'The Best Man Holiday' a Fascinating Portrait in Black Cinema
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 at 2:51PM Glenn here. I get the sense that I am not meant to have much of an opinion on The Best Man Holiday. I suspect that even to the filmmakers it was meant to do little more than make audiences feel good (as well as a little sad – oh gawd, the tears!!) and make money while not rocking the boat. And yet I come to this 14-years-later sequel to Malcolm D. Lee’s original The Best Man (1999) and find it one of the year’s most fascinating films in terms of the evolution of black cinema and filmmaking in general.
Oh sure, it’s a perfectly adequate movie. It’s certainly never truly great. There’s quite a bit of stuff here that makes no sense (two deus ex machinas in the span of ten minutes is a bit much), and I’m dubious about some of its politics in regards to female sexuality. It’s also too long. On that same day I had watched What’s Love Got To Do With It? for the next Team Experience poll and that one, a biopic about the life of Tina freakin’ Turner, was shorter than The Best Man Holiday! Nevertheless, by the end credits I had laughed, I had cried, and I felt like I’d revisited old friends that left me with a smile on my face. Even if as a gay, white, Australian, Hollywood probably doesn't think I should have any interest in it. [more]
And yet it’s not the quality of The Best Man Holiday that fascinates but the rather unique position it holds as emblematic of 14 years of change in the cinema form as well as representations of black people on screen. When The Best Man was released in 1999 it was filmed in 35mm that leant it a warm, cinematic appeal. The sequel, however, comes as the shift has well and truly been made to digital that lends it a high-gloss, TV-like quality. The Best Man opened in 1,346 cinemas in October 1999 and grossed $9mil on its way to $34.1mil. The Best Man Holiday opened in 2,024 cinemas and grossed $30.1mil in one weekend alone. The sequel made more on its opening day than the original did over its entire opening weekend. These are figures that box office commentators were “shocked!” and “surprised!” by, but I suspect those people never saw the trailer play in front of an actual audience. Do they not have any African Americans in their Twitter feed at least? This movie was destined to be huge!
The best men then and now
Even more interesting, is how the film is indicative of changes specifically in black cinema. Seemingly no longer having to fight for screens, distributor funds and niche audience appeal, The Best Man Holiday is a fine culmination of years of development that now sees films like Think Like a Man, 42, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Tyler Perry’s productions and, hell, even Obsessed open on large numbers of screens to big box office. They are genuine, bonafide money makers with ancillary guarantees (being a Christmas movie certainly helps The Best Man Holiday) that frequently cost much less to make than other studio fare, which probably says a lot about the studio’s underestimation of the bankability of certain actors of color. Black mainstream films have been around for a long time, but even the best ones during the 1990s surge, had a ceiling. Set it Off, one of the best action flicks of the decade, didn’t even make $40 million!
Furthermore, The Best Man Holiday is an interesting look at the way black people are represented onscreen. No longer resigned simply to slave narratives, ghetto stereotypes and urban middle-lower class settings, a film such as The Best Man Holiday can now feature an ensemble of characters that are all rather well off – whether as a star footballer, a “Real Housewife of Westchester”, a TV executive – and who don’t have to confront racism or adversity like so many other films with primarily black casts. Rather it deals with topics like friendship, money, sex, death and religion without losing its identity as a crowd-pleaser. As star Terrence Howard described, “[the film shows] how much we need each other within our community”, and that is, I think, a very important voice to hear in film. Unlike queer cinema, which has more or less seceded to the arthouse, there's plenty of room to move in terms of scale for black cinema. Big glossy hits like The Best Man Holiday and Think Like a Man, mid-range successes like Love and Basketball, and independent works like Pariah and Middle of Nowhere? That's exciting variety even if Baggage Claim looks terrible beyond words.
I am not a scholar on black cinema, but I’ve always had an interest in it since there's so much to be learned from films made by and for minorities. The way they see themselves is infinitely fascinating. It’s probably why I continue to devote so much energy to gay and Australian cinema despite a never-ending roll call of people wanting to tell me 'it’s dead' and 'nobody cares'. It’s that reason why Lee Daniels is one of my favourite working directors, and why I constantly wish the likes of Spike Lee, F. Gary Gray and Jon Singleton would have major comebacks. They’re important voices that have told unique, wonderful, exciting, exhilarating, powerful stories in the past.
