And that's about what this mess is worth. It's as muddled as the title. How do people ask for this movie at the box office? Two for...what? Indeed, if that were me on line for tickets, I'd probably have a hood over my head. No pun intended. Oh, who am I kidding? That pun is there for the taking.
Spike Lee, who co-wrote and directed this swill, is inexplicably considered to be a prime voice for the African-American community. I'm sure how you can do that from your court side seats at Madison Square Garden. Spike is in touch with society as much as I am. No, wait, I'm probably more in touch. I know one thing for sure. This allegedly true story likely has major holes, despite the fact that Spike says at the beginning this is all based on some "for real shit."
The movie opens with Alec Baldwin playing a crazy white supremacist telling us all about American history. For some reason, Spike chooses to steal the famed scene from "Gone With The Wind" which shows all the wounded soldiers in the Civil War. I'm already confused and the film is still in its first five minutes.
"BlacKkKlansman" tells the "true" story of young Ron Stallworth, a Black cop who gets a job with the Colorado Springs Police Department. BTW, if you think Colorado Springs looks a lot like Ossining, New York, that's because they filmed there. Well, anyway, this is all back in the 70s and we see more Afro wigs than you would have found in Diana Ross' trailer while she was making "Mahogany."
Well, Ron has a tough time in the force. I mean, he's Black and everybody is White. And evil. But he eventually gets a big chance...to infiltrate the local KKK. Of course, he can't do that unless he promises to never remove his white hood. So, he uses his White associate as a surrogate. And we're off to the races....no pun intended again.
FYI, Stallworth is played by John David Washington, son of the sainted Denzel and I guess we're going to be stuck with this acting family for another generation. The kid speaks just like his old man in a very eerie way.
Well, anyway, this infiltration scheme continues and somehow David Duke (played by Topher Grace?????!!!) shows up before it all goes off the rails. By the end of this film, the only one I really wanted to torch was Spike Lee for giving us yet another distorted view of life in a nation which is not as racist as they want you to believe. At the conclusion, this is all tied somehow to what happened in Charlottesville two summers ago. I guess Spike must have watched the news in between Knicks games.
Again, Hollywood and its emissary, Spike Lee, gives us another teachable moment that nobody really asked for. The dummies out here were so enamored by the possibilities that they gave Spike a screenwriting Oscar for this crap. Meanwhile, his purple outfit at the ceremony made him look like a character in a Roger Rabbit cartoon.
Oh, well. That's what movies are all about in 2019.
LEN'S RATING: One-half star...I liked the 70s soul soundtrack.
Dinner last night: Beef sausage with peppers and onions.
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