He’s a Fat-Free Spirit. He’s the…
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Week of July 29, 2016
Desk jobs are only good for the paralyzed.
First up…
The Boss
The paradoxical thing about bosses is that
they’re the highest paid yet most hated person in the company.
Unfortunately, the CEO in this comedy no
longer receives the income portion.
Michelle (Melissa McCarthy) is a hardnosed
businesswoman sent to prison for insider trading. With nowhere to live when
she’s release Melissa reaches out to her former assistant Claire (Kristen
Bell), whom she mistreated and poorly paid.
Determined to regain her fortune and topple
her adversary (Peter Dinklage), Michelle proposes that they sell Claire’s
homemade brownies through her daughter’s scout troop. But all that camaraderie
soon becomes too much for the titan of industry to handle.
While McCarthy’s verbally abusive character
provides a few decent sight gags, for the most part this vanity project written
and directed by her husband is an unfunny, foul-mouthed and overall formulaic
family outing.
Incidentally, in white-collar prisons
inmates don’t get raped…their butler’s do. Red Light
Barbershop: The Next Cut
The difference between a black and white
barbershop is that police don’t shoot up the latter every other week.
Surprisingly, it’s not the cops conducting
drive-bys in this comedy, but gangbangers.
As the owner of the first coed
barbershop/salon, Calvin (Ice Cube) is constantly caught in the crossfire of
the daily disputes between his female (Nicki Minaj, Eve) and male (Common, Sean
Patrick Thomas, Cedric the Entertainer) employees.
But he’s caught in a deadlier crossfire
when a turf war erupts on the block. To fight back, he throws a benefit for the
neighborhood that garners national attention.
While this shearing series is showing signs
of lassitude, especially in the laugh department, this second sequel is on
point when it comes to the issue of gun-violence. However, Common’s infidelity
sub-plot involving Nicki Minaj undermines the message.
Furthermore, with women around men can no
longer hangout at the barbershop all-day drinking Barbicide. Yellow Light
***Weave it to Beaver***
Good Hair
The problem with having an ostentation
hairdo is that birds always want to nest in it.
However, some of the women in this
documentary wouldn’t mind the feathered flare.
After his daughter asks him why she doesn’t
have “good hair”, comedian Chris Rock decides to explore the hardships of
having African-American hair, specifically for the female, which is tantamount
to torture.
From expensive weaves to painful relaxers
that chemically straighten hair for that Caucasian look, Rock talks to barbers,
salon owners and noted celebrities (Eve, Ice-T, Maya Angelou, Al Sharpton, Nia
Long, Raven-Symoné, Salt-n-Pepa) about their trials and tribulations in
achieving “good hair”.
By reinforcing that one’s power comes from
within not from up top, Rock successfully dissects the culturally complexities
of “good hair” with comedic precision that’s also highly educational to curious
white viewers.
Nevertheless, no matter what type of hair
you’re born with just pray it’s not red.
He’s a Ginger Snapper. He’s the….
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