Will Smith | Michael Janairo

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Review: ‘The Last Black Unicorn’ by Tiffany Haddish

Posted at 10:29 am by Michael Janairo, on July 17, 2018

Tiffany Haddish has just been nominated for an Emmy for her “Saturday Night Live” hosting duties.

OVERJOYED to be nominated for an #Emmy for when I hosted @nbcsnl!! I might even splurge for a new dress for this one!! Thank you everyone for your love and support! #sheready

— Tiffany Haddish (@TiffanyHaddish) July 12, 2018

She is very funny, and this book and its multiple, episodic stories adds to the story of her success.

the-last-black-unicorn-9781501181825_lg Some of the stories are already familiar from her appearances on late-night comedy shows, such as the Groupon swamp tour in New Orleans she took Will and Jada Pinkett Smith during the filming of “Girls Trip.” That story touched upon a few points that made Haddish’s story so effective: it marked a moment of her place within the world of entertainment as a relatable up-and-comer suddenly finding herself not only working with Hollywood superstars, but also socializing with them.

The distance between them, with Haddish and most of her audience on one side, and the Smiths on the other, only deepens (and the comedy, too) when it becomes clear that the Smiths didn’t know that a Groupon is just kind of a coupon and that they swamp tour isn’t private but open to the public. (Another nice touch of separation in the story is when Will Smith gets in Haddish’s car and says, “I can’t remember the last time I was in a real car.”) It’s a winning story, and the book has lots of them that make Haddish relatable. Continue reading →

Posted in Reading, Reviews | 0 Comments | Tagged book reviews, comedy, comic, Emmy, Emmy Awards 2018, Girls Trip, Groupon, Jada Pinkett Smith, lit, literature, memoir, OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES - 2018, Tiffany Haddish, Will Smith

Movie Review: ‘Bright’

Posted at 12:12 pm by Michael Janairo, on January 31, 2018

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In “Bright,” Joel Edgerton plays Jakoby, the first Orc in the Los Angeles Police Department.

“Bright” isn’t a bad movie.

The reviews haven’t been kind. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 26%. New York Times: “a loud, ungainly hybrid”; CNN: “a bloated, expensive mess“; Chicago Sun Times: “a tired buddy-cop movie dressed up in bizarre trappings.” Ouch.

Sure, the world-building could’ve been stronger (more on that later), and it would’ve been nice to see more of Jacoby’s back story, but there’s a lot of good in the movie. Great performances by Will Smith and Joel Edgerton, and, yes, that it is a loud, ungainly, expensive, bizarre buddy-cop movie. For an escapist flick, it is different and an altogether enjoyable ride.

What drives the story isn’t so much the buddy-cop angle with wondering if an Orc can get along as the first Orc in the Los Angeles Police Department; rather, it is the presence of terrorists, a rogue Elf, the hunt for a powerful wand, and the possible return of The Dark Lord. If you don’t think too much about it, and let the movie’s strangeness wash over you, it is a fine cinematic time.

The problem with the movie is that it is both too much and not enough. Perhaps this is a fault of marketing that foregrounded the Orc-Human buddy-cop angle, and not enough of how it is really a chase movie through a world that is both familiar and strange.

***Spoilers ahead.***

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