that doesn’t present as a problem. For some of us, it is important to have Black women who are not only considered to be excellent actresses but who have the volume of work, critical acclaim, financial compensation and awards that Non-Black women enjoy.
For some of us, it is glaring and painful to know that Black women have never been able to truly breach this seemingly insurmountable racial impasse. For some of us, I guess it doesn’t matter.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 12:29 pm ¶
Kendra wrote:
Hmm, no one usually talks about the rape scene, where Derek passes out with Larter’s character on top of him. I haven’t seen Fatal Attraction so I don’t know if such a thing occurred in that movie.
And I kept wondering who this fight was really about. It shifted from Idris to Beyonce once the latter found her head removed from a family photo. And then that stupid babysitter just let the crazy one walk in and snatch the baby . . .
Posted 06 May 2009 at 12:44 pm ¶
Jamerican Muslimah wrote:
All I gotta say is: Idris Elba is in it. Good enough for me.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 1:48 pm ¶
Queen B wrote:
Michelle-
You know I understand the frustration. Hollywood is an extremely superficial industry. There is no doubt that Hollywood is sexist and racist. The highest paid actors are men because the movies that star men are often the big summer blockbusters that cost over 100 million but gross 90 million the first week.
Someone could argue that people like Beyonce are taking roles from more talented black actesses. However, if I were a studio exec, I might be reluctant to cast an unknown black actress rather than a black singer/actress who is very well known because I am trying to make a profit.
Jennifer Hudson has an academy award but in the Sex and the City movie she played the assistant to the white lead not her equal. In Hollywood, talent is almost secondary. Looks and sex appeal come first that is why people Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston are constantly working and someone like Hillary Swank with two Oscars is not.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 2:29 pm ¶
c.n.edaw wrote:
Well, first let me say the ONLY time I paid to see Beyonce act was because my entire extended family just had to go see “The Fighting Temptations” during our family reunion. Since then ,I have made an conscious choice to avoid her oncscreen despite being interested in seeing the actors around her (i.e “Dream Girls” and “Cadillac Records”).
Maybe it is juvenile that I think it’s really crappy that with all the tons of black women trying to get a break in Hollywood and who might have had a break out moment if THEY had gotten a shot at her role in this movie — BUT INSTEAD the movie studio paid some inflated salary to a woman who is not an actress at all, only famous for doing SOMETHING ELSE well. IF Beyonce were a true triple threat, you’d hear no complaints from me. But, in my opinion, she is not. Jennifer Hudson is. Beyonce is not. Jamie Foxx is, Beyonce is not. Queen Latifah is. Beyonce is not. You get the point.
I would feel the same way if the part went to Paris Hilton whose speech habits, by the way, are EQUALLY annoying as Beyonce’s. And for the record– I am from East Texas–a much countrier habitat than H-town, so it has nothing to do with being an elitist Northerner making fun of southern folk talking. It’s not her accent. It’s her diction. There’s a difference.
For the life of me I can’t understand why some people (Beyonce) can’t just accept being gorgeous, rich , and very successful in the music industry and the numerous product endorsements that provides and leave endeavors they are not so good at alone– especially when they know how hard it is for other people of color to get a foot in the door.
Surely, Beyonce’ knows some other young black woman struggling to get acting roles who can ACTUALLY act that she could have recommended for this part and agreed to cameo somewhere else in the film. Hell, she’s probably got some play cousins who have been pouding the pavement for months to get one speaking line in some CW show she could have helped snag this role. I’m even for nepotism over Beyonce’ acting.
Yeah, I know, putting your own personal gain and greed aside for the betterment of the whole is socialist which reads bad and perhaps a little too “high brow” but that’s just how I feel!
Now had this been a Lifetime movie and not a feature film, I probably would have rolled my eyes, and perhaps even watched it at some point. But pay to see it? Still can’t go there.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 2:29 pm ¶
Madame Zenobia wrote:
@ c.n.edaw
Small m.fing world.
