Outkast and Bryan Barber mix genres and break rules in new film
By Kenya Vaughn
For the St. Louis American
One of two things probably happened to inspire the creation of Idlewild, a new film by Bryan Barber and starring Outkast that opens Friday.
One possible scenario: Outkast and video director Barber, conversing on the set of a video shoot, said, “Let’s do something that has never been done on film before.” Maybe they thought blending genres and combining epochs would make history by changing it.
Or maybe Outkast was so impressed with the swagger of the bygone juke joint and speakeasy days that they wanted to pay homage to the past while sprinkling in their own flavors.
However the idea came to be, nothing quite like Idlewild has ever graced the big screen.
With Andre (Andre 3000) Benjamin as the musical visionary trapped in the day-to-day grind of a mortician and Antwan (Big Boi) Patton as the flashy character with the brains (and the flow) who breaks all the rules, Idlewild has its lead characters typecast – even if this same dichotomy will probably lead to doom for Outkast as musical partners.
The Outkast members are equally talented in music and acting. But just as in the group’s most recent musical effort – the phenomenally successful Speakerboxx/The Love Below – Andre 3000 is the standout in Idlewild because of his fearless experimentation and risk-taking.
Idlewild focuses on childhood friends Percival (Benjamin) and Rooster (Patton) and their struggles in life and love in a 1930’s Southern town oozing with vices and outsized characters. Patton manages to play a gangster with impeccable comedic timing. But his Rooster is one-dimensional at best next to Benjamin’s complex Percival, an awkward loner whose soul mourns because of a tragic family legacy.
Neither of their (always separate) musical performances on film express the period, but Andre’s songs seem more passionate and complimentary to the feelings, thoughts and emotions of his character. Big Boi makes the mistake of continuing with the same Southernplayalistic Cadillac rhymes that made a name for the group more than a decade ago, when Outkast was were among the handful of ATL rap acts trying to make a name for the Dirty South.
Not that Andre is more talented than Big Boi, but Darwin’s “Survival of the Fittest” theory is based upon adaptation, not natural gift. And Big Boi appears to be stuck in the mindset of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” because Rooster’s performances reference luxuries that were yet to be invented in the ‘30s, such as hot tubs. He may have wrote the songs before the movie was conceived and used them for want of anything better.
The Atlanta rap forefathers brought together some of the biggest names in black Hollywood to help them breathe life into the indulgences of a Georgia town. Ving Rhames, Terrence Howard, Paula Patton, Faizon Love, Malinda Williams, Patti LaBelle, Macy Gray, Ben Vereen and Cicely Tyson are just some of the people who lend their talents.
Many of the actors assume the roles they typically play in a host of black movies. Malinda Williams (Showtime’s Soul Food) was once again the good strong woman trying to keep her man in line. As usual, Ving Rhames plays the big bad boss and Faizon Love offers comic relief as club owner Sunshine Ace.
Terrence Howard will probably get recognition for the villainous Stumpy, a side man in the hooch game whose ambition supercedes his loyalty and leads him to kill, steal and destroy his way to the top of the underworld. He’s been a much better bad guy in other movies and probably took the role just so he could have another excuse to sport a conk.
Although her musical performance was an absolute mess, Macy Gray provided quite a bit of comic relief to the sometimes-heavy storyline. Newcomer Paula Patton also deserves props for her role as Angel Davenport, nightclub singer and love interest of Percival.
The cinematography for this film is mind-blowing. Every rule from filmmaking 101 gets broken, but it works and adds an artsy feel to the movie. The film also introduces what can best be described as video interludes with Outkast actually performing a few of the songs as they were played in the movie.
The creative forces behind the scenes deserve to be commended for penciling in hip-hop and animation to the period piece. But they didn’t get it quite right.
A stickler for accuracy and relevance will walk away with a laundry list of oversights and acts of neglect regarding the time in which the movie was set. Besides wardrobe and props, there was no real historical significance. And even though the movie was supposed to be in 1935, there was not one single reference to the Great Depression.
Aside from a few comedic situations (including a stuttering character similar to the boxer in Harlem Nights) and casting selections, none of the decisions or ideas in Idlewild were meant to be safe. It’s one risk after another.
More research and a deeper connection to the screenplay on the part of Outkast would have helped audiences to better embrace the movie. If a movie can be developed that blends then and now, certainly music can created in a way that draws in the new generation while paying homage to the past.
