USA Today Called “The Best Man Holiday” a “Race-Themed” Film
The Best Man Holiday was released in theaters this Friday and it beat Thor in ticket sales that day. But Thor came from behind and earned $38 million for the weekend, edging out BHM’s $31 million. I (and people who use logic) expected the film to perform well because there’s been a lot of buzz around it and people made it a group outing and folks have heard just how good it is.
Scott Bowles of USA Today wrote a piece titled “‘Holiday’ nearly beats ‘Thor’ as race-themed film soars” and when outrage poured in, he changed it to “‘Holiday’ nearly beats ‘Thor’ as diverse films soar.” FAIL FAIL FAIL.
The last thing Best Man Holiday was is “race-themed.” Try HOLIDAY-THEMED, FAMILY-THEMED, FRIENDSHIP-THEMED, FORGIVENESS-THEMED, LOVE-THEMED! But race? No.
But they are some really nice looking chocolate people!
With that logic, then Girls is “race-themed” too. It’s about boring white girls who live in NYC. So was Friends which is about hilarious white yuppies in NYC. And Titanic was a race-themed biopic about white folks who drowned on a cruise ship that crashed.
Hollywood thinks that any movie with a mostly-Black cast is a “Black movie” instead of simply just a MOVIE. I wish they’d call movies with only melanin-deficient folks “white movies” too. EQUAL NARROW-MINDEDNESS FOR ALL! But that won’t happen because white is the default.
But “race-themed” is clearly code for Black and dude just couldn’t say it with his chest. Ol’ “I’m gonna talk around the elephant in the room that I dragged there” journalist. This is why USA Today can’t have nice things. Because he goes on to say “Cultures have been hot sellers at the turnstiles this year” and he compares the film to 12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station and The Butler. That’s like comparing Love Actually to Schindler’s List. WTF?!? And “cultures?” Sir… STAHP!
And then the article’s sub-headline was “‘Thor’ gets an unexpected challenge from ‘The Best Man Holiday,’ the latest ethnically-diverse film to score solidly with moviegoers.”
Apparently, the movie performing as well as it did was a shock to “analysts.” Because surely Black folks wouldn’t wanna see a film where we weren’t getting beaten and whipped and chained or of a black man in drag. COLOR EVERYONE SHOCKED that a film that just showed regular Black folks living regular lives with relatable stories would do well. O________________O
Also, it wasn’t “ethnically diverse.” It starred BLACK people but Scott was too afraid to say that. BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACK BLACK! See? It’s not a dirty word.
Yes, Thor did end up making $8 million more than the Best Man Holiday. But can you imagine the horror if a comic book/superhero movie that was in 2,000 more theaters and had millions more in production and marketing budget was beat by a film featuring Black folks with just a $17 million budget??? CAN YOU IMAGINE! WHEW! They surely dodged that crooked bullet.
I mean, we won’t e’em talk about how Thor averaged $10,000 a screen it showed on while Best Man Holiday averaged $15,000. WE WON’T! (Deadline Hollywood has the numbers though.)
Scott Mendelson of Forbes had this thought on the issue of the success of films with Black people in it and I love it!
“The second lesson of the weekend is yet another one that should have been learned by now: Yes, black people go to the movies. We all like to act surprised over and over when Tyler Perry scores again and again or when Kevin Hart’s Laugh At My Pain or Let Me Explain break out in limited release. It’s well-past time we noticed that black audiences like seeing themselves onscreen. More importantly, and this is arguably the key, they really like seeing black characters onscreen in starring roles in films that don’t necessarily revolve around racially-based adversity. When Hollywood bothers to make films like that, African-American audiences generally show up in relatively solid numbers, with periodic blockbuster debuts like this one.”
Anyway, USA Today gets the “You Tried It” Award for being unable to tuck in their salty.
Did y’all watch the Best Man Holiday yet? Go see it so we can surprise them again next weekend! Or buy an extra ticket. Also, what are your thoughts on the USA Today post?
Edit – The article in USA Today has been edited to read:
Other films with predominantly black casts have been hot sellers at the turnstiles this year:
Fruitvale Station: The $900,000 true-life drama about a black Bay Area man shot to death by transit officers has done $16 million.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler: The $30 million true story of a black White House butler was the box-office surprise of summer at $115 million.
