Movie Zone
Here I will post movie reviews and recommendations, opinions and updates on the world of film, lists/rankings, and the occasional film essay/analysis if I am feeling brave enough
A film review and mini-analysis of the recent Netflix hit. WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Released on Netflix July 21st (a fateful day for film in this year of 2023), They Cloned Tyrone is a sci-fi comedy film centering on a trio of very different characters teaming together to uncover a conspiracy taking place in their neighborhood. Directed by Juel Taylor, written by Tony Rettenmeier and Juel Taylor, and starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx. I had been getting more and more excited about this film as time went on, and am happy to say it thoroughly exceeded my expectations. This film is a lot of fun, with laughs, thrills, and an intriguing mystery that unfolds to the tune of relevant and clever satire. I had an absolute blast from beginning to end. THE CHARACTERSThe first thing I have to talk about, and the biggest aspect that makes this movie work so well, is the characters. Fontaine (Boyega) the drug dealer, Yo-Yo (Parris) the prostitute, and Slick Charles (Foxx) the pimp. As a character mentions at a later point in the film, it really does sound like the beginning of a joke. The way these characters interact with each other throughout the film creates such an entertaining dynamic that carries the audience through the story. Each of the trio’s personalities are balanced well between each other, with Fontaine’s grumpy and more stoic nature, Yo-Yo being the one to try to bring logic and togetherness to the group, and Slick Charles’ hilarious self-absorbed attitude. It’s enjoyable to follow them as they uncover this mystery because of the bond we see between them and others in the neighborhood as well. Despite the comedy and the friction within the group, we see how they really care for one another, as they each go out of their way to rescue one another whenever danger arises. I absolutely love when a film can show a comedic friction between a group of characters, but build up a rapport between them enough that there is no question in our minds of them sticking their necks out for each other when the moment comes. Fontaine was a great choice for the main character as well. He starts off as someone who would probably be the antagonist in another film, but through his relationships between Yo-Yo, Slick Charles, and a boy named Junebug whom we see him connect with in a younger brother sort of way, the connections create sympathy towards his character which grows as the story goes on and he is confronted with the reality that this secret organization is relying on him to keep the neighborhood the way it is to allow them to conduct their experiments on people in the community. THE STORYI think the story was very well put together with a great combination of humor and satire, but also returning to seriousness when it was called for. This definitely doesn’t feel like a parody, which a lot of “comedy” movies do feel like to me. It felt like a real film, with stakes that had me anxious to see if the characters would be able to save the day and stop the bad guys (which is all I ask for in a film, really). The comedic moments come from the characters and how they interact with one another, but the plot remains serious enough so that it feels like an actual sci-fi thriller. The film comes together slowly at first as it begins to reveal what is going on, but then quickly sends the three characters on a mystery hunt that rockets forward beat after beat, creating a thrilling race that culminates in a very satisfying ending battle with half of the neighborhood charging the underground lab to free the people being experimented on. You have the action portion with that, and then the more emotional climax between Fontaine and the original Fontaine (who is credited as just “Old Fontaine”, which I love) where you then have the explanation for why he has chosen to do this. It’s short, sweet, and entertaining. It gets it’s purpose across clearly and without over-bloated monologues or repetition of spelling out the point they are trying to get across, which many movies (especially ones having to do with social commentary) seem to have trouble with. GENRE AND REFERENCESThe main subgenre this movie references through its style of storytelling, character design, music, etc., is the 70’s Blaxploitation film, which I think was a great choice to give us something fresh and original, seeing that the genre has been pretty quiet for some time now. While I am not as familiar with Blaxploitation specifically, I am a very big fan of 70’s and 80’s exploitation in general, so it is nice to feel that vibe when it comes to the music and characters, even though the budget of this film is Star Wars-level compared to the budgets of the exploitation films of old. Aside from the overall style, this film lifts many iconic images, sets, and story points from other films that I was very excited to see. The first is Groundhog Day, given the repetition we see Fontaine go through from day to day seemingly without even taking notice of it. Next is They Live, relating to the idea of hidden messages being fed to the people in the neighborhood in order to keep them docile and under control of the beings that have invaded their community. Another one is The Stuff. There seems to be many jokes in this film about consumerism when it comes to the products being marketed to the community through jolly commercials of people looking like they have discovered the meaning of life. But of course, the reality is that the product is slowly destroying you from the inside out. Instead of killer ice cream, here, it’s fried chicken, grape juice, and hair cream. Though instead of melting your insides and turning you into a monster, these products just brainwash you. And of course, it’s difficult to not identify the Stranger Things vibes here as well, whether it is the secret lab exploiting a small town for nefarious experiments, the head scientist who thinks he’s saving the world, the familiar evil henchmen, or even the style of Fontaine’s house interior that reminded me very much of the Byers house. There is definitely also a Get Out vibe towards the beginning of the film in particular, with the scene of a bloodied man stumbling around in the street before being taken away by one of the mysterious dark vans. This also has to do with how the movie plays between genres, sometimes dipping into the supernatural when we are slowly given the ominous clues as to what is going on. The secret facility in the house disappearing in the daytime is one example of this, making it almost feel like a haunted house film. Later on in the movie, during the scene where hoards of people chase our main trio out of the strip club and through the streets, it even starts to feel a bit like a zombie or deadly virus film. Something else I appreciated as well as a horror fan was the revelation of the underground lab. I definitely felt a Hostel style of filming as the characters walked down the halls and looked into what was going on in each of the rooms where they were experimenting on people. The character Slick Charles even mentions A Clockwork Orange, which also appears to