But back to The Best Man Holiday…
Look, it’s not Soul Food, still the holy grail of this (very broad, admittedly) genre. But, then again, nor is it trying to be Soul Food, which was authentic and real and, yes, soulful in a way that is hard to replicate outside of the 1990s. It’s closer in theme to Waiting to Exhale, which was also about old friends getting back together albeit a female-centric group. If the original The Best Man was a smooth, R&B jam then The Best Man Holiday is a slick hip-hop beat. It’s bigger and flashier. I missed the scrappiness of the original, the kind that can only come from people making a movie nobody really expects to hit it big. I wish the sequel didn’t look like it was filmed inbetween seasons of The Bachelor, but it’s a tearjerker that got my tears with relative ease and it will never not be amazing to see a dance routine set to New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain”.
And to end on a purely superficial note: surely this is one of the sexiest casts of 2013, right? Look at these people! I hope Morris Chestnut’s personal trainer got a hefty pay cheque.
Did you see The Best Man Holiday? It's not the sort of films we might typically discuss, but I'd love to hear from anybody that did. And what about its place in cinema? Am I over-reacting?
Reader Comments (29)
I am seeing The Best Man Holiday simply to see all the hot black men. I am not ashamed to admit that.
I think the rise in popular low budgter big bucks black cinema is now in full swing,studios really need to explore the black actors and actresses and who appeals to black audiences someone who may not appeal to all audiences,well done.
Joey, nothing at all to be ashamed of. Taye and Morris are in superb physical form. :)
I can't stand the intellectualizing of everything. Why can't an apple just be an apple? The Best Man Holiday wants nothing more than fans of the original film to re-experience the joy the characters in the first film brought them. This is a little movie without grand ambitious about anything other than to entertain. It is not thankless fluff entertainment. The filmmakers kept melodrama as a means of conflict or everything else about this reunion would be dull.
Glenn, African-Americans are conservative (not politically because American political conservatism is racist). But the attitudes about female sexuality will never be of the Michael Patrick King persuasion. I'm often shocked by white responses to patriarchal beliefs being tightly held by minority groups. And art targeted at a specific group is a terrible way to learn culturally that group. Better to find yourself friendly acquaintances of that group instead. Socializing with people from a background unfamiliar to yours helps better understand the reality of who these people are. Seeing groups through art is limiting and turns you into a stereotypical I studied the other through their art. As if art represents the whole of them.
Would my lust/love of Taye & Morris be enough to get me over my aversion to Harold Perrineau? :-)
The movie was predictable, all sorts of cheesy, and at times, completely ridiculous (the little girls singing in voices that were completely not theirs had my audience in stitches) but I just bawled and ate it up. Having had friends/family go through illnesses, fertility issues, becoming extremely faith-based or faithless in life, troubled marriages, etc...I mean, even when its "some melodramatic shit" as Quentin says, it was still a good time at the movies, and it is so rare to see black actors/actresses get to play out the same situations we see all the time in movies with white casts. Also, the marketing didn't convey how emotional the movie was going to be. It just seemed like a fun holiday movie. Any movie that uses Nia Long, Taye Diggs, and Morris Chestnut is fine by be.
One of the people I went to see this with said "I don't care at all what happens in the movie. I just want to see Morris Chestnut without a shirt." I'm in my mid 30s, so I've been crushing on Morris Chestnut since "Boyz N The Hood" and Taye Diggs/Boris Kodjoe "Brown Sugar" is still one of my favorite movie going experiences ever - when Kodjoe comes out from behind the coutner wearing an apron the whole theatre had a collective orgasm.
3rtful, sigh, okay: "I can't stand the intellectualizing of everything." THAT'S MY JOB! Film critics are by definition supposed to critique, to find stuff within a film that may not be on the surface. It's not always just "good acting, nice costumes". It's part of the job to take these elements of a film that we find interesting and navigate them and extrapolate and to use film history to investigate them. As I wrote in the piece, I'm sure the filmmakers were just making a fun ol' time with some laughs and tears, but I personally found the film a curious bookend with the original the way that cinema has changed.