They also removed 12 Years a slave from the comparison. BUT they have yet to address the issue publicly or on Twitter. Oh ok. WACK!
Related post: I Saw The Best Man Holiday and Here’s My Review (NO SPOILERS)
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95 Comments
“That’s like comparing Love Actually to Schindler’s List.” Exactly! Oh, and speaking of superhero movies, they’d better act like they’d been planning to add Black Panther to The Avengers all along; because right now they’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing with that character.
Agree 100000% about the Black Panther comment!! He needs to be in the second installment…
USA Today has since changed the language in the article to read:
Other films with predominantly black casts have been hot sellers at the turnstiles this year:
Fruitvale Station: The $900,000 true-life drama about a black Bay Area man shot to death by transit officers has done $16 million.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler: The $30 million true story of a black White House butler was the box-office surprise of summer at $115 million.
They also removed 12 Years a slave from the comparison.
That’s real damb cowardly of them when they haven’t even acknowledged their mistake publicly.
A mistake implies that the initial piece was an accident. That was no accident. It was a writer’s willful bathing in ignorance only to slap it on the page and call it journalism.
How about this? Can we as a people get our OWN news website, television station or news outlet that depicts us the way WE want to be? Note to self…
Agreed–total ignorance promoted as informed observation. Also: they added this to the top of the article linked in your post: “EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve listened to your comments and thanks for sharing them. Valid points. The original headlines were an attempt to capture that films with black casts have done exceptionally well at the box office this year. Good intentions here, but unfortunately the story’s message didn’t translate well in the headline, so editors revised the story. “
Amen!
No! That’s the problem how. You are just as bad as them. We don’t need a BET because I would get pissed as hell if there was a WET. I’m tired of the for us by us mentality. It’s ridiculous. If we are going to use that mentality, it should be about Americans, not the ethnicities we are. We are all American in this country. Yes, we have a horrible history, and it’s painted in the blood of the innocent. But then why are we so determined to keep that alive. Remembering our history is important, but so is letting go and coming together, and realizing we are not our parents parents before us. We should be making entertainment that portrays us in a higher light. I loved best man holiday, as did my Korean girlfriend. And I can’t stand films about the hood struggle blah blah blah. The world I grew up in is very accurately portrayed in this film, just with blacks and whites loving one another. I’m proud that I’m a product of love and not defined by many race. I love that I represent acceptance versus a clinging on to the relic thinking of the old country. I wish you would allow your mindset to be less us oriented and more all of us oriented.
That would make sense if every ethnic group was treated equal or shared the same sentiment. There is no need for a station to be called WET when all stations are white owned and cater to whites. By the way BET is not Black owned. Black media was created because of discrimination and the lack of representation in the media not a desire to be separate. There are Hispanic TV stations I see plenty of Asian newspapers is that bad? No there is nothing wrong with catering to a demographic. I find it interesting so called non-racial types always tell Blacks to let it go but they never tell Jews or Native Americans that.
I love your post! I wish more people had this mentality! I say this all the time… If people want to eliminate race, they need to stop focusing on it. Stop raising kids to learn about the ugly past of racism and stop teaching them to play the victim and to hate one another. Learn to accept people for who they are and learn to be brothers and sisters with everyone, not just those of your race. Let’s focus on more important things instead of counting how many people had black skin in a movie.
It is a shame that no matter WHAT we do, if we’re winning they sulk like lil’ bishes. Nobody points out race like them, (and at the most inappropriate, non-applicable times, might I add) but when the shoe fits, and we point out the size we’re always “playing the race card”. Sit the fugg down Scott such and such, whatevah ya’ last name is. WE DID THAT. BMH was beautifully made, and WE took our coin, and we bought tickets, and we bought popcorn, and WE WATCHED, LOVED, & ENJOYED IT. That was 31 million Thor didn’t make. *Saaphyrivoice* Oh you mad huh?*
we? winning? you didn’t do shit. this success of the movie is only a function of the talented directing, production, and acting. you might be being an idiot on purpose and this is just a waste of my time, but you need to be corrected.
you’re whole post is one big confusing hypocrisy.
and to everyone making all these comparisons to Thor (as a white movie): you’re speaking in direct contrast of what luvvie is writing about.
