Letters to the Editor
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I don't smoke crack...I'm straight up mentally ill -
That's a line from 30 rock, btw, said by Tracy Morgan.
Tracy Morgan is friggin hilarious. He somehow manages to be hyper-active and kinetic and just plain crazy without being annoying like Chris Tucker. I love Alec Baldwin on 30-rock, but every once in awhile Tracy Morgan will just tear it up, especially that whole bit last season when he was running from the Black Crusaders because he was going to star in a sequel of Fat Bitch. Which kind of goes with notimpressed whole criticism of this movie. (I think notimpressed would certainly be a member of the Black Crusaders...hehe)
I think the whole "minstrel" show school of acting has become such a part of the way that black comedians act in movies (over the top, crazy, bug eyed) that it's become our particular humor. It's just like the schlubby neurotic jew or the uptight wasp; at least nowadays it's black folks playing black folks. No white actor would even think about wearing black face (though two black actors might think about wearing white face and becoming women)
I don't know if you've seen many of the faith-based plays by Tyler Perry or David Talber for that matter, the guy who directed this movie,the acting is always exaggerated. Maybe like the word "nigger" we've re-appropriated certain racist stereotypes about the way black folks act (and I'm sorry, there is grain of truth in some of the characterizations) and made them a source of humor. Certainly, in the 50% black city I live in, First Sunday will be packed tonight. And the black folks in the theater will be laughing in the aisles. To be honest, I think we've come a long way as a community, that we can make movies where we aren't so concerned with putting a good face forward for white folks, but instead made just for us.
(I don't know if actually agree 100% with what I'm saying. Just wanted to give another point of view)