User Reviews

It's an unwritten rule that a filmmaker who's starting out fresh and with a promising debut might not have lightning strike twice with a follow-up project. The third time's the charm, but not for director and then-infamous NYU film school dropout Matty Rich because he hasn't made a feature film since the 1994 coming-of-age dramedy, "The Inkwell", which has an uneven tone that hurts its own good heart. I haven't seen this movie since it was aired on a premium cable channel when I was in college. Looking at it now, my opinion hasn't changed, even with the current call for more diversity in cinema.

It's the summer of 1976, the bicentennial of America's founding (some will argue about it now with the 1619 project), yet Andrew "Drew" Tate (Larenz Tate of "Menace II Society" and the TV series "Power") doesn't feel like celebrating. He's a smart yet lonely, 16-year-old African-American kid from upstate New York whose argumentative parents, former Black Panther activist Kenny (Emmy-winner Joe Morton of "Scandal", "The Brother From Another Planet" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League") and bourgeoise-born Brenda (the late Suzanne Douglas of "The Parent 'Hood") are fearful that, after an experiment gone wrong, their child is a budding pyromaniac. It doesn't help Drew has and talks to a doll dubbed Iago (nice Shakespeare reference) that's his only friend in the world.

To blow off steam, the Tate family heads to Martha's Vineyard, specifically the movie's title, a predominately wealthy African-American enclave where Brenda's sister Francis (Vanessa Bell Calloway) and brother-in-law Spencer (Glynn Turman of "A Different World" and "The Wire") live. Kenny and Spencer come to political and racial blows ("Harlem hoodlums", Spencer labels Malcolm X and his followers), despite who they are. Meanwhile, Drew finds love with pretty but snooty child star Lauren (Jada Pinkett, also from "Society" and "The Matrix Saga") yet has an "interesting" friendship with an older woman (Adrienne Joi Johnston), who's in a bad marriage with a cad (Morris Chestnut of "The Resident").

"The Inkwell" is a great example of where there are good intentions, but the execution is off the tracks. The film's original screenwriter, Trey Ellis ("The Tuskegee Airmen") took issue with Rich's participation in the production because he previously directed the urban drama, "Straight Out of Brooklyn" (it introduced Lawrence Gillard Jr. Who would later starred in "The Wire"), which, though a shaggy dog, brilliant indie film, is far away from the heart of "Inkwell". There was also the generational gap between himself (a baby boomer) and Rich (a Gen-Xer) and Rich's lack of directorial training and hard experience (some shots linger too long). Paris Qualles (some episodes of "Amen" and "China Beach") was brought on to polish the script, forcing Ellis to have his name replaced with the pseudonym, Tom Ricostronza, the surname meaning "full of excrement". He might have a point with the awkward combination of broad humor (supplied partly by Duane Martin, who plays Drew's horndog cousin, Spencer Jr.) that should have been less and pathos that should have been more (the abyss between Brenda and her mother, played the late Mary Alice, also of "The Matrix Saga", is an untapped subplot and the therapy session between Drew and Dr. Wade, played by Phyllis Yvonne Stickley, feels thin). The acting is serviceable, with Tate, Morton, and Turman as the standouts.

The story takes its' ending from the more competent "Summer Of '42", yet it seems like a convenient set-up for the main character who deserves more in a world that doesn't quite have a place for him. I can relate to Drew's growing pains myself, and I can give "The Inkwell" some credit for being one of those few African-American coming-of-age films that show a young black man who's not in "the game" (Gordon Parks' "The Learning Tree" is a monolith more filmmakers should strive to emulate), but I wish it was directed by someone who had cinematic competency and a script that was allowed to embrace its own good, somber heart.

The story: Drew has problems coping with his life after he accidentally burns down his house. His mom(played by Suzzanne Douglas and Dad(Joe Morton)move with her sister and from then Drew's life changes.

Larenz Tate is pretty good as the naive but likable Drew. Suzzanne Douglas is great as Drew's mother and Joe Morton is perfect as Drew's father Kenny. Glynn Turman is good also as the ignorant and arrogant Spencer Phillips. Duane Martin is just hilarious as Jr Phillips. And for me the silliness only made this movie more appealing.

Its a shame that Matty Rich(the director) never had another movie after this one. But I understand all too well that any gifted black director that gives us positive images will not last in Follywood. There is no high demand for them and a lot us will only promote the black films that these childish schizophrenics promote. If you are over the age of thirty and you still allow these freaks to dictate to you what quality entertainment is then you should be ashamed of yourselves. The negative reviews for this movie are the reason why positive black movies will never get the love they need. You cant pine about positive images for Black people and you would not support a movie like this. We owe it to Matty Rich as well as all other talented black filmmakers to support movies of this ilk. Two thumbs up for this touching coming of age movie.