Sanaa Lathan Goes Under The Sheets With Another White Dude!
Yes, that's Sanaa Lathan in bed (again) with some white dude :o)The white dude this time is Matthew Broderick - Ferris Bueller in the flesh, literally!
This is a still image from an upcoming film, starring both Broderick and Lathan, titled Wonderful World, from first time director, Joshua Goldin, who also wrote the screenplay for 1990's anti-hero superhero film, Darkman. I can cut the irony here with a meat cleaver!
The synopsis in its most simplistic form: A romantic comedy about a bitter divorced man (Broderick) who enters into a relationship with an African woman (Lathan). Yes, an African woman - specifically Senegalese!
The more elaborate description of the film: Could fish really fall from the sky? Ben Singer, the world's most negative man, refuses to believe even the tiniest miracle is possible. He spends all his time fighting the corporate super organism, otherwise known as "The Man". That fight becomes more personal when visions of "The Man" start to visit him in his small one bedroom apartment. When his roommate, Ibou, falls ill, Ben is forced to host his Senegalese sister, Khadi. What starts as an awkward living arrangement soon turns into something more, and Ben's usual self-destructive nature gives way as he begins to find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.
Ummm, let me guess, between Sanaa Lathan's legs? Ok, a little crass, I know. Deal with it :o)
Like others before it, this could be treading dangerously close to that line past which all kinds of hackneyed, repulsive archetypes and stereotypes exist.
Yes, I realize I'm judging it without first seeing the film. But, as the saying goes, if it walks like a duck...
Interestingly, the film has no American distributor yet, although it's already been picked up for international release by a UK-based distribution company called K5 International. So, all you Brits might get to see it before the rest of us do... maybe. I'm sure we'll get to see it here in some form.
I couldn't find a trailer for it anywhere, but you can check out more stills from the film and some press write-ups here: K5 INTERNATIONAL.
Man, I just have a feeling hers is a throwaway role despite starring opp critical darling M. Brod. I'm thinking of Reese W. in Election.
-BchickFilmmaker
Reese W. as far as far breakout roles go, a character u can do more with.
-BchickFilmmaker
There aren't any African actresses around? C'mon people!
I'm all for a good love story, interracial or otherwise. I'm just hoping this isn't another one of those "white man as savior" flicks. I'm so over it.
- P
BchickFilmmaker - Matthew Broderick is a critical darling? Really? I need to watch Election again to check out Reese W's role and performance. Haven't watched it in awhile.
Catch - You know they weren't going to cast an actual Senegalese woman. If Angelina Jolie can play Mariane Pearl, it's a lot less of a stretch for Sanaa to play a Senegalese woman.
P - Me too. I'm all for good stories regardless of cultural diversity; just not when it's some white man's *fantasy* (for lack of a better phrase), as is often the case.
I don't like the sound of this either. Is she going to have a Senegalese accent? I expect so.
But that's not even what I don't like the most. I just watched "The Last King Of Scotland" for the first time. I avoided it for many reasons. Kerry Washington's portrayal irked me. Not her though. The role she played. Although her attempt at the accent was cringe-worthy. And the scene where she gets with the Scottish Doctor annoyed me. Another black actress exposed, vulnerable, raw, submitting to a white man. I kept thinking of Monster's Ball. I can't imagine either of these scenes playing out on screen with a black man and a white woman.
@Albertine
Kerry Washington's role and that scene in "The Last King of Scotland" bothered me too.
Did the nudity in "American Gangster" bother you at all?
Albertine - Monster's Ball (especially the sex scene) left a bad taste in many mouths, so, it's understandable to react adversely to any similar onscreen sightings.
Catch - what kind of nudity in American Gangster? I still haven't seen the film. No interest.
I wrote about this film on my blog when I first heard of it....why in the bloody h*ll would any sista be attracted to Matthew Broderick of all people? I thought that casting was so bogus--Sanaa is way too beautiful for that angle to play out realistically.
I agree with Albertine--why would the Kerry character risk evrything for that limp noodle of a wimp? He had nothing to offer her. Boo.
@ Catch
I didn't see American Gangster. Like TOR, I just wasn't interested. It's one of those films I'd sit and watch when on cable.
I should have passed on the movie too (for many reasons).
As for the nudity, it was like in New Jack City where the women are naked as they package the product. I get that, but this kind of scene shows up twice and the second time was very lengthy. These black women were standing completely naked. We saw their entire front and back, for a long time. They didn't even wear masks like in New Jack City. Completely naked and standing!
I can't explain it but I was uncomfortable and upset.
When the camera finally moves away from the women to the characters, the shot keeps a completely naked woman in the background in clear view. Thinking about it now bothers me, but I can't articulate my feelings about this. Why do I feel this way?
Maybe it's because I can't remember seeing multiple completely naked black women on screen at once since Roots.
Maybe it's because I was sitting next to a white man in the theater.
To be accurate, I must mention that the movie has a scene with two topless Asian women.
If the black women were just topless, I wonder if I would be bothered so much? I don't know.
I'm going to discuss this with a friend.
You know there aren't many roles for black female actresses in Hollywood. What do you want them to do? Sit at home waiting for the ideal role that pleases the bloggers. No. They have to take roles that are pleasing to them, and we should not critized them for doing that. They do have to make a living.