I’m from “East Texas” too.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 3:07 pm ¶
Winn wrote:
@Michelle and c.n.edaw,
No need for me to elaborate; the two of you broke it down again, just as you did in the previous “Obsessed” thread. Especially this: “For some of us, it is important to have Black women who are not only considered to be excellent actresses but who have the volume of work, critical acclaim, financial compensation and awards that Non-Black women enjoy.” And even more so this: For the life of me I can’t understand why some people (Beyonce) can’t just accept being gorgeous, rich , and very successful in the music industry and the numerous product endorsements that provides and leave endeavors they are not so good at alone– especially when they know how hard it is for other people of color to get a foot in the door.”
*Slow, appreciative hand clap*
Posted 06 May 2009 at 3:43 pm ¶
Queen B wrote:
It is easy to say that Beyonce should step aside so that another more talented black actress can take the role but that assumes that Hollywood would still be willing to make the movie even if Beyonce was not in it. I remember Denzel Washington saying that in order to get the money to produce the “Great Debaters”, he had to be in it otherwise the movie was not going to happen.
Can Gabrielle Union, Sanaa Lathan or Jada Pinkett-Smith carry a movie. I do not know but it seems like with the exception of Halle Berry, Beyonce is the black actress Hollwyood loves the most. Jennifer Hudson has two strikes against her: she is black and overweight so her film choices will be limited.
As I said before, in Hollywood, it is not always about talent. There is a reason why all top actresses are extremely attractive and none overweight.
Lastly, how can anyone compare Beyonce’s acting to Paris Hilton, a woman who is famous for making a sex tape. Beyonce has been in movies that are commerically successful and critically acclaimed which cannot be said for Paris. Beyonce is respected in the industry and the studios execs are pleased since she made them a lot of money. Paris is a joke and a criminal.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 3:58 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
If Paris Hilton were Black and Beyonce were White, Paris Hilton would be starring in movies. I would bet on it!
I think that the upset, at least for me, is not really about Beyonce. It is the continual casting of singers over actresses that happens routinely to Black women. For me, in terms of racism, it is a classic example that we are simply not worth as much as other women.
Many people like to mention that Hollywood execs don’t like to cast unknowns. Well who knew Julia Roberts before Steel Magnolias and Pretty Woman? No one. What about Rachel McAdams? What about Evan Rachel Wood? What about Amy Adams?
Alicia Keys played a small part in The Nanny Diaries. Why do they need Alicia Keys in that part when they got freaking SCARLETT JOHANSEN (sp) to play the lead! And it was based on a popular book! The same goes for SATC! Why was an Oscar winner in that movie in a barely supporting part? That part could have gone to any young Black actress out there and it could have made all the difference.
Now, we have diverged way off topic from this thread. But in terms of racism and popular culture, this trend is severely disturbing. It exposes a really ugly vein not only in Hollywood, but in the collective mind of the American media.
Why does a Black woman have to have an album, a clothing line and a perfume to be consider for a part in a mainstream Hollywood movie?
Posted 06 May 2009 at 5:40 pm ¶
leia wrote:
@ Queen B i agree with you to an extent….maybe Beyonce and Paris’ “acting” skills aren’t comparable… but i don’t recall either one pulling an Oscar, on the contrary to Jennifer Hudson, yeah she’s overweight but she still managed to win one even if it was singing… something Beyonce is suppose to be good at.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 5:57 pm ¶
Titanis walleri wrote:
Ah, the Idiot Ball, where would fiction be without you?
Posted 06 May 2009 at 6:26 pm ¶
R. Prince wrote:
a little off topic but you know what really gets under my skin? How even foreign (british, australian, french, etc… basically European) actors and actresses get more parts– and good ones– in mainstream American films than American blacks…. even with the sometimes distracting accents!!
Posted 06 May 2009 at 6:48 pm ¶
Winn wrote:
@ Michelle,
GET*OUT*OF*MY*HEAD! The racial politics of the “double” or “triple” threat for actresses of color has become so entrenched, people rarely question it. Even performers I love, who genuinely have acting talent and have paid their dues in the trenches, like Queen Latifah (remember her small but memorable role in ‘Jungle Fever’ and her years on Living Single before she really broke through in ‘Chicago”?) Even with her, there are thorny racial dynamics to her “Chicago” role and how it is reframed when played by a WOC, and I won’t even dignify “Bringing Down the House” with anything more than an acknowledgment that it exists (unfortunately).
