The Inkwell

Rating:
Summary: Not bad period flavor, but YECHHH!
Review: Being that I was 12 during the Summer of 1976 when this film took place, I'll agree that they got some of the period flavor of the era correct (outrageously fake afros aside), but this movie stinks to high heaven as a whole. Not only for the atrocious acting and meandering story, but for the ending with the father (Glynn Turman)congratulating his young teenaged son for bedding down a GROWN MARRIED WOMAN!? What kind of MESS is that to show in this day and age? This one needs to be outta here like "London After Midnight!"

Rating:
Summary: What Hostile Reviews!
Review: How often dow we see movies about a teenage brother's coming of age that aren't violent or gang-related? Matty Rich(whatever he's doing now) did a superb job directing this film about an awkward teen vacationing with his parents in Martha's Vineyard visiting his well-to-do relatives.
He falls for the snot-nose Lauren who uses him to get back at her boyfriend who dropped her. Meanwhile he is also looking out for a married woman whose husband is cheating on her with other women.
It's a movie about growing up and what it means to be a person. Do all black movies have to be based on gang warfare and lewed sexual conduct?

Rating:
Summary: What Hostile Reviews!
Review: How often dow we see movies about a teenage brother's coming of age that aren't violent or gang-related? Matty Rich(whatever he's doing now) did a superb job directing this film about an awkward teen vacationing with his parents in Martha's Vineyard visiting his well-to-do relatives.
He falls for the snot-nose Lauren who uses him to get back at her boyfriend who dropped her. Meanwhile he is also looking out for a married woman whose husband is cheating on her with other women.
It's a movie about growing up and what it means to be a person. Do all black movies have to be based on gang warfare and lewed sexual conduct?

Rating:
Summary: fake bustas
Review: I don't know what beach manny rich went to, but if I perved on the females dressed like Greg Brady talking to an ugly doll...yo, I'd suffa a serious beat down! keep it real

Rating:
Summary: Summer of '76
Review: The comparisions to "Summer of '42" are inevitable. But aside from the coming of age story of both films, they are completely different. The "Inkwell" is essentially a Shaggy Dog tale that flows nicely from beginning to end. Give credit for Matty Rich's abililty to create an authentic '70's atmoshphere with the use of very little of that era's well known music ("Dancing Machine" and "Let's Get It On" are the only two). ...

Rating:
Summary: Summer of '76
Review: The comparisions to "Summer of '42" are inevitable. But aside from the coming of age story of both films, they are completely different. The "Inkwell" is essentially a Shaggy Dog tale that flows nicely from beginning to end. Give credit for Matty Rich's abililty to create an authentic '70's atmoshphere with the use of very little of that era's well known music ("Dancing Machine" and "Let's Get It On" are the only two). ...

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: This is a good movie. I never even heard of Matty Rich, and was unaware of the movie altogether until stumbled across it this year. I was thoroughly impressed with the performances of Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett Smith.

As an aspiring writer myself, I look forward to hearing a lot more from Mr. Rich in the nearing future. I thought the film was well developed, with a believable plot, and excellent development of character. I also enjoyed the fact that the character in which Mr. Tate was sheltered about a lot of things that in today's society is considered the norm for some minorities. I appreciated that because in a society of where today's youth are so bombarded with so many different things, and it is progressively getting worse as of this writing, it is good to have African Americans portrayed in roles that are less than the norm.

I applaud Mr.Rich for his creativity and for gleaning on events that somehow magnificently pulled this incredible movie together.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: This was an interesting little flick about a troubled teen who escapes with his feuding parents to Martha's vineyard for a
mini-vacation after he nearly burns down the house. "The Inkwell" is the Black section of Martha's Vineyard. Set in the '70s,
this is a retro film that evokes a real sense of the period.

Granted, this movie does have its weak points, but I thought the overall product was not bad. Larenz Tate has proven himself
to be a chameleon morphing from a psychopath killer in "Menace to Society" to this odd character and then later becomes a
suave wordsmith in 1997's "Love Jones." He does well in this coming-of-age flick that explores a little shown facet of black life -- the upper middle class. Though the relatives who owned the house on the Vineyard seemed a little pretentious at first (Glynn Turman and Vanessa Bell Calloway), we see that they honestly love their family. Even the brother-in-laws with the conflicting political views (Republican Vs Black Panther) manage to make peace with each other in the end.

Drew (Larenz Tate) really was a weird character, but at least the role was a departure from the black male stereotype of the
cool thug. At least Matty Rich was not afraid to take a chance here with a different type of lead character. Jada Pinkett was
very good here as the spoiled rich girl who wraps the poor, socially-inept Drew around her little finger. And although his role was minor, Morris Chestnut was a convincing (and foine!) philanderer.

My one major complaint is with the mother daughter conflict. Although the two make up in the end, you never really knew what
they were beefing about. That could have been fleshed out a little more, but I liked that this movie was about a family trying to reconnect with each other. And I also liked that the characters were not total stereotypes. If only more Black filmmakers would take risks instead of giving us the same tired story again and again.

Rating:
Summary: fake bustas
Review: This was one of those movies that you make consessions with, like "Strictly Business". If ever there was bad timing in a casting of an actor, it was that Larenz Tate just etched in my mind his role as a lunatic killer in "Menace II Society", and although one shouldn't carry that over to this film, the role he played here is so "weak" that I was fighting off dissappointment the whole time I watched it. That talking to the doll bit was embarrassingly done. It might have been passable if his thoughts were voiced over, not actually spoken out loud. He was like TOO soft. Dwayne Martin seemed to overact to compensate for the lull. Hollywood still can't make a decent Afro wig either.

I am a stone fan of Joe Morton, and I would watch Jada Pinkett(now Smith) if it was a 2 hour movie of her sleeping. The setting was worth publicizing, "the inkwell" is a section of Martha's Vineyard that has a cultural history that mirrors the rest of America. But that was completely lost in the main story. There was too little interaction between Morton and Glynn Turman on the middle class clash of black folks with opposing politics. Same on the mother/daughter agitation so well played by Mary Alice and Suzanne Douglas. But, I think this film is noteworthy because of the continuing development of director Matty Rich, the loads of quality talent making due with weak material, and because if you are going to diss it, you should know what you're talking about.

Rating:
Summary: Very flawed, but worth viewing
Review: This was one of those movies that you make consessions with, like "Strictly Business". If ever there was bad timing in a casting of an actor, it was that Larenz Tate just etched in my mind his role as a lunatic killer in "Menace II Society", and although one shouldn't carry that over to this film, the role he played here is so "weak" that I was fighting off dissappointment the whole time I watched it. That talking to the doll bit was embarrassingly done. It might have been passable if his thoughts were voiced over, not actually spoken out loud. He was like TOO soft. Dwayne Martin seemed to overact to compensate for the lull. Hollywood still can't make a decent Afro wig either.

I am a stone fan of Joe Morton, and I would watch Jada Pinkett(now Smith) if it was a 2 hour movie of her sleeping. The setting was worth publicizing, "the inkwell" is a section of Martha's Vineyard that has a cultural history that mirrors the rest of America. But that was completely lost in the main story. There was too little interaction between Morton and Glynn Turman on the middle class clash of black folks with opposing politics. Same on the mother/daughter agitation so well played by Mary Alice and Suzanne Douglas. But, I think this film is noteworthy because of the continuing development of director Matty Rich, the loads of quality talent making due with weak material, and because if you are going to diss it, you should know what you're talking about.