Caught Eddie Murphy’s latest high-concept comedy, “Meet Dave,” last night, and part of the movie still perplexes me.
It doesn’t involve the movie’s storyline – tiny humanoids come to earth in a spaceship that looks like Eddie Murphy. (Boy, I would have loved to hear that pitch meeting…)
It involves Murphy’s character and his relationship with the film’s female lead, Elizabeth Banks. Or rather, their lack of a relationship. In any other movie of its kind, Banks and Murphy would have either fallen in love or at least flirted seriously. But the two never so much as exchange moist glances?
Could the filmmakers be afraid of showing a mixed race coupling? Hollywood remains remarkably timid in this arena – and this could be the latest example of its trepidation.
I bet movie audiences are more than ready to see Murphy, or Will Smith and Denzel Washington for that matter, woo women who aren’t black. The savagely overlooked “Something New” examined interracial dating head on, but I’d like to see more movies feature mixed race couples as just another part of the bigger picture.
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WWTW – Per the pitch meeting you would have like to have heard…How about a list of movies that must have made for far fetched pitches???
Good idea, Liz! Some TV pitches come to mind — OK, it’s set in a POW camp during World War II, and this guy Hogan’s really running things even though he’s a prisoner … now stick with me …
Cool new sight, much more pleasing to the eye!!
Thanks for the shout out to “Something New.” My husband and I really liked that movie. I liked that it let the characters really discuss and call each other out on their racial views. A sweaty Simon Baker didn’t hurt either.
“Something New” didn’t let any of the characters off easy regarding their own biases … how did such a smart, savvy get ignored? Glad you saw it and dug it.
Eddie should not have gotten the girl way back in ‘Boomerang,’ either! (and she was the half-White Halle Berry) …but I digress
I am in agreement with you – alluding to Will Smith’s oft-reported remarks on the ethnic casting limitation of his romantic co-star in “Hitch,” as well as the ‘gotcha’ twist of his “Hancock” with regard to (ironically) African White co-star Charlize Theron.