they cloned tyrone [film review]
I’m skeptical of a lot of entertainment currently. movies, music, video games, all of it. There are so many new things that suck, it’s difficult to find the gems, and especially disappointing after investing and wasting your time. that’s why i was initially reluctant to watch Netflix’s ‘They Cloned Tyrone.’
Even with the star-studded Black cast of John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris, I wasn’t fully sold. I’ve watched too many shows or movies with majority Black casts that just ended up wack wastes of time.
‘They Cloned Tyrone’ does not fit into that category.
‘They Cloned Tyrone’ is a refreshing, thoughtful, thought-provoking piece of contemporary Black art. A hilariously original take and homage to previous films like ‘Undercover Brother’ & ‘Black Dynamite.’
The story centers around Boyega’s character, Fontaine, a street-level drug-dealer with no hope in site. Fontaine is murdered after picking up money from Foxx’s character, a fanciful pimp named Slick Charles (damn I really wanted to say APimpNamedSlickback, but I digress). The very next day, Fontaine wakes up like nothing happened, to the shock and dismay of Slick Charles, who witnessed the shooting.
From there, an hilariously insane (and very deep) series of events transpires (do the knowledge n***a), which eventually sparks a revolution in their town called The Glen.
What makes this movie special is that I almost can’t believe it got made. Like, I can’t believe someone wrote this, pitched it, had it picked up, got funded, casted, filmed, edited, and released, on Netflix.
This movie felt like some Black inside joke that no one else was really supposed to know about.
I kept waiting for them to insert some weird ass, unnecessary ass narrative or agenda, but it didn’t happen. I kept expecting them to make the Black male characters dumb and useless, but they never did. I was even expecting some of that embarrasingly unfunny “Black humor” that tries too hard, and nope, most of the jokes landed for me. Enough that it didn’t ruin the movie.
‘They Cloned Tyrone’ is a love letter to Black culture, Black people, Black music, and most importantly Black consciousness. Black awareness. It never delves or deviates into the “Woke.” Thankfully.
This movie will likely go down as a modern classic based off the replay value and on-liners alone. Jamie Foxx is peak Jamie and it’s great to see.
I’ve gotta put my aluminum kufi on because Jamie getting his health back (thank God), and coming back healthy in time for a movie about n***as getting cloned is wild, but I’ll leave it at that.
And no, I don’t think Jamie Foxx has been cloned. I believe he’s doing well, but still, you don’t find that suspiciousssss? *Dr. Umar voice*
Also, I gotta give major props to Teyonah Parris. She killed it. Her comedic timing and improvisation was great alongside Jamie.
All in all ‘They Cloned Tyrone’ was funny, well-written, with an interesting storyline, and a great cast.
The end was perfect too.
