By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.2 cats
Director: Justin Simien
Starring: Brittany Curran | Dennis Haysbert | Kyle Gallner | Tessa Thompson | Tyler James Williams
Country: united_states
Year: 2014
Running time: 100
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235108/combined
Kyle says: “’Dear White People: The amount of black friends required not to seem racist has just been raised to two. Sorry, your weed man Tyrone doesn’t count!’ Thus Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) begins her Winchester University campus radio show in this outrageous satire on what some linguistically and historically challenged pundit unfortunately labeled the ‘post-racial era.’ The idea originated in actual African-American Theme Parties on college campuses, but the execution is in the finest tradition of smart in your face American political satire. The only completely sold-out ND/NF screening I have attended so far, the director announced to the totally racially diverse audience: ‘White people, it’s okay for you to laugh.’ Although many of the cultural references flew right by me, including most of the musical ones and a few of the cinematic ones, there was not a moment I was disengaged from the events onscreen. This one is not only politically significant, but also hilarious fun.
“On the bus homeward bound, two drunken black teenage boys boarded, and loudly debated directions to a bar I used to frequent. I finally inserted myself into the conversation, provided detailed directions, told them about the screening, and was invited along so they could buy me a drink and teach me some of their songs. I declined because I no longer drink, and because I had four screenings ahead of me the next day at Lincoln Center. But I did feel like reporting the conversation to Samantha White. Dear White People: See this movie. 4 cats”
“Seen Friday, March 21, 2014, New Directors/New Films at the Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York.”
Jason says: “As one of the folks being addressed by this movie’s title, I’m not exactly in the best position to comment on how true-to-life or incisive it may be (and let’s just leave how out-of-date my memories of college may be right out of the discussion, OK?), so I can only judge it on how much it made me laugh. Thankfully, that’s a lot; it’s very funny even if it never lets the audience forget that it’s heading somewhere serious.
“The college in question is Armstrong University, where proposed policy change to sign housing more randomly has Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) up in arms enough to campaign against her popular ex-boyfriend Troy (Brandon P Bell) four leadership of their traditionally African-American house as well as beat the drum on her ‘Dear White People’ campus radio show/webcast. Their issues and rivalry aren’t enough to cause the campus to boil over, but there’s more: Sam has rubbed Kurt Hutchinson (Kyle Gallner), the head of the prestigious campus comedy magazine, the wrong way, and earned the envy of transfer student Colandrea ‘Coco’ Connors (Teyonah Parris). And then there’s Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams), tormented by Kurt but reluctant to transfer to Sam’s house because, based on his high school experience, gay black men get it worse from other African Americans than anyone else.
“There are even more characters and subplots; if DEAR WHITE PEOPLE were a TV show rather than a movie, Dennis Haysbert would have an ‘and’ credit as the Dean (and Troy’s father) and there would be several boyfriends, girlfriends, and sidekicks who recurred. There are frequent moments when it seems the setup might work better as a serial as characters and subplots get pushed aside and reshuffled pairings don’t get all the attention they might because writer/director Justin Simien has his eye on the big Halloween party incident that he teased in the opening scenes before jumping back to the beginning of the school year. And make no mistake, that focus is to be praised: Even though it often seems like Simien and company are just inching forward, the sense is that he’s been thorough without including anything extraneous.
“That attention to detail pays off in the character work. Almost without exception, the characters are introduced to the audience as being funny, if familiar, stereotypes, but a good three quarters have something a very different persona under that, with some having a third stratum. Sometimes it’s used as a way to set up our make jokes, but more often than not, it makes the character more interesting and ties in to the various reasons people work so hard on presenting themselves as well they think they should be without their parents. There’s usually a bit of truth in both perspectives on the character, and Simien gives himself and his cast room to see the whole character, and generally not just as cartoons with human beings underneath.
“Take Sam; Tessa Thompson spends a fair chunk of the movie’s first half being angry but in a frequently funny way, but when we finally see more of what makes her tick, Thompson does a fine job of making it clear that there’s nothing inauthentic about what we’ve seen, but that there is more to her, and though the dislodge never frames it that way, emphasizing that part of herself must be exhausting. Teyonah Parris never quite gives that vibe off even though she’s playing Coco much more broadly, but she’s mostly selling jokes and ambition. Tyler James Williams makes Lionel an amusing outsider for the entire audience to sympathize with; he plays the guy as both dry and vulnerable enough to roll with the figurative punches while making sure we see that they do hurt. Kyle Gallner doesn’t get much chance to be much more than the villain of the piece, although his Kurt does become a little more interesting than just a source of smarm as the thread about the long rivalry between his and Troy’s father’s. Dennis Haysbert and Peter Seyvertsen play that in a way that emphasizes the differing perspectives people in such a situation have – simmering resentment for Haysbert’s dean, presumptive ignorance for Seyvertsen’s president – and all sides of that get reflected in how Brandon P Bell plays Troy. It’s actually kind of a fascinating performance to watch; Bell gets to play funny tics as well as any of the others, but also has to be convincing as a guy who may be tremendously ambitious or who may be chafing under the ambitions others have foisted onto him. It’s a nifty high-wire walk; it’s frequently difficult to like Troy, but occasionally not, and the way he slips from one state to the next is impressive.
“I do wonder, a bit, if the stakes may be a little small – not necessarily because the from-the-headlines party we know it’s building to is anything less than offensive, but because we know precisely what’s coming. Certainly, the getting there is plenty of fun, but it can be tough to shock when the build-up to something is so careful and deliberate. 4 cats
“Seen 28 April 2014 in Somerville Theatre #1 (Independent Film Festival Boston, digital).”
Bruce says: “Sooner or later someone had to get around to exploring black/white issues, drawing on our nation’s history without delving deeply into it as did films such as 12 YEARS A SLAVE and THE BUTLER. Several years ago Justin Simien had an idea that has since evolved into a contemporary look at what goes on in a particular segment of America, the college campus. Campus race relations were first front page news when a Dartmouth fraternity threw a party encouraging the white contingency to appear in blackface.
“DEAR WHITE PEOPLE is good, dirty fun. Simien has a firm grip on his subject matter. No racial issue is left untouched. Blacks and whites alike frequently make fools of themselves over matters of race. That is not to say he lets white people off the hook by means of parity. There is an underlying tone that our nation’s white supremacy is the initial source of most racially related problems. The problem is deeply imbedded. Simien goes a bit further and includes class. Often issues of race are as much about class as it is skin color. Added to the mix is another common prejudice: sexual preference.
“The film is dense with plot yet flows effortlessly. Because Simien draws heavily upon stereotype to amplify his comedic moments, he comes narrowly close to overindulgence. His cast is very good, navigating the material deftly. DEAR WHITE PEOPLE possesses a rare ability to simultaneously amuse and provoke insight. 4.5 cats”