@kavin you knew what she meant have there not been people (BLACK PEOPLE)to be exact to go out in doves the movie would have not done will. Let me ask you this did you contribute and brought a ticket? if not than shut the fuck up.
you’re insistence that not having seen the movie plays any role in the validity of my argument tells me that you’re idiot and i can’t win. but nonetheless…
people did NOT buy tickets for the purpose of supporting this movie or black cinema. people bought tickets because they wanted to be entertained. do not try to squeeze any honor or dignity from the act of going and enjoying a movie. i can’t believe i’m having to say this.
I am in disbelief that Charest Kay’s post is being defended. and yes… thank you for pointing out that the success of a movie is measured by ticket sales. I HAD NO IDEA!!!
**do not try to squeeze any sense of contribution or accomplishment from the act of watching a movie.
So we have to resort to name calling because you chose to not see the obvious. Yes the did buy the ticked to be entertain and by doing so they are supporting are you that so upside yourself that you can’t see that? REALLY you just trying to come off as if you actually know what you’re talking about but in reality you are sadly mistaken you’re just sad. You’re temper tantrums won’t make anything you said true.
Kevin, please don’t call someone an idiot when you don’t know the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE. Any second grader learning contractions can tell you that YOUR is possessive (your bag) and YOU’RE= YOU ARE (AN IDIOT).
c’mon calvin… jump on in and pretend typos make my points any less valid.
i was willing enough to look over the typos and incorrect tense in the original post so i’ll just ignore it. and for future reference, only the dumbest of people call out typos as a means of influencing an argument.
i can’t be the only one that sees the problems i first pointed out.
I am sure by your comment that you are not black. Because, contrary to your belief, black people do go to the movies to be entertained. But, they also go to the “black” movies to support something more than that ideal. We, as black people are more aware of the variables. For example, we know diversity in Hollywood movies are rare. We know it is up to us to show that our stories and representation are relevant by supporting movies like these. We know white people find more “entertainment” in our struggles than our joys, which can show in the high numbers for stuff like the Butler, but we as black people find entertainment in positive pictures we can relate to. And yes, i do believe because of that we subconsciously do it to support black cinema. To support black advancement.The high numbers in this movie can attest to that. Again, if youre not black, or a minority for that matter, you wouldnt understand.
i just had an whole argument typed out. but it has already been too far removed from my original post about Charest Kay.
Rhetoric like Charest Kay’s in unbecoming, ostracizing, and ignorant.
“if we’re winning they sulk like lil’ bishes” <– black people are winning. and white people sulk about that. soooo very true.
"Nobody points out race like them" <– i hope you see the absurdity in that one
"WE DID THAT" <– no. just no. nothing is attributed by skin color. all credit goes to the actors, director, producers. NOT because they are (or could be) black. but because they are talented.
"WE took our coin, and WE bought tickets, and WE bought popcorn, and WE WATCHED, LOVED, & ENJOYED IT. That was 31 million Thor didn’t make" <– this person is literally making it a competition (and the her false sense contribution and accomplishment from watching BMH and eating popcorn is embarrassing)
i already regret submitting that. arguing with you is akin to burning ants with a magnifying glass.
@Kevin. I hope you are having a good day and find a reason to smile.
Lmao, look how salty this most likely white dude Kevin is right here. They stay trying to diminish black achievemments.
Firstly, please stop talking like that. Write in coherent sentence structure and use actual words. I loved this film, but I don’t feel you are the target audience. I apologize if you find that offensive but not a single cast member spoke the way you do. This isn’t a racism thing, it’s a classim one. I understand that you probably grew up in a neighborhood that dictates you speaking that way, but please, if you are going to claim an “us” versus “them” stance, I have to assume you are speaking of upper and lower class and not black and white, because you certainly don’t represent me nor the black people I know. None of us talk that way in a serious dialogue or forum. This isn’t the place for that. Again, don’t be offended, but just something to think about. There shouldn’t be an us vs them, there should be an all of us vs anyone that tries to take away change and acceptance of one another. I have to agree with Kevin on this one…I’m hoping that you wrote your comment so crudely as some form of satire.
Obviously this dude hasn’t seen any of the movies he referenced. The Butler is based on a true story. If it were a true story, it’d be a damn documentary. “Stupid…party of one. Your restaurant full of seats is ready. Go eat some diverse crow.”
Dead at “restaurant full of seats” I’ma start using that one haha.
