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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2013)
Arts & Entertainment Movie Reviews: The Loving Story and Fast & Furious 6 Documentary Chroni- cles Supreme Court Case Legalizing Inter- racial Marriage S oon after Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving tied the knot in Washington, DC on June 2, 1958, they decid- ed to move back to their tiny hometown of Central Point, Virginia to settle down and start a family. The groom, a bricklayer by trade, even purchased a plot of land where he promised to build his bride a house. However, Virginia was one of 24 states where inter- racial marriage was still illegal because of racist Loving Story K AM ’ S C APSULES Film Reviews by Kam Williams laws designed to rob minorities of their dignity and to keep them in a lower social and economic status. Since Richard was white and Mildred was a mix of black and Native-American, it was just a matter of time before the local sheriff would catch wind of their illicit liaison and crack down on the felons like a ton of bricks. And in the middle of the night, he and a posse broke down the door, dragging the newlyweds off to jail while threatening to rape Mildred. Given that this was Virginia during the disgraceful days of Jim Crow, the Lovings were, of course, ultimately found guilty and each given a one-year sentence for the crime of marrying across the color line. Page 6 The Portland Skanner May 29, 2013 As their appeal dragged on, Mildred wrote to then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy for help avoiding incarceration. He declined, but suggested she approach the American Civil Liber- ties Union, which did decide to take the case. “Just tell the Supreme Court I love my wife,” Richard directed the ACLU attorneys as they prepared to argue before Chief Jus- tice Warren and his associates. In the historic Loving v. Virginia decision handed down on June 12, 1967, the Lovings’ convic- tions were overturned and their union finally garnered the blessing and govern- ment protection that had so eluded them for almost a decade. All of the above is recounted in heartbreaking fashion in The Loving Story, a combination biopic and courtroom drama directed by Nancy Buirski. What makes the film so touching are the reams of archival footage of the unfortunate couple at the center of the controversy. For the lovebirds are so young and so innocent, it’s hard to fathom why anyone would even seek to separate let alone imprison them. A moving, must-see documen- tary about the Lovings’ belated vindication and the elimination of one of the last vestiges of segregation. Could it be more fitting that the litigants in the land- mark case eradicating the crime of loving a person of a different color would be named Loving! Excellent (4 stars) Unrated Running time: 74 minutes Distributor: Docurama Farfetched Sequel Fea- tures Cartoon Physics and Comic Relief Cour- tesy of Tyrese I t’s important to note that this edition of Fast & Furious 6 is every bit as funny as it is adrenaline- fueled. Most of the laughs come courtesy of comic relief provided by Tyrese, who is back in an expanded role as trash-talking Roman Pearce, a card-carrying member of the fugitive gang of auto thieves led by macho Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Fast & Furious 6 Like a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, Roman revives a slew of offensive African- American stereotypes, behaving in an alternately shallow, jive, flamboyant, lecherous, felonious and cowardly manner, doing everything but put on a dress to make a joke work. To Tyrese’s credit, the campy performance some- how works, either because the character is so ingratiat- ing, or because of the presence of several respectable other blacks in the principal cast. Whether entertaining a bevy of scantily-clad beau- ties on his personal jet (with “It’s Roman, bitches!” emblazoned on the fuse- lage) or making money literally rain out of an ATM to the delight of a crowd of appreciative strangers pick- ing the bills up off the ground, the scene-stealing cynosure is always the cen- ter of attention. Well, except during the action, chase and fight scenes when the mus- cle cars and muscle heads take charge. Other than Tyrese’s, the acting is uniformly wooden and unconvincing. Not to worry, this stunt driven- spectacular is all about the eye-popping special effects, and boy does it deliver in terms of the wow factor! The plot of F&F 6 is little more than a lame excuse to pit an army of bad guys against an army of worse guys, both as simplistically- See MOVIES on page 7
