My wife and I were all set to go to the screening of “The Blackening,” but then the studios scheduled “Asteroid City” that same night, so we went to that. Who would’ve thought passing up a horror/comedy for a Wes Anderson movie with an all star cast, would be a mistake? So it was off to the Reading Town Square to see “The Blackening” on Juneteenth, and the film starts with Juneteenth posters. They’re all over the wall of the cabin in the woods at a place a group of African-American friends have rented for a weekend reunion.
I’m a tough critic. I’m one of the few that hated both “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and “Girls Trip.” (oddly enough, one of the screenwriters, Tracy Oliver, wrote Girls Trip).
Those films should have been as funny and fun as this was. Even Jordan Peele’s last movie “Nope” was a bit disappointing, yet I’m guessing he’ll see this and wish he would’ve made it. It has got some social commentary, but had the vibe of a Wayans brothers picture.
One of the things that worked in this film is that you had an attractive cast that was rather likable. They have a lot of chemistry together and feel like a real friend group. The only one I recognized was Jay Pharoah from Saturday Night Live. He and Morgan (Yvonne Orji of Insecure) show up first, waiting for the rest of their friend group. They’re having a reunion and celebrating Juneteenth.
They start drinking heavily (the King Kool Aid looks disgusting), and dropping some Molly. After playing Spades (and squabbling with each other), they find a racist board game called The Blackening. It has a Sambo-type face spitting out racist questions. If you get the answer wrong, you’re threatened with your life.
It’s surprising how many of the jokes worked and how they didn’t force any. The dialogue was sharp, too. The pacing, with a few fun scares, was nicely done.
The characters aren’t one-dimensional, and can dis’ you one minute and be self-deprecating the next. There’s one couple that’s rekindling their romance, which upsets her gay best friend who had to listen to her always complain about his cheating. There’s a nerdy guy that reminds you of Urkele, who just kind of showed up. There are 3 or 4 other women with different personality types, and all with interesting things to say.
So many scenes worked. For example, when the group realizes they’ll have to fight for their lives with a killer taunting them in the locked cabin – they try to find weapons in the house. When a woman grabs a candlestick, one guy says, “What the hell are you going to do with a candlestick, Colonel Mustard? Kill him in the conservatory?!”
Sure, a lot of people won’t get that joke, but I thought the Clue reference was hysterical.
And yes, there’s a barf scene, because every movie seems to have one these days.
My wife and I both had a blast with the movie, and I think most people will enjoy it.
3 stars out of 5.