Tags
Aunjanue Ellis, film, inspiration, movie review, parenting, review, Serena William, Tennis, Venus Williams, Will Smith
As a movie goer, I get burnt out on the anti-hero themes and the constant push for inclusiveness for the sake of inclusiveness spurred by present popularity. Getting those story types crammed down my throat was blissfully absent in this film. It’s about family, hard times and good times, the ups and downs and tragedies of living on the financial edge and the battleground of East LA. The main take-away must be the refrain of not giving up on a dream and how dedicated parenting goes a long way to making a child’s dream become a reality. I know this because I had a mom who thought her kids were phenomenal. (Not all of us are but Mom never let that get in the way.)
Then there’s the acting. I doubt that I will ever forget the bleak misery in Will Smith’s eyes as he watched the TV news clip of Rodney King getting beaten by LA cops, a revisitation of his past, his terror of cowardly gang members threatening his daughter, the scarring of his life embittered by the brutality and viciousness of racisim. (It has been suggested that his own racist behavior was muted in this movie.)
I wish that the irony of how his hard-luck life strengthened his determination to see that his children would never suffer the same was more clearly articulated. It’s there, but I had to wonder if it ever crossed King’s mind that his plans and fathering habits were honed due to his travails at the hands of societal monsters.
Will Smith deserves every award nomination he will get for this film. Emmy award recipient Aunjanue Ellis deserves accolades as well. The young ladies (Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sideny) had not only to act but also play tennis well. The filming of the court action maintained a high level of tension. Most of all, I thoroughly enjoyed the steadfast love and family loyalty throughout. Some of us are starved for more of that, not the candy-coated slop of the fifties and sixties, but how families can overcome through love, faith, and a goal that reaches for the best in us. See the film. There is much to admire.
M.L Rigdon (aka Julia Donner)
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historyfanforever 
I’m not much of a movie goer in my old age, but your review of this movie is itself “worth the price of admission” (especially your first paragraph). Dream on! Cynicism is for those of us who see the news of the day as the same old, same old.
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Hey, who you callin’ old? We’ve got music and that will always keep us young. I’m 73 and bet I got ya beat. Always good to hear from you. This laptop needed an upgrade and that put me out of business for a while. Looking forward for your next musical post.
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I’m sorry to say you lose the bet — I’m in my eighties. But I see no reason why I can make my next post a musical one especially since the music (“Old MacDonald Had a Farm”) in my current post apparently isn’t your taste (you must be a city girl – ha ha).
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One of my favorite versions is PDQ Bach’s from The Seasonings. Snicker.
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This sounds like a great movie. Thanks for the review!
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