My point is, she still had a huge advantage in both name and face recognition because of another career. It’s not enough for a black woman to be a damn good actress, she’d better be hot, have hit singles, a clothing line, and the potential to be commodified in a multi-pronged fashion. And if she has all those other things, even if she isn’t a very good actress? No problem, because it’s not like acting is hard or anything, right? And anyway, all these black folks are relatively interchangeable, aren’t they? If we can cross-promote with Beyonce or Eve, why do we need to worry about Sanaa Lathan or Gabrielle Union or, someone who’s pretty but not necessarily in an obvious, glossy, magazine-cover way, like Kimberly Elise or Lisa Gay Hamilton?
There is an implicit disrespect for both the craft of acting in general, and the craft of acting as practiced by actors of color, that manifests in Hollywood casting decisions. Maybe Beyonce is just a convenient target for the ire I feel at the way highly trained and disciplined actresses of color are marginalized, ignored, or diminished in Hollywood. But as long as she keeps cashing the checks, I don’t have to let her completely off the hook.
Posted 06 May 2009 at 7:10 pm ¶
Visiblle Invisible wrote:
Me and a female friend of mine ( we’re both white) Have taken to calling this movie “Attack of the White She-Devil”.
Posted 07 May 2009 at 12:54 am ¶
RCHOUDH wrote:
I’ll admit the crazy smackdown has got me wanting to watch this movie (just not in theaters). And I agree with everyone who mentioned about how actresses of color nowadays who are getting alot of roles are often supposed to be “triple threats” (case in point Jennifer Lopez back before she married Mark Anthony). I once read that Halle Berry is the only legitimate black actress (not triple threat) who gets whatever of the few meaty parts are out there for black actresses.
Finally I find it interesting that in post racial Hollywood has decided to go colorblind in depicting celluloid race relations (I remember reading a nice review that states that Benjamin Button also goes colorblind). Is this a trend or something? I hope not because I think a movie would be far more interesting if it tackled thorny issues surrounding race (and other societal markers like class, gender, etc). Of course that would require intelligent filmmaking, which I’m afraid is currently in short supply in Hollywood.
Posted 07 May 2009 at 8:12 am ¶
brownskinlady wrote:
@Michelle and Winn
Thanks for the insightful analysis on the need for black actresses to be double/triple threats before being allowed onscreen. I hadn’t quite noticed that before, but I think you’re right on about it. I definitely think it’s the case for black actresses, and Jennifer Lopez stands out in mind as the lone Latina example. I can’t think of ANY Asian American examples though where this is the case–but then again it’s not like Hollywood or the music industry is jumping at hiring Asians in general. But maybe I’m not thinking hard enough?
Posted 07 May 2009 at 10:50 am ¶
Danielle wrote:
I hear Beyonce is in ‘negotiations’ to star as Eartha Kitt in a new biopic.
No. Just, no.
Back on topic, I’m so with Michelle and Winn on how Black actresses get so little respect in Hollywood. I get it, studio execs want guaranteed returns and nine times out of 10, they’re going to go for familiarity and maybe not-so talented (Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson) over relatively unknown and crazy talented. (Naomie Harris, Kimberly Elise, Sanaa Lathan, etc.) It happens all the time but ESPECIALLY when it comes to Black actresses and I’m tired of it. And Winn, you’re right, it does kind of disrespect the craft of acting when people hire who’s hot on the Billboard charts instead of hiring people who say, went to Yale Drama school, and worked their asses off to become respected actors.
Not that I would have wanted to see a crazy talented, unknown Black actress in Obsessed, just because the movie itself sounds wick-wick wack and I’d be wondering, “what’s she doing in this? It’s beneath her”, but hopefully you guys see my point.
As far as Obsessed, I guess I’ll watch it when it comes on Black Starz in a few months but I just don’t have any interest in seeing Beyonce beat Ali Larter down. Not even watching Idris Elba on a 20-foot screen is enough incentive.
Posted 07 May 2009 at 11:06 am ¶
c.n.edaw wrote:
@Queen Bee you don’ t have to lecture me on Hollywood. I’m in the news business, a close cousin. I understand all the inner workings, but that doesn’t make me question the injustice any less. We’ll never know if any of those actresses could hold down a film because they are not given the opportunity.
