War Room - is Kicking Ass at the Box Office

[Troy]

I just published a review of the new film War Room.  It was the #1 grossing film this Friday, and was #2 behinding the HEAVILY promoted NWA flick for the weekend.

What, never heard of War Room?  Neither did I.  At least not before publishing this review.  I did not see a trailer. I read no social media buzz, nothing on Black Twitter (well maybe there was, but I don't follow it).  I mean I did not even get a press release.  Karen Hunter mentioned it on her radio show today (thank for what little Black media we do have left).  If it were not for Karen I would not have known that this was a film with Black main characters and directed by a Black man!  

Now as I was looking for material to supplement the review I posted; I saw that critics and industry observers were "surprised" by War Room's strong (relatively speaking) showing...you know given it is an uplifting film with Black people in it--who wants to see something like that?

Look at the stark contrast between the audience reaction, and critical reaction to the film, as reported by Rotten Tomatoes  By contrast there was only a 5% differential between the critic's and audience's reaction to Straight Outta Compton.  Also, there was 10 times the number of critics reviewing the NWA movie versus War Room.  Needless to say, the vast majority of reviewers posting reviews on RT are white.  This is the kind of discrepancy we see with other success Black films, like Tyler Perry flicks.

Now this does not mean I'm going to rush out and go see this film?  I'll wait for it to hit Netflix, if I bother to watch it at all (odds are I probably won't watch it).  That however, will not stop me from helping to spread the word about this movie, because I know a ton of people who would LOVE this film; it is made for a substantial portion of my audience's demographic.  It is my job to turn folks on to books and films they would enjoy that they would not discover otherwise. 

Unfortunately the appeal of this film is apparently something White critics can't seem to wrap their heads around. I'm not saying they are racists trying to keep a Black film down--they just don't understand the culture.  So the reviews skew negative because of that cultural bias, and since we don't have Black film critics with a substantial platform, (Kam on AALBC.com does not count--at least not yet)  these films can't do as well as they could at the box office.

[Guest Kendrea J]

WOW! I was not expecting to love this movie so much. When we received this, I expected a low-budget film, possibly too emotionally driven or slapstick silly. Happily, I couldn't have been more wrong! The funny parts were genuinely humorous as they were totally relatable to my real life as a working mom -- just trying to hold it all together and keep a happy family. My favorite had the main actress hiding in her closet with a bag of chips and soda, threatening her bewildered daughter, "And don't you dare tell ANYONE that your mom was eating chips in her closet! All the chips in this house are mine! They are ALL MINE!" ... From a busy mom perspective, MANY (if not all) of us have been at this sanity breaking point - wanting a break, and taking it in whatever silly way we can --locked bathrooms, secluded closets.  This was just one of many examples that were true. The more serious and poignant moments had my husband and I sharing glances because, unfortunately, the two of us had been There as well. And the redemption, which finally comes, was highly meaningful to us.

[Troy]

What a nice review.  If I read your take I would have made an effort to see the flick.  Now maybe I will--thanks for sharing!

[Pioneer1]

I can't believe this.....

I honestly LOOKED for something to point out and criticized during the trailer and couldn't really find anything legitimate.

I mean, this movie isn't exactly MY cup of tea....but for a cast featuring majority Black actors and actresses...it looks pretty wholesome and meaningful.


And where did they find so many good looking Black people ???

Damn....

Even the old sista in pearls had me going.
I thought she was Marla Gibbs at first..lol.