by J. Brown
Black Film Count: 11 (Love & Basketball, The Brothers, Two Can Play That Game, Deliver Us From Eva, Cradle 2 The Grave, Breakin' All The Rules, The Perfect Holiday, Good Deeds, Think Like a Man, Think Like a Man Too, Top Five)
Mrs. Wade starts off our list with an impressive 11 Black film appearances. I didn't think Gabby would crack the list when I started it, but her Black filmography is undeniable. She began her career starring as the Bitchy Black Girl in teeny-bopper films like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Bring It On," and then graduated to playing the Uptight Black Girl in films like "Deliver Us From Eva" and "Think Like a Man." Other than "Eva", I'll always remember Union for her role in "Love and Basketball", where she played the HS groupie who was desperately trying to sleep with Omar Epps. Good times. For what it's worth, Union is basically the Black version of Katherine Heigl. Not sure if this is exactly a good thing, but she made the top 10, so shout out to her.
Black Film Count: 11 (Don't Be a Menace, Set It Off, Booty Call, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Kingdom Come, Two Can Play That Game, Juwanna Mann, The Salon, Getting Played, Three Can Play That Game)
By all accounts, Vivica is clearly the worst actor on this entire list, and she's been in the worst films, as well. However, her lack of skill hasn't stopped her from getting cast in plenty of Black films, playing essentially the same cliched character each time. Her true Black film count actually exceeds 11, but I opted not to include films that even Black people have never heard of, like "Motives" and "Trapped: Haitian Nights". (To be honest, I'd never heard of "Three Can Play That Game" either, but I was so impressed that she convinced anyone to actually make that movie that I had to include it.) Vivica hasn't stopped at just making bad movies, though; in what might be the most stereotypical move ever, she started a line of wigs and weave caps for Black women. Please click that link.
Black Film Count: 8 (Menace II Society, Jason's Lyric, A Low Down Dirty Shame, The Nutty Professor, Set It Off, Woo, Bamboozled, Kingdom Come)
I know her name is Jada Pinkett Smith now, but most of her Black film appearances were pre-Fresh Prince. Her most memorable appearances were in "Set It Off" and "Menace II Society," two films in which she was arguably the most likable character. She was also the female love interest in "Nutty Professor", which probably helped to popularize her with mainstream (read; non-Black) viewers. Her total Black movie count isn't that high, but she went on to star in "A Different World", which is such a large part of the Black viewing experience that it bumped her up a few spots. She currently stars on "Gotham", where she plays Fish Mooney, a completely made-up Batman villain with a cheesy Eartha Kitt-based accent.
Black Film Count: 10 (Baby Boy, Hair Show, Hustle & Flow, Something New, The Family That Preys, Not Easily Broken, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Think Like a Man, Think Like a Man Too, No Good Deed)
I had the biggest crush on Taraji in the early 2000s (and the early 2010s, who am I kidding). It's kind of funny that her first starring role ended up being her most popular. No matter what she does for the rest of her career, we're always going to remember her for telling Jody how much she couldn't stand him. She's also pretty well-known for playing a hooker that sang choruses for her rapper boyfriend/pimp. As covered in my previous post, Taraji has a penchant for playing hoodrats, which probably helped her to get cast in some of these films, if we're being honest. She's now starring on "Empire", which is basically a Black movie with weekly installments.
Black Film Count: 8 (The Wood, The Best Man, Life, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar, Something New, The Family That Preys, The Best Man Holiday)
Now if we're gonna talk about Black movie crushes, Sanaa takes the cake. Besides being downright gorgeous, she was one of the few sisters that was able to star in a number of Black films without ever playing the role of a stereotype. In fact, she usually played the role of The Smartest Person in the Room, often having to snap some dumb brother played by Taye Diggs to his senses. Her eight films are on the lower side of the spectrum, but she comes close to cracking the top 5 mostly because she was such an important part in the films that she starred in. On a completely subjective note, "Love & Basketball" is my favorite Black romantic film of all time, so that probably helped her to get some extra cred. Most importantly, though, she passes the eye test: when you watch a Black film, you almost expect to see her show up. But she's not quite in the same category as our top 5...
Black Film Count: 10 (Boyz N The Hood, The Best Man, The Brothers, Two Can Play That Game, Like Mike, Breakin' All The Rules, The Perfect Holiday, Not Easily Broken, Think Like a Man, The Best Man Holiday)
The man played Ricky. What more needs to be said? On top of that, he's the default name that everyone uses when they want to refer to a good-looking, dark-skinned guy, kind of like how white girls refer to hot guys by comparing him to Brad Pitt. Being a reference point for all good-looking men counts. He's also a staple in the Black film pantheon, usually showing up to play The Good-Looking Guy. By all accounts, he's not a very good actor, but neither is Halle Berry, so he's kind of the male equivalent to her.
