We were made aware that Christmas in Compton was on the horizon back in July. We learned today that the comic Christmas tale will be released in theaters on November 9th. The film is directed by David Raynr, and stars Keith David, Omar Gooding and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Writing duties were sharred by David Raynr, Suzanne Broderick, and Robert Fedor. The film tales the tale of "Big Earl (David), owner of a Christmas tree lot in Compton, and a man with a big heart and a big vision, who demands success from everyone around him. All kinds of trouble erupts the week before Christmas when his son, Derrick (Gooding), part-time music producer and part-time...
- 10/1/2012
- by Natasha Greeves
- ShadowAndAct
Despite its setting in the run-down wards on the outskirts of Houston, debut director Doug McHenry's contempo drama of good and bad black brothers has too many recycled elements (from "West Side Story" to "East of Eden") and plays the same old tragic tune of how hard it is to escape one's ghosts.
A Gramercy Pictures release, "Jason's Lyric" has stern, hard-working performances but few marketable assets beyond Forest Whitaker's supporting turn as a screwed-up Vietnam vet. Boxoffice should be fair to light and limited to the target audience in big cities.
The title refers to the lead character's salvation -- love in the arms of a woman by that name, who knows the score. But most of the film is consumed with the relationship of responsible, sensitive Jason (Allen Payne) and his wayward gangsta' brother Joshua (Bokeem Woodbine).
In flashbacks and voice-overs, the defining tragedy of their lives is relived -- drunken, out-of-control dad (Whitaker) is gunned down in the home by one of the two boys. The script's central conceit involves misleading the audience as to who pulled the trigger, saving that revelation for later, which gives the whole movie an unsatisfying melodramatic spin.
There's no suspense in watching ex-con Joshua return to his world of drug-dealing and petty crime, while Jason and mom (Suzzanne Douglas) only weakly protest. Similarly, after playing hard-to-catch the first few rounds, seen-it-all dreamer Lyric (Jada Pinkett) falls for Jason and the pair start making plans to get out.
Predictably, violence erupts and one of the lovers survives a nasty gunshot wound for the tidy ending. Distinguishable from a TV drama only by its routine R-rated nude scenes, blood-letting and spicy street lingo, the film does not even have the stylistic flourishes of last year's similarly disappointing "Sugar Hill".
Director McHenry's approach is wide-angled and straightforward, and early on the environment plays an important part in getting a handle on the characters. But McHenry fails to freshen up the predictable course of events.
JASON'S LYRIC
Gramercy Pictures
Jackson/McHenry Co. in association with Propaganda Films
A Doug McHenry film
Director Doug McHenry
Writer Bobby Smith Jr.
Producers Doug McHenry, George Jackson
Executive producers Suzanne Broderick, Clarance Avant
Director of photography Francis Kenny
Editor Andrew Mondshein
Production designer Simon Dobbin
Music Afrika and Matt Noble
Casting Jaki Brown-Karman, Kimberly Hardin
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Jason Alexander Allen Payne
Lyric Greer Jada Pinkett
Maddog Forest Whitaker
Joshua Alexander Bokeem Woodbine
Gloria Alexander Suzzanne Douglas
Alonzo Treach
Running time -- 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
A Gramercy Pictures release, "Jason's Lyric" has stern, hard-working performances but few marketable assets beyond Forest Whitaker's supporting turn as a screwed-up Vietnam vet. Boxoffice should be fair to light and limited to the target audience in big cities.
The title refers to the lead character's salvation -- love in the arms of a woman by that name, who knows the score. But most of the film is consumed with the relationship of responsible, sensitive Jason (Allen Payne) and his wayward gangsta' brother Joshua (Bokeem Woodbine).
In flashbacks and voice-overs, the defining tragedy of their lives is relived -- drunken, out-of-control dad (Whitaker) is gunned down in the home by one of the two boys. The script's central conceit involves misleading the audience as to who pulled the trigger, saving that revelation for later, which gives the whole movie an unsatisfying melodramatic spin.
There's no suspense in watching ex-con Joshua return to his world of drug-dealing and petty crime, while Jason and mom (Suzzanne Douglas) only weakly protest. Similarly, after playing hard-to-catch the first few rounds, seen-it-all dreamer Lyric (Jada Pinkett) falls for Jason and the pair start making plans to get out.
Predictably, violence erupts and one of the lovers survives a nasty gunshot wound for the tidy ending. Distinguishable from a TV drama only by its routine R-rated nude scenes, blood-letting and spicy street lingo, the film does not even have the stylistic flourishes of last year's similarly disappointing "Sugar Hill".
Director McHenry's approach is wide-angled and straightforward, and early on the environment plays an important part in getting a handle on the characters. But McHenry fails to freshen up the predictable course of events.
JASON'S LYRIC
Gramercy Pictures
Jackson/McHenry Co. in association with Propaganda Films
A Doug McHenry film
Director Doug McHenry
Writer Bobby Smith Jr.
Producers Doug McHenry, George Jackson
Executive producers Suzanne Broderick, Clarance Avant
Director of photography Francis Kenny
Editor Andrew Mondshein
Production designer Simon Dobbin
Music Afrika and Matt Noble
Casting Jaki Brown-Karman, Kimberly Hardin
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Jason Alexander Allen Payne
Lyric Greer Jada Pinkett
Maddog Forest Whitaker
Joshua Alexander Bokeem Woodbine
Gloria Alexander Suzzanne Douglas
Alonzo Treach
Running time -- 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 9/27/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.