Since we already know that white America will never “let” us have nice things, all I’m going to do is relate my conspiracy theory:
I remember when Waiting to Exhale came out & it was doing well at the box office, of course ol’ Mr. Racist didn’t like this. So you know what he did? He gave people that were buying tickets to Waiting to Exhale tickets to another show, a “regular” movie – you know, with all white people and they were told they could use that ticket to get into Waiting to Exhale. Why would Mr. Racist do this so that Thor, oops, I mean the “regular” movie could out sale the “racially-themed” movie!!
White America “let” us please. They don’t have any say. Finally people are claiming their personal power. Been brainwashed too long about what we are able to do, our talent and belief in ourselves.
I’m not waiting for them who claim they are superior to others to give me props PLEASE! No matter how they try to slice it it’s exclusion period. I notice more and more all white theme movies with little or no diversity. Those are the movies they promote overseas period, getting people to think that white people represent America..wrong.
So glad there are other avenues. We can say no thank you and just keep doing well. Forget about waiting for acknowledgement. Would like to see this happen on tv also.
It’s amazing that after 15 years all of their careers took off and they are still viable today. Gotta celebrate ourselves and call out those who try to belittle our achievements.
I live in Bellevue, Washington and I NEVER saw so many black movie previews in one sitting. They normally insert one or two with the other ones. I was telling my husband NOW we get to see all the black movies that are coming out and it was also interesting to see that Kevin Hart was in at least 3 of them. I hope they are able to produce more like Best Man Holiday. EXCELLENT MOVIE!! I went through almost half a pack of pocket tissues during that movie both crying and crying from laughing!! I was also surprised at how many white people were in that movie and black people also came out in their numbers.
I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL and had the same experience in everything.
Now you know if they start making more movies like this and raising our self-esteem, that would go against all things whitely right.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This post was a fail. People really think that black people are only concerned with race. Like we can’t go on a nice holiday without drumming up some deeper point. Smh.
http://www.cartercubed.com
Thanks for your comments but please don’t end them with a link to your website.
Trying to figure out why on earth some of these film ‘critics’ were surprised that BMH killed it this weekend. Best Man Holiday ain’t some kind of ‘little engine that could’, budget (compared to Thor) notwithstanding.
It is a sequel to a damn CLASSIC and we had to wait 14 DAMN years to get it! This obviously is going to equal money.
If they were surprised, they weren’t really paying attention. The Forbes guy though, knows what’s up.
I read a review of the film last week in the AM New York, that free paper… anyway, the reviewer was all “a group of Black friends” when he described the plot of the movie. Why can’t they just be friends? I mean yes they happen to be Black, but really?
RACIALLY THEMED? REALLY? The movie is about a reunion of college friends during the holidays…that does happen in real life wether you are black or white. there were more other races seating in the seats than black people and they enjoyed this movie totally…USA Today should be mindful of the people who read their newspaper. This is pure ignorance, i thought was buried…shame on you!
I really loved this film I went to a private screening as well and as piggyback off Luvvies statement, my emotions ran rampant from fear that the film wouldnt live up to the hype, that it wouldnt make me feel anything, that it would be just another film, but I was pleasantly suprised and I cried as well it was really a great film and it seems each character was made for each actor for they all played these characters beautifully; I have and will continue to recommend this film to everyone regardless of race
It’s funny how some folks don’t see that our stories connect with all people. I just came back from seeing BMH and I live in a rural, predominately mormon neighborhood in Arizona. That movie was pretty much sold out and there were only a handful black people in the audience. Hollywood thinks they know what people want to see, but they truly have no idea.
Screw USA Today, haters gonna hate. News flash. Black people are people. Not a ‘race theme.’ I’m gonna need popular media to get over itself and realize that white characters alone does not a good story make.
I absolutely agree with everything you said! I was actually saying the exact same points yesterday before going to see Best Man Holidays. My frustration came from finding out the theatres in my area did not have the movie playing due to a lack of “demographic” appeal… Which is obviously bullsh#t. So we decided to drive to the closest city an hour away to watch it and low and behold…the theatre was packed and seats were very limited!
