This weekend I saw "Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom" for the second time. I saw it the first time when its writer/director Patrik Ian-Polk held a screening here in New York this past summer. Before I get into my thoughts on the movie I'm gonna share with you an alarming review of the movie that I read in this week's issue of Next Magazine, a publication that touts itself as "New York's Gay Guide".
Sink Noah's Arc (Logo Features) and pray it's never found. Continuing from the Logo series about the lives and loves of a group of gay African-American Los Angelinos, Noah (Darryl Stephens) and Wade (Jensen Atwood) travel with their posse to be married in a picturesque summer home in Martha's Vineyard. Jumping the Broom references a slave marriage tradition, the requisite shout-out to black history.
For a well-intentioned portrayal of a broader gay community, do any of these characters have a white, Latin or Asian, friend or boyfriend? I'm totes for being black, gay and proud, but segregation's ovah!
Patrik Ian-Polk, returning as writer/director from the TV series, has brought us the cinematic equivalent to Hallmark's Mahogany cards. Every random phone call and Jacuzzi dip includes some profound life lesson.
The considerably talented and smokin' cast is stuck playing gay archetypes: the unrepentant slut (Christian Vincent), the flaming sass (Rodney Chester) and the twinkie newbie (Gary LeRoi Gray) dash about in fabricated mini-operas. As all the couples jump to jealous conclusions, scurry off in tears, make up, kiss and do it all again, the action is peppered with deadly earnest inspirational platitudes that would make Kirstie Alley willingly lose her lunch.
Honey, this sunken ship proves dreadful gay filmmaking knows no color.
--AC
from Next Magazine
Vol 16.17 | October 24th, 2008
If this is not the most ridiculous shit I've ever read. What the fuck? How could they trash this movie largely due to the fact that there weren't any prominent white characters in it? This is the same sort of criticism that the 1992 film "Boomerang" also received. The romantic comedy, starring Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens and Halle Berry was set in a black owned and operated corporation and like "Noah..." also does not feature any prominent white characters. And so what? How many hundreds of films have all white casts and don't have as much as a black extra.
Did black folks go up in a tizzy after seeing that after six seasons, ninety-four episodes and a movie of "Sex And The City" (which happens to be my favorite show ever by the way) that there were no prominent black characters. Yes Blair Underwood was Miranda's boyfriend in a few episodes in season six and that Samantha dated a black guy in season three, episode five "No Ifs Ands Or Butts" but did black folks ever expect the "Sex And The City" girls to adopt a fifth friend Keisha, just for integration's sake? No. Oh yes, Jennifer Hudson appeared in the movie as Carrie's assistant. As much as we love JHud, if her character wasn't written into the movie or if it were played by a white girl the universe wouldn't have ceased to exist. A common consensus among black folks I know is that JHud's character seemed unneeded and forced anyway, as though they were purposely looking for a way to inject some color in the film and some black folks into the seats. I'd like to think that people enjoy a well written show with characters and stories that they can relate to no matter what color the actors are. Black folks are not as petty as people think, just because we don't see ourselves in a movie doesn't mean that we can't enjoy it. If that were so black folks wouldn't have much to watch.
What's even crazier is that the premise of the movie didn't leave much room for anyone outside the core cast not to mention random white faces thrown in for good measure. The main characters went away to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, a summer vacation island, in the winter time. So obviously the island wouldn't exactly be teeming with life. Not too much opportunity to run into a random white person there. For most of the film the characters stayed in and around the house they were staying in. Not too much opportunity to run into a random white person there either. Oh yeah, but there was the white guy that gave one of the main characters, Ricky a blowjob in a barn somewhere on the island. There you are, there's our random white person. Happy now?
Trivial fabricated reverse racism issues aside, the movie was good, very enjoyable. One of the best, if not the best in the black gay and even the gay genre. Definitely a step up production-wise from the show. It's funny, it's warm and highly entertaining, you never know what's gonna happen next.
The movie tackles the ups and downs of gay relationships in various stages, the hopeful optimism of the main character Noah (Darryl Stephens) and his groom-to-be Wade's (Jensen Atwood) relationship, the worn-in pessimism of Chance (Douglas Spearman) and Eddie's (Jonathan Julian) relationship and Alex (Rodney Chester) and Trey's (Gregory Kieth) relationship. The latter two are long term, seemingly harmonious, yet troubled gay marriages. Their troubles, which are excellently portrayed in the film, don't ultimately end up being enough to dissolve either marriage though. The arc wouldn't be complete without a look into the resident promiscuous, commitment-phobe Ricky's (Christian Vincent) numerous trysts throughout the film, the most prominent of them being with "Noah..." newcomer, the young Brandon (Gary LeRoi Gray) who is also a student of Chance, his college professor. Oddly enough you may remember Gray best as a child actor from his role on "The Cosby Show". He played Nelson Tibideaux, one half of Cliff Huxtable's (Bill Cosby) set of twin grandkids, Winnie and Nelson, his oldest daughter Sandra's children with her husband Elvin. In the film we finally get to see what lies beneath Ricky's oversexed behavior, his secret love for Noah which ultimately had to succumb to Noah's love for Wade. in between all of the twists turns and drama are hilarious appearances from recurring characters Brandy, Noah's coke sniffing boss (Jennia Fredrique) and adorably obnoxious British rapper Baby Gat (Jason Steed).
"Noah..." is a feel-good, laugh riot that serves up just the right of heartfelt drama and emotion to make us all remember why we're all fighting for gays to marry and jump the broom in the first place.
GO SEE IT!
If you're in New York you can see "Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom" at:
Clearview Chelsea Theatres
260 West 23rd Street
off 8th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 691-5519
If you want to check movie times and availability anywhere around the country click here for the "Noah's Arc..." movie listing at Fandango.com.
And for even more info check out: NoahsArcMovie.com
Think about this. Isn't it funny how people criticize more positive black films like "Noah's Arc..." and "Boomerang" for lack of white characters, but you never hear the same criticism for gangbanger films like "Boyz In The Hood" and "Menace 2 Society"? Interesting.
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Playing In The Background...
"Sandcastle Disco"
by Solange
from the album "Sol-Angel And The Hadley Street Dreams"
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Saturday night I took a date to see "Milk" a new movie that depicts the true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States. In 1977 he was elected to the San Francisco, California Board Of Supervisors. On November 27th, 1978 he and then mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone were assassinated by former city supervisor Dan White inside of San Francisco's City Hall. 