As for "just get a black friend" well, for 27 and a half years of my life I lived in Australia where African AMERICANS are a rare breed indeed. Besides, I didn't write "I watched the movie to learn about African Americans". I said I watched the movie because I'm interested in how *any* minority chooses to represent themselves on screen. It's not the same thing. I see a big different between many of the gay people I know in real life and the gay people represented on screen and that disconnect is both frustrating and interesting, but it's all part of why I like watching and discussing them.
There? Did that cover it? Yes. Want to write your own "an apple is an apple" review then by all means.
It looks like a throw back to classic Hollywood style.
If by that you mean "get a bunch of popular, good looking people in a house for the weekend and watch it unfold" then you may be onto something, Jaragon!
Dave, Harold isn't my type either but I appreciate he has his fans. Terrence, too. Also, even though I'm gay, those ladies are foxes!
jtagliere, BROWN SUGAR... *melts*
I didn't realize you were still living in Australia. Speaking of black people in Australia, do you have any aborigine friends?
And no I don't want to write a review of the movie. It actually makes me uncomfortable to discuss with non-black people. How should I say this but unlike a 12 Years, 42, and The Butler which are black themed movies made for white critical appraisal, The Best Man in any incarnation is strictly designated for its core audience. Almost written in a fashion where jokes I've read taken apart by white reviewers hit every cue with the black theater house I saw it in. I was never one of those black people who didn't want to share culture with outsiders. But I'm becoming that with the annoyance that the more we know about each other the less we understand. I feel like everything is skewed. For the best example of this watch Daniel Day-Lewis' eldest son's rap video. Cringe. Death.
So basically only African Americans can review the film? And even then, you yourself do not want to?
I'm so confused. You sound like you have an interesting perspective on the issue and yet instead of going into it you criticise someone such as myself for genuinely taking black cinema seriously and looking at it from a larger context. I feel like no matter what I wrote you would criticise.
I'm not attacking you Glenn. I'm being honest with my feelings. Not in anyway attempting to insult you and dismiss you.
I really wish we were having a verbal conversation instead of writing everything down to respond to each other.
As a black Canadian, this discussion is fascinating me and 3rtful's basic assertion is actually quite complex. I too would love to see a fuller exploration of said POV. And watch the movie.
Hey, I love your honest critique and can understand how someone who hadn't necessarily had the experience would view it. Trust me many black people also feel frustrated about the way we are portrayed on screen as well. I love this movie because it is a throw back to an awesome time in television, when you saw an abundance of professional black people on TV. We like to see normal black people just living life and doing normal things like we do everyday. We don't always just want to see black people being thugs, getting raped, being slaves and in other such struggles. There just needs to be a balance
3rtful,
You just like to start shit don't you?
3rtful -- Glenn didn't say anything like "watching art is the only / best way to learn about people from other minorities." He said it is fascinating to see art by and for minorities which reflects what said minorities think of themselves and their community and that is a true and interesting comment.
Glenn -- thanks for writing this. I want to see the movie now. Mostly because of the beautiful cast (my favorites being Nia Long & Taye Diggs & Eddie Cibrian ) and because the trailer was cute. and i haven't even seen the original.
Everyone -- i'm so glad there are so many Taye Diggs fans in the house. I would love it if he were a movie star instead of a "what's your new tv pilot this year, Taye?"
As much as the director wants to claim otherwise, the film really isn't that far from what Tyler Perry has been doing for the past few years. It's preachy, broad and full of tonal shifts, but it just so happens to have been directed by a more competent filmmaker. It was fun (I guess) but immediately forgettable to me and the parts that were supposed to touching felt overwrought. The cheesiness seems to be a big part of its charm for the more cultured movie-watchers who have seen the film, but it didn't work for me this time around. I liked the first film much more, though I find it to be a lesser effort when compared to other black films of the 90s (considered to be the "Golden Age" of black cinema by many) like The Wood, Eve's Bayou, Love & Basketball, Soulfood, and Love Jones just to name a few.