We need to keep having these conversations and have our voices heard loud and clear….that we see what “they” are trying to do by limiting the number of films with black casts acting “normal” with relatable story lines! Thank you again:)
What a great article calling the kettle WHITE! It never fails, White Media cannot face the facts that we can and will continue to produce high quality films, with amazing actors portraying meaningful subject matter. Journalist like Scott Bowles are so stuck on trying to find the race hole, he and others like him failed to see what the movie’s central theme was relaying. New Flash!! In this move, there was no race hole, if there was, (again which there wasn’t) you created it in order to continue your own personal saga.
Welp, you told him! Great write up!
Gawd damn I love this blog. Your gift for writing is outstanding and enviable. Bit off-topic praise but your articles are just so on the spot. Looking forward to the continued maneuvering of USA Today.
The Best Man Holiday – saw it in a packed theater with ‘my community’, and a good time was had by all. Believe the hype. It is better than the first one…Thanks for the warning – I brought the tissues.
I can understand why 2520’s are so upset…so much Black humanity on display, and us dealing with our issues and problems without them swooping in to solve it for us.
Luvvie – thanks for the review and for calling these folks out. They need to be called out.
Truly ridiculous… Do we really have to downgrade black success?
I saw the first Best Man and loved it. Ill see this one too. What makes me sad is that 17 years ago people did not wear their racist asshats so plainly. Is it just me or does all this feel like a step back?
i gotta say i LOVED the movie, and i was happily surprised that there was a diverse audience watching the movie, from an older (60+) white couple in front of us, and honey they laughed as hard as we did. so they need to stop with all the madness that we are the only ones who wanna see these types of movies.
Why didn’t this surprise me. They can’t just be friends, the movie just can’t be a movie. Oh let’s just be surprised a movie featuring well known actors and actresses (one of which was nominated for an Academy Award) who just happen to be black gave another movie with white actors a run for it’s money. Let’s just forget that this is a SEQUEL to a 90’s classic friends and family film that has sold so many copies due to the growing careers of the actors and actresses in it. Yes b/c it’s an all black cast no way it was gonna hit 30+ mill seeing as how “analysts” thought it would make a fourth of that smdh.
The term race themed sounds so dated, this sounds like something from the 50’s when they would called music by black artist race music, this is very telling of how America, is not comfortable with our images.
[…] USA Today Called “The Best Man Holiday” a “Race-Themed” Film (awesomelyluvvie.com) […]
Sooo….Black people don’t have universally shared experiences with things like hardship, love, friendship and what not? But whenever there’s a movie with an all-White cast it’s cool because most people “can relate to it.” I don’t see them calling “Friends,” a race-themed tv show and last I checked they were all White in the middle of one of the most diverse cities in the world. So they can miss me with that. What they are really saying is, “We can’t believe this movie with an all Black cast is doing so well! I mean, they’re BLACK!!! Blacks aren’t really human, so how can we possibly watch a movie about them??!!” Folks act like we aren’t human beings living on the same damn planet.
Man, I re-read your column and saw that you noticed that issue with “Friends,” too. I should have read it more closely, but I always think of “Friends,” too because I’ve seen New York and the t.v. show makes it look as if there are NO people of color just living in New York. EVER.
Wait – a movie about empowered, professional coloreds was a box office hit? The Blacks can be successful without Tyler Perry?
Nah, B. There’s clearly a glitch in The Matrix.
I loved the movie and the audience was diverse- old, young, black, white, asian, hispanic, male, female. We laughed together, we cried together and we clapped together with no racial labels.
Shelina
These are the same mofos who claim “I don’t see race!” “Racism no longer exists” or the profoundly annoying terms “color blind” and “post-racial” GTFOH!
The fact the article compared BMH to 12 a slave. I can’t.
LOL @ the Titanic quote though. You slay me.
I’m yet to see BMH but’s it’s definitely on my watch-list.
BTW Luvvie, have you seen the NY times article that called Macklemore the first “post-black” rapper? Post. Black. So being black is no longer a thing now? Are we extinct? The Lord is testin’ us, chile.
[…] looks a certain way, and when it deviates from that cookie-cutter template, then the result becomes ‘race-themed’, as USA Today clumsily and erreneously put it (in the initial story, the writer lumped 12 Years A Slave [a dramatic, historical film based on […]
USA Today sounds like some “Race Themed Paper” created and ran by some bigot that just cannot accept what cannot be changed… it is 2013 times have changed, just let everyone have their moment of glory damn… you are hating on the success of a movie that sent a very positive and meaningful message. Hmmm in the back of my mind I wonder how many people purchased The Best Man Holiday movie tickets and in the rush to get seated for the movie did not realize that their ticket stubs actually said “Thor” hmmmm now did “Thor” fairly make that much money this weekend I think not… Where can I find this USA Today paper can someone lead me to the little free kiosk machine that they give these papers away at????