And to say Beyonce is “respected” in Hollywood, as an actress, might be a stretch depending on who you ask. She may be respected as a “draw” but that’s not the same as being respected for acting talent. And yeah I know, making money for some studio counts more ultimately than bringing home a bounty of awards or accolades.
I mention Paris Hilton not because I think they are comparable in “skill”, necessarily, but because they both can’t act for similar reasons. They both have personas and mannerisms so specific to themselves (Madonna had this issue as well IMHO) that everything they do outside of themselves is perceived as fake. Believability is large part of being a plausible actress. I never forget she is Beyonce no matter what she’s doing or saying or dressed and that’s problematic for me.
And Beyonce’ as Eartha Kitt, please God no! However, I will say I was wrong about Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge. So there’s a possibility this could not be disastrous–I hope.
I am not a huge fan of Halle’s acting either, she’s not in the same league as Beyonce; but if she wasn’t stunningly beautiful I am not sure she’d be the star she is based on her acting talent alone.
Posted 07 May 2009 at 1:08 pm ¶
c.n.edaw wrote:
@ Madame Zenobia…yes it IS a small world LOL!
Posted 07 May 2009 at 1:10 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
Co-sign about Halle Berry not being a star if she wasn’t as beautiful as she is. And hell, we could even argue that if her skin wasn’t unearthly perfect she might just be another pretty face and go the way of Rae Dawn Chong (no offense, she is awesome).
Halle Berry is not really all that respected in Hollywood, it is just terribly impolite to point it out in most Hollywood circles. But, she was very good in Boomerang and pretty decent in Jungle Fever so I was never too worried about her being Dorothy Dandridge.
White Hollywood does not allow just anyone to play beloved Western icons. Just look at Oscar season as an example. Hollywood takes care of its own little pocket of good acting and good movies. Even if summer blockbusters rule the pocket book, they still make room for the small Oscar movies, that can make people remember their own humanity. The problem is Black women are being categorically denied that opportunity. That is why Obsessed being a success is actually a problem. White people in Hollywood are going to extrapolate that Black people will A. Only go see movies with stars and B. Black people don’t know good acting from a hole in the wall. Sadly, I wonder if that isn’t largely true. I wonder if this movie has put a nail in the coffin, or is sounding the death knell on Black artists. I admit a certain snobbery in that statement, but I wonder what will happen when the artistry disappears from the Black experience. Because anyone other than Beyonce who seriously thinks that she can play Eartha Kitt is out of their ever loving mind.
Posted 08 May 2009 at 10:44 pm ¶
allheavens wrote:
Eartha Kitt? Please say it ain’t so. Damn! Beyoncé’s diction is so flat you could serve drinks on it and Eartha’s diction was perfection.
Just how are they going to turn this diction challenged, booty shaking (yeah, I am a dance snob), unsophisticated woman-child who is a walking-talking testament to getting paid and being pure product into the wonderfully witty, worldly, erudiate, intelligent, and talented Eartha Kitt; the woman Orson Wells once described as “the most exciting woman in the world.” Just how are they planning on doing that? Is Beyoncé going to inhabit the role by getting darker, shorter and smarter?
Bey, there ain’t that much acting in the world.
Posted 10 May 2009 at 6:20 pm ¶
deesha wrote:
About Bey as Eartha Kitt…
I guess since she did such a “bang up” job as Etta James, TPTB figured, “Why not?”
Sigh…to amuse myself, I’ll try to think of actresses who would be better suited to play Eartha Kitt, style and stature…
Jada Pinkett Smith?
Posted 10 May 2009 at 9:30 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:
What is interesting about the reviews for Obsessed is that Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly all say that the movie is horrible. But they also make a point to say that Beyonce Knowles is actually good in the movie, or that even her good acting wasn’t enough to save the movie.
Many critics said that her acting in Cadillac Records was excellent.
How y’all like them apples? Is it just us over here on Racialicious? Does the rest of the world think that this woman is a good actress? Or is it that she is just good for a BLACK actress? Are there two different standards?
Posted 10 May 2009 at 11:26 pm ¶
Queen B wrote:
[Mod Note - Please review the comment moderation policy before commenting again. - LDP]
Posted 11 May 2009 at 1:26 am ¶