Dear White People (2014)

[warrensm]

I've seen my share of African-American comedies in the past, but I've been waiting to see an African-American comedy that can really deliver something amazing and rise above its conventions. Dear White People finally delivered that in my opinion. It is a satirical commentary that focuses less on just using slang for easy laughs and more on getting to the point. Typical African-American comedies have two extremes: Tyler Perry-directed serio-comedies that pretend to be way too more serious than it actually is and stereotypical African-American comedies that act too African-American and cater to the lowest common denominator. Dear White People found that middle ground and delivered its jokes in a fair, PC voice. It highlighted the real problems between racial divisions and suggested that Whites and African-Americans need to come to a respectful understanding. 25 years after Spike Lee directed Do The Right Thing, this movie is actually doing the right thing in a well-acted, well-directed, and well-written African-American comedy that we desperately needed, especially in the Obama age.

Score: 97/100

Recommendation: Highest recommendation for Whites and African-Americans alike