Wow!! Love this!! I was kinda blase about seeing this movie. But, just you calling out USA Today makes me want to see it.
Well, Well, Well… there is certainly one thing for sure THE MOVIE IS A SUCCESS!!! It just goes to show the dirty avenues that some people will take in order to bring down something or someone that fairly gains success… Shame on the idiot who wrote the review, but an even bigger shame on USA Today for hiring such an idiot to write for their paper. It is evident that this moron did not see the movie, and he/she whatever it is wrote his review out of rage and anger perhaps after reviewing numbers from some other source. Well the only race issues I see about this entire thing is the person who wrote it… and somewhat the fact that millions of others are missing out on s STELLAR movie because of their ignorant ways of thinking… This movie is life changing to those who got the real message from it… USA Today what kind of paper is that anyway never really heard too much about it.
Haa. He changed the title to :’Best Man Holiday’ nearly beats mighty ‘Thor’
Which this should have been the title to begin with. I saw the movie over the weekend and it was wonderful. And yes everyone will need their tissues. It was so beautiful to see black people come out and support such a great movie. It just goes to show we have more power then we give ourselves credit for.
Thank you Luvvie for bringing this article to the masses. It was one of lead stories that popped up on my IPad and I decided to read the whole article. I was just appalled as you especially with the word “ethnic” in it. I made a comment about it on another blog. Our local newspaper movie critic called it “preachy” (still trying to figure that one out) and only gave it two and half stars (of course,she is one those who is surprised we blacks can make a movie other than buffonery or slavish). Anyway, my daughter and I went and saw it again and for a small town, the turnout for a Sunday evening was very diverse.
Ugh…being black is so f***king exhausting, yo. I just get weary in my soul, yo….. I mean..cant it just be a feel good drama-dy??? *sigh* I am so over it.
Oh my so many self aware citizens makes my little heart smile. It is so nice for a change to see a post such as this with only one negative out of so many positive and aware posts. … and trust and believe I know certain folks are watching and feeling like sore losers…. however they have absolutely no legs to stand on so I can’t see a logical or even seemingly intelligent sore loser saying something because they were out right and flat out wrong. This just shows the mindset of these people on this planet that we all share
It’s this kind of thinking that also has me concerned about certain Scandal reviews that have come out since last week’s episode. Seems like some were just waiting for the opportunity to diminish Kerry Washington’s role as the lead, and unfortunately the writing on Thursday’s show gave them that chance.
It’s one thing to give Bellamy Young her props, but to tear down KW’s Olivia Pope while doing it, which several of these articles have done, is concerning. It saddens me that the first AA woman lead on TV in 40 years can’t even have that role without people advocating for the supporting white female to take over.
Shonda Rhimes and those writers need to look at what they’ve facilitated with the poor way they’ve been writing for Olivia’s character, versus the development of characters who are supposed to be supporting.
Some may think this is off topic, but it all goes back to the same line of thinking about what is and isn’t acceptable from Black people on screen. On shows like Homeland or the Good Wife, all the characters are equally developed and have their time to shine, but there are no doubts from audiences or critics that Claire Danes & Julianna Marguelies are the leads of those shows. Sad that the same can’t be said for Scandal.
YES!!!!! I do agree! I thought about this issue as well. It’s time for a background story on Ms. Pope! There are so many things that can be addressed with her character and at the same time allow her to shine in that role.
[…] It would be a mistake, however, to ascribe success of The Best Man Holiday chiefly to the race of its characters. USA Today got into a bit of trouble this weekend when it ran a story with a headline suggesting the film was “race-themed,” sparking some angry feedback and an eventual headline change. “With that logic, then Girls is ‘race-themed’ too,” replied one blog. […]
“…and was marketed specifically to African-American women.”
It was? Did I maybe miss something because I didn’t see it that way, especially when it’s call The Best “Man” and I’ve seen the first one. Like all of us Black folks who watch Black-themed movies have.
