"Fifty Shades of Black" is, quite frankly, dumb. It’s one of the most ridiculous movies I’ve seen in quite some time, and I’m absolutely sure that nothing is going to top it.
Which is why I’m going to tell you to go see it.
Bear with me on this one.
If you have to give lead actor Marlon Wayans credit for anything, it’s the notion that the man doesn’t shy away from any sort of parody project. Although his work tends to be consistently panned by critics, he must be doing something right if folks are still watching them.
Here, Wayans does his best to skewer the phenomenon that is "Fifty Shades of Grey," mostly in line with the film adaptation. Entrepreneur Christian Black (Wayans) catches the attention of bookish student Hannah Steele (Kali Hawk), and draws her into his sexual fantasies — disjointed though they be.
Aside from the underlying plot of the film, everything about "Fifty Shades of Black" is spectacularly shaky. The dialogue is inconsistent with jokes that either fail badly or cause some genuine laughs, but from unexpected places.
Supporting the leads are Black's brother (Affion Crockett) whose one role in the film is to be the, um, endowed lover for Hannah's friend Kateesha (Jenny Zigrino) who plays the white-girl-appropriating-black-culture role to the point of stereotype. It’s not fun to watch.
Rounding out the cast are Christian’s adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Black (Fred Willard and Jane Seymour), the latter of whom is racist, and not scared of the passive aggressive. Willard is mostly here for the ride, and doesn't make much of an impact aside from filling the film's off-beat joke quota.
The thing about “Fifty Shades of Black” is that it asks you stick with it. The film starts off incredibly forced, nearly dumping its entire bag of tricks out at once with scenes that feel misplaced. Steele bears the brunt of the jokes more pointed toward her appearance, an apparent reference to her “Grey” counterpart’s style, but such jokes lack any sort of substance and come off purely mean.
But as the film progresses, the whole thing starts coming into it’s own, and becomes better than it has any right to be. The raunchy humor is handled well (think “Jackass”), and the sex scenes in the red room are hilarious.
The two leads stay focused in their roles, even if their characters forget themselves consistently. Steele goes from seduced to resistant at the drop of a hat, while Black wanes from seductive to primo manbaby in the same length of time. Somehow these annoying shifts add to the humor of their scenes, and I frankly don’t know how.
If I wasn’t reviewing “Fifty Shades of Black,” I would’ve walked out of the theater during the opening scenes. I’m honestly glad that I stuck with it. For all of its faults, inconsistencies and plot holes the size of train tunnels, it holds on as a decent, brainless comedy that’s fun to watch with a few friends when there’s nothing better to do. Give it a go.
Reach the reporter at Damion.Julien-Rohman@asu.edu or follow @legendpenguin on Twitter
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