be an influence regarding the brainwashing techniques being used on the citizens of the neighborhood. STYLE ANALYSISWhat I love about the style of this movie is that you almost can’t tell what time it is set in. There are set, costume, and design choices that make it feel like the 1970s, to go along with the salute to Blaxploitation films. This is true especially where Yo-Yo and Slick Charles’ characters are concerned. But there are more hints with Fontaine’s scenes that the story takes place in modern times, with his character design and style especially. And conversely, once you get to the very sci-fi and rather epic design of the lab, with sharp glowing pods and advanced brain-washing technology, it suggests the story is set in a more futuristic time period. Something that I think will stand out to any viewer in this film is the use of color. In the daytime, you will see greens and yellows with a slightly grimy filter that highlight them, compared to glowing golds, browns, blues, purples, and pinks in the darker scenes. It adds a lot of slick style to the film that helps it to stand out visually as well as with its colorful characters and storyline. What stands out as well as how the three main characters each have their own colors, mostly that shine through with their individual costuming. And now, allow me to briefly and delightedly dive into my obsession with discussing the meaning of different colors in film. We will start with Fontaine, whose color is green. Green can typically be associated with healing, hope, and youth. Fontaine, obviously being the unlikely hero of the film, is the symbol of hope and healing for the community when he defeats the original he was cloned from at the end of the film. But green can also be related to mundanity, which could be signifying where Fontaine starts at the beginning of the story. We see him go through the same routine everyday and he seems not awfully intent on changing anything about it until later on when he has to step up and become the hero. Next is Yo-Yo, whose color is yellow. Yellow can mean a lot of different things, but here, I take it to represent knowledge and wisdom, the reason why Yo-Yo is the logical and most level-headed of the group, and the one who often pushes them all into action. It can also represent idealism and optimism, which fits with her character as well, being someone who is hoping to retire from her prostitution work and go start fresh somewhere in Memphis. What’s interesting is there is a scene towards the third act of the film between Yo-Yo and Fontaine, where he is silhouetted in green, and she in yellow, while she tries desperately to convince him to help her do something about what’s going on beneath the town. Her yellow of course is meant to signify her being hopeful that they can overcome the evil scientists if they all work together, while his green is meant to signify his satisfaction in remaining unchanged, going along the way he has. But of course, since he does end up being the one to ultimately save the day, the green symbolizes the change he is going to end up bringing in freeing the community. Lastly, we have Slick Charles, whose color is purple, showcasing things like illusion, as well as wealth and royalty. Slick Charles certainly fancies himself royalty as he reminds the other characters often in the film, but his self-proclaimed status as King of the Pimps is entirely an illusion, as we find out when he realizes he is a clone as well and never actually achieved any pimp status he claims to have. He just has the memory of them. Thus, the illusion. I really love colors, if you couldn’t tell. COMEDYI honestly can’t not talk more about the comedy before concluding. They are all such small things that just add to the overall hilarious nature to the film. The liquor store “Got Dranks!” and the fried chicken fast food place “Goddamn Fried Chicken” are brilliant. Fontaine’s friend who is always holding a small electronic fan for no spoken reason, one of the scientists in the lab randomly rolling around everywhere on a scooter, Fontaine’s drug lord rival and his gang rolling up to the barber shop looking intimidating while wearing personalized ponchos, are all things that add that touch of personality to the film that really helps you to get into the world that much more. You even get a Jedi mind trick joke very early on in this John Boyega-led film, so that was nice. Also, the church pastor. What a brief, but absolutely legendary performance. This man is going to live in my brain for a very long time. He was only bested by one other character. Chester. Chester is my favorite character of 2023, and I honestly can’t explain why. IDEASThis movie mostly satirizes the idea of white-washing, which is essentially what is being done to this community, and Black communities everywhere, as a way to make the world a more peaceful place amidst times of racial tensions. It was interesting that the leader of this entire movement is a Black man who wishes to erase his own race after the horrific death of his little brother at the hands of a trigger-happy cop. He rationalizes, as he explains to Fontaine (or technically, the clone of himself) at the end of the film, that it is better to “assimilate” rather than be eliminated, suggesting that it is better to give in and turn away from their own culture in order to not be erased completely. A somewhat similar idea to Get Out, where white people want to essentially steal Black culture and pretend it’s their own, but this time, from a different angle. Another idea that is explored a lot throughout the film is the concept of running in place and never moving forward, shown in many small ways within this neighborhood, and relating to the larger message of the story as well. Fontaine repeats the same routine day after day, Yo-Yo keeps talking about retiring from sex work and moving to Memphis, there is another prostitute who breifly talks about how she is just trying to work long enough to make enough money to get into school, and so on. As counterpart villain Kiefer Sutherland (who is also a lot of fun to watch in this film) explains, the stereotypes of the community are meant to stay here and remain stagnant in order to keep the area undesirable to others, keeping everyone else out so they are free to conduct their experiments. Again, lots of social commentary here that could probably be delved into with an entire film essay. FINAL THOUGHTSThis is a very entertaining film that perfectly balances mystery, laughs, and excitement with its more serious message about the world we live in. The satire is exactly what it’s supposed to be, enough to allow you to think about it a while after you’ve seen it, but not so heavy handed and talking down to the audience that it intrudes on an entertaining movie.
The performances were perfect and the plot was equal parts fun and daunting, with the likeability of the characters and the personality of the movie itself delightfully carrying you through the entire time. This is one I am planning to happily revisit time and time again in the future.
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AuthorCertified non-professional who just enjoys giving her random thoughts on movies and books. Archives
June 2024
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