Has anyone noticed lately that there is a strong police presence when black movies premiere? I saw Hangover III at the theatre on the opening weekend and there wasn’t any police. However, when I went to see Best Man Holiday they had three officers posted in front of the Best Man Holiday viewing room. Thor was also playing but there weren’t any police officers posted outside the door. I read online in the past that the latest trend is to assign officers to oversee black patrons at the movies. I am not sure why this is considering in the past the worst atrocities committed in movie theatres have been by white men. Yet, Thor was unguarded.I just wanted to check in with some of you to see if this was also a part of your movie experience.
where do you live? cuz that sounds hella racist. i live in nyc and no such thing like that occurs.
I saw cops at theater, in NYC at the Regal in Times Square. I didn’t think much of it because I’d never been to that theater before. I thought it had to do with tourists, but maybe it had to do with the movie. Damn.
Yes White people we do enjoy going to the movies and we like seeing ourseleves depicted as everyday people with everyday struggles like frienship, money , health and just one-one human interaction… We don’t always wanna be slaves in the movies… Why couldnt it just be a movie about people why did ole boy have to go there with “the racial-themed movie??” This is why we don’t like or trust you White America you and your one black friend………….
Speaking as a white person, I love talented actors and good movies,I think it’s great that black talent is being showcased. It really shouldn’t be about race at all,guess we haven’t come that far yet.
Count me in as a white person who really enjoyed this movie, and why did I like it so much? It was just really good. Good script, performances, production. Quality, pure and simple.
Give me that experience at a movie and the people in it or behind it could purple with pink polka dots, I don’t care – well except for blue people, Avatar sucked.
This made me laugh…and I agree. Sixteen years ago my husband (then boyfriend) and I enjoyed The Best Man and it became one of my favorites…right along with The Breakfast Club. A good movie is a good movie! But I can do without the blue people. 😉
The question is, which theater was more quiet?
“hor’ gets an unexpected challenge from ‘The Best Man Holiday,’ the latest ethnically-diverse film to score solidly with moviegoers.”
This is as bad as the original headline. This film isn’t ethnically-diverse. It is a cast of all black people. That is as homogenous as a cast of all white people. Again, using the code words for “Black.” SMH.
Old white-dude here, and I’m looking forward to spending my money on BMH tomorrow! Taye Diggs and Harold Perrineau are fine actors, and I try to catch everything they’re in.
Thing that pisses me off, though, is that a black co-worker told me that I had no business going to see this movie: she said that I should just go to one of “my” movies instead. WTF?! I told her that if it’s a good movie, I don’t care if the cast is white, black, green, or purple!
And, BTW, “Thor:The Dark World” was totally lame!
Your coworker was WRONG dinnamug to tell you not to go see it. BOOOOOO her!
Just wanted you to know that, much to her chagrin (I’m sure), I loved the movie!
Good movie made for us by us. Enjoy and forget about white folks and their silly opinions about this film. Let’s just continue to support. Remember when it comes to race those folks don’t know any better. Remember that if its more than one of us it’s a conspiracy so imagine a movie fulla black folks its gotta be a race movie. It ain’t the status quo, i.e. them, so it’s different and that makes it suspect. Go see this movie it is wonderful, flaws and all!
[…] movie to The Butler, 12 Years a Slave and Fruitvale Station, initially pegging Holiday to be “race themed“. This has prompted many moviegoers to continue to support the movie, to show that its […]
I am not at all surprised by USA TODAY. Funny thing is I went to see Thor too and it is garbage. It amazes me that Thor was even in the running. I think we should start a movement in which we go out in droves to support black cinema. Black people are the number one consumers. We could make or break the system if we made a concerted effort to do so…..food for thought.
[…] example, dubbing the film “race-themed” in a headline that was later removed. As many bloggers pointed out, the movie — which boasts a cast full of some of the most recognizable black actors […]
[…] Today referred to this film as ‘racially- themed.’ Funny, I didn’t get that when I was watching it. I perceived it as an embodiment of […]
Wow. I’m very disappointed. I was irked and disappointed with those handful of journalists that started this ridiculous brushfire, but I’m far more disappointed in the comments I’m seeing in this thread. You all posting the us vs them comments are just as bad as that handful of journalists. You are BOTH pushing this racial division agenda. Just leave it alone. And also, recognize that things have changed. Yes, there are still racist folks out ther, but one, they’re not all white, “if you don’t believe me, just go through these comments”, and two, they are an extreme minority at this point. Stop judging the majority of white people on the idiots that wrote those articles. Everytime a black person is in the news committing a crime, how pissed do you get that white people are going to assume that man represents us all? So then why are you doing the same thing to them?