There's this growing notion that we're in the middle of a black film renaissance, but I'm not convinced. I'll believe it when Ava DuVernay and Andrew Dosunmu are household names. Steve McQueen had to make a movie about slavery to get both serious awards consideration and recognition from black media outlets and he's still far from well-known in the black community. I'm happy that The Best Man Holiday was a success, if only to prove (once again) that black films can open strong, but if it only leads to more of the same, I can't say I'm looking forward to what's to come.
Canon, the audience I saw it with flipped for it so that suggests to me that at least that small segment liked what it had to say and how it said it. Can we get a LIVING SINGLE movie? I so loved LIVING SINGLE. GIRLFRIENDS, too. Unfortunately not too many others made their way over to my side of the ocean. There was MOESHA of course. And the various COSBY shows. Not sure I recall any others.
thefilmjnkie, as for "household names". Hmmm. I'd hazard a guess and say Gina Prince-Bythewood wasn't a household name either. I certainly don't think it's wrong to say we're going through a period of high visibility in terms of stories about African Americans. And unlike what 3rtful suggests, I think black audiences were very receptive to the likes of 42 and The Butler. However, I would be more interested in 42 from a black director. I wonder if Jon Singleton was asked? I think he would have been perfect.
I really need to see MOTHER OF GEORGE. It looks so very good. I have a screener here for it.
I'd love for a big success like THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY and THINK LIKE A MAN (which I have not seen, but there is a sequel on the way so I probably should) mean more films like it as well as more like LOVE & BASKETBALL (which is so good and is why I keep bringing it up) that aren't made as blockbusters, nor are they tricky and relegated to the art house.
Just read an article that people following along may like to take a look at.
http://www.avclub.com/article/fox-is-changing-the-landscape-for-black-men-on-tv-105763
Glenn I never suggested black audiences wouldn't appreciate black themed movies aimed for white critical approval. Black audiences appreciate mostly everything and generally flat out reject the same things the mainstream audiences rejection from the edgier art house titles.
Then that was my misunderstanding. Apologies.
Glad you learned your black history lesson for the day through this film, Glenn. Glad we coloreds could provide that service for you.
Nathaniel, did you see Baggage Claim? It was fun, although Paula Patton should never play someone so earnest again because she was terrible at it, but it was enjoyable to see Taye Diggs have fun with his image. It was a loose performance.
Sigh, T-Rex. You didn't even read the piece did you?
This is a movie I will see on an airplane (probably in February), throroughly enjoy, and forget before we land.
What about Love Jones and Eve's Bayou?
I saw the original twice in the theater and plan to see the sequel next weekend with my best friend. I don't think I can ignore the nostalgia of it all.
Whenever one initiates a discussion about black cinema, I personally become overwhelmed at the prospect of participating because it's such a loaded topic. Even as a black person I ask myself what qualifies something as a "black movie." I'd venture to say that the characters in both "Best Man"s have more in common with upper-crust white people than I, in which case wouldn't it be reductive to consider these movies as such solely because of the race of the actors and filmmaker? It's the same problem I have with the label "African-American fiction" as it applies to books. If the *only* thing that gives a novel that distinction is that it's written by a black author and features black characters, then what's the point? It's not like the era of blaxploitation, which was more a movement of reclamation of identity and community (and many of those movies were even directed by white people).
I dunno. I think I'm just rambling now.
Troy, that was a subject I was admittedly worried to broach, but I attempted it with the paragraph where I discuss the characters being more well off and less confined to stereotypical character traits. Another element of what I found interesting about the film it presents a world where they don't have to deal with any form of racism, which seems radical, but nice.
Yeah, Glenn. The original was released in the late 1990s at a time when several similarly-themed films had become quite popular (young, black, urban professionals navigating through careers and relationships), none of which tackled issues of race and class the way works of Spike Lee, John Singleton, and Mario Van Peebles had from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. Though it was initially refreshing to see, they all became redundant after a while.