Amos & Andrew (1993)

“It was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be the kind of place where you don’t lock your doors at night, where you don’t count your change at the grocery store, where a man in his own home doesn’t have to worry about being shot at and nearly killed by the local police simple because he’s black!” – Andrew Sterling

Number of Times Seen – Twice (cable in the 90’s and 3 Jul 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A famous Black author moves to a secluded cabin in an exclusive neighborhood and is mistaken for a thief which causes lots of problems for the local sheriff who is running for reelection.

My Take on it – This is a film that I saw over two decades ago on cable and I must admit that nothing really came across as being memorable for me.

Upon rewatching it, I concur with myself that this is a horrendous film that fails to accomplish anything at all.

The three main stars of the film- Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Cage and Dabney Coleman are all superb actors yet in this film they aren’t given enough to do and all feel wasted here.

The story is presented in a way that it wants to show how prejudices are still relevant in today’s day and age .

Unfortunately, that message is diluted quite early in the film and instead we are presented with a slew of comedy of errors instead of with the more important racial issues.

The story’s plot moves along in a very strange fashion which makes the viewer constantly wish that they would find a quicker way to end this misery.

None of the characters are developed on a level any deeper than a superficial one which also hurts things so much along the way since we don’t care what happens to any of these characters.

Bottom Line – Terrible film that doesn’t work at all. Jackson, Cage and Coleman are all great actors yet they each feel so wasted here in these roles. The story line tries to show how prejudices still remain intact yet in the end, it turns things into a comedy of errors kind of story instead of doing what it can to deal with the racial issues. The plot moves along really strangely and makes the viewer wish for it to end that much quicker. None of the characters are developed at all and they each seem to be too superficial and stereotypical which hurts things so much.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In the movie Samuel L. Jackson pleads to Nicholas Cage to NEVER call them “Amos&Andrew”. He doesn’t explain it in the movie, but in the history of American popular culture, no program was both as popular and controversial as the Amos ‘n’ Andy show. The series, which ran on radio from 1928 to 1960, is perhaps the most popular radio series of all time. Although the show was extremely popular, many African American groups, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), charged that the characters were racist caricatures and demeaning to the black community. Complaints about its content eventually led to the cancellation of the radio series and the removal of the TV show from syndication. Amos ‘n’ Andy is now most remembered for perpetuating the stereotypes of black entertainment. The Amos and Andy show also constitutes a prime example of the limited opportunities faced by black entertainers during the first half of the twentieth century. The title of this movie is a dead give away that the satirical story is a reference to this history of black entertainment. (From IMDB)

Rating – Razzie Worthy (2/10)