The review:
Spike Lee’s Crooklyn is a solid family drama* with an excellent soundtrack and a charming montage of games urban kids used to play in the early 70s. It’s also got a trio of stellar leads in Alfre Woodard & Delroy Lindo as the parents and Zelda Harris as Troy, the only girl among the five siblings. It’s not the most plot-driven of films, but the energy running through the characters is enough to keep things moving forward.
The verdict: Good
Cost: $3.99 via Google Play (The subtitles were bad. A bit behind and trying to do too much)
Where watched: at home
Consider also watching:
- This is apparently the only movie about black families
- I’ve just googled for 10 minutes and I get:
- *Movies for families to watch
- *Movies about white families (sort of)
- *Spike Lee movies
- Gah!
Further sentences:
*With a lot of yelling (you have to be okay with yelling families, which I am) and an attitude toward animals I couldn’t stomach.**
**One scene with a cat, and two scenes with a small dog. Both are played as funny.
Favorite IMDB trivia item:
The “disorienting” view when the family is in the country was created by shooting in widescreen without anamorphically adjusting the image.
(I include this trivia item as a public service because I wasn’t sure if it was a glitch on my TV)
Other reviews:
- Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
- Desson Howe, Washington Post