We are in a transition period folks. America’s landscape is vastly changing and much quicker than it seems. Emotions will be heightened through this period but the fact is we need to get read of the “us” mentality and embrace the “all of us” mentality. Stop wishing for things to reverse and just strive for equality. This film was fantastic. To be honest, they are few and far between, which is sad because I love them. I love films that represent he black people in my life. The ones I grew up with. I understood 90s films with black casts being more gangster blah blah in vibe because it was a time period when that was thriving. But again, the landscape is changing.
Yeah, that stuff is still out there, but far more common is the educated working black man. The married black man. The great father with his wife and kids and great job black man. So much so to the point that I expect that FIRST when I meet new black people, and am quite shocked if the situation is otherwise. So films like this delight me. Act like a woman think like a man, another great film. I can relate to those films. And I don’t see, them as black films, same as the author of this post. But I also went to see this film with my Korean girlfriend and our white friend and his black girlfriend. And we all loved it.
Stop the us vs them please. It’s just all of us. The sooner all of you carrying the racial divide torch let go, the sooner we can all just go see movies, and stop calling them black movies. These journalists won’t stop because we keep responding the way we respond. Respond by making comments asking for a direct apology, or a new article about this lack of skill as a journalist. Respond by getting statistics of how many white people in your neighborhood saw the film and use the collected data to prove the point that more of see films should be made. Respond with intellect, not with more divide.
[…] Today penning an article that referred to the blockbuster success “The Best Man Holiday” as “race-themed” to GQ shrouding an otherwise great article about the rise of the black blockbuster actor, in […]
[…] 7. USA Today Calls ‘The Best Man Holiday’ a ‘Race Themed’ Movie […]
Sadly, as luvvie pointed out, such films rarely get international marketing.
I live in south east Asia and I missed the screening of The Butler because there was zero marketing for it
and it showed in only 2 theatres on what they call “international screens”.
12 Years a slave premiers here on boxing day also on the “international screen”. Best Man Holiday?
Not happening
[…] it is because of my initial unbridled enthusiasm for this sequel that I was so upset by news that the film was labelled “race-themed” by Scott Bowles of USA Today. A friend shared a fantastic article on the “Awesome […]
I am SO sick and tired of white folks feeling “threatened” when black people do stuff for ourselves. Always talking on some, “Oh, if WE had a ‘white’ so-and-so it would be racist.” Kindly have a whole ROMAN COLOSSEUM of seats!
First of all, you don’t need to call it a “white” anything because the majority the content of your movies, magazines, and focus are white. Period. (Heck, at least we have the balls to just come on out and say “Black,” lol.) But that’s okay with you, because you consider that “normal.” So who’s really pulling the “race card” when you try to call out another group for doing the same thing you’ve been doing–highlighting yourselves? I guess it’s only okay/normal when YOU do it, eh?
Furthermore, we’re tired of begging you to be included in your stuff–so we’d rather focus on getting our own stuff together. However, it appears as though ANYTHING another ethnic group does or themselves that doesn’t include or depend on you really irks you. No, wait–specifically BLACK folks, because I really don’t hear any static over things that Jewish, Asian or Hispanic communities do.
Well…deal with it. Because we are going to continue to celebrate and put the spotlight on ourselves–because clearly if we don’t, who’s gonna? Ask yourself, what the heck is wrong with someone (or a group) choosing to love them/itself? I’ll tell you what–NADA–that is, unless you have a problem with YOURSELF. In that case, yeah–you’re gonna hate. So, it appears you need to examine THAT. Real talk.
[…] USA Today Called The Best Man Holiday a “Race-Themed” Film – Because any movie with Black people has to be about race, right? FAIL. […]
[…] has a majority minority cast is ‘race-themed’. In USA Today, the Best Man Holiday was called a ‘race-themed’ movie, most likely for its leading all black cast. Why aren’t movies with majority white casts […]
[…] has a majority minority cast is ‘race-themed’. In USA Today, the Best Man Holiday was called a ‘race-themed’ movie, most likely for its leading all black cast. Why aren’t movies with majority white casts […]