Black Film Count: 10 (Cornbread Earl and Me, The Color Purple, School Daze, Boyz N The Hood, What's Love Got To Do With It, Higher Learning, The Tuskegee Airmen, Biker Boyz, Akeelah and the Bee, Ride Along)
Laurence Fishburne deserves this spot for a few reasons. First, he's in a number of the most influential Black films to date. He's also in a few movies that no one else on this list was in, which is a rare feat. In addition, his Black filmography spans almost 40 years, with his first in 1975 and his most recent in 2014. That's impressive. But most importantly, he deserves this spot for giving us the most famous line in all of Black movie history. If he'd never played another role, his place in Black movie history would be secure.
Black Film Count: 11 (Boyz N The Hood, Friday, Love Jones, Soul Food, In Too Deep, The Best Man, Held Up, Big Momma's House, Big Momma's House 2, Good Hair, The Best Man Holiday)
Nia Long is the Queen of the 90s Black Film. If you were to suggest 10 Black films that defined the 90s, she would be in at least five of them. Nia Long was the perfect mix of Black girl sass with Black Girl class. In a sense, she's like the best qualities of Taraji P. Henson and Sanaa Lathan rolled up into one woman. She had everyone from Cuba Gooding to Larenz Tate begging to have sex with her (in the movies, but still, it counts). Not only is she a staple in some of the best Black films ever, but at the age of 44, she still looks as good as we remember her looking 20 years ago. Salute.
Black Film Count: 15 (The Jacksons: An American Dream, Dead Presidents, The Players Club, The Best Man, Big Momma's House, Biker Boyz, The Salon, Hustle & Flow, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, Pride, The Perfect Holiday, Red Tails, The Butler, The Best Man Holiday)
If Nia is the Queen, then Terrence is the undeniable King. After getting most of his Black film work done in the 90s, Terrence Howard has kept busy by maintaining an impressive streak of appearing in at least 3 movies a year since 2011. He usually plays a misogynistic slimeball or some sort of greasy character who's looking for a come-up, and his creepy voice and 1950s conk help to really to bring these characters to life. Not content with only appearing in Black films, he's also played the male lead in music videos for Ashanti ("Foolish") and Mary J. Blige ("Be Without You"). Much like Taraji, Terrence has taken his Black star power to the small screen, where we can expect to see more man-perms and luxurious silken outfits.
Black Film Count: 13 (Boyz N The Hood, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Malcolm X, What's Love Got To Do With It. Vampire in Brooklyn, Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Rosa Parks Story, Akeelah and the Bee, Meet the Browns, Notorious, Jumping the Broom, Black Nativity)
Not only is Angela Bassett the strongest actor in the group, she's been the go-to for any historically important Black female figure over the past 25 years. Throughout her career she's played Katherine Jackson, Betty Shabazz (twice), Tina Turner, Rosa Parks, Voletta Wallace, and Coretta Scott King. Don't be surprised if she's starring in a PBS special as Maya Angelou five years from now. Angela also gets extra points for both getting her groove back and burning down that no-good man's car, empowering every disgruntled, single Black woman in the process. You really can't put a price tag on that kind of worth.
Close, But No Cigar:
15. Leon Robinson (The Women of Brewster Place, The Five Heartbeats, Cool Runnings, Above the Rim, Waiting to Exhale, The Temptations, Get Rich or Die Tryin')
14. Taye Diggs (How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Wood, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, Best Man Holiday)
13. Omar Epps (Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, Love and Basketball)
12. Meagan Good (Eve's Bayou, Biker Boyz, Deliver Us from Eva, You Got Served, The Cookout, Roll Bounce, Waist Deep, Stomp the Yard, 35 & Ticking, Jumping the Broom, Think Like a Man, Think Like a Man Too)
11. Larenz Tate (The Women of Brewster Place, Menace II Society, Dead Presidents, Love Jones, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Biker Boyz, Waist Deep)
Honorable Mention: Alfre Woodard, Mekhi Phifer, Malinda Williams, Tupac Shakur, Oprah Winfrey, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Hill Harper, Boris Kodjoe, Regina King, Regina Hall, Monica Calhoun, Paula Jai Parker, Wesley Snipes, Janet Jackson, Michael Ealy
No comments:
Post a Comment