Well, this is my review. I have had the pleasure of reading this book several times, I put a portion of it on for our Spring Affair in High School (Lady in Green), and I re-wrote it for our church's Women's Day. With the help of five other women, Angie, Donitisha, Lenoris, Danielle, Ebony and myself drew from the wisdom of Shange. We couldn't dance around the church slapping our legs, twisting our booties singing, "Momma's little baby loves shortening, shortening...Momma's little baby loves shortening bread..." What we could do we did and at the end, I not only said that they moved to the other side of their rainbow, but I mentioned they had found God. This finally passed a month or re-writes from the Christian Education Director, who once called me and asked, "Is somebody having an abortion in that scene?" I tried to explain that the way it was written was so complex and full of metaphors no one would ever get it, she replied, "Well, I got it." Sadly, that part and the Lady in Orange was eliminated all together. She is the loose woman, play by Thandie Newton in the movie adaption.
After the endless edits, fierce attitudes and stonewalling by a "contrary spirit" it went on without a hitch. Although I feel that the topics that Shange wrote about 40 years ago are timeless, Perry added one that was new to this century; AIDS and the idea of the "Down Low Brother". I think the way he did it though was a slight to women. The Lady in Red character played by Janet Jackson was hard and unmoving. She treats people mean and callously. A person would almost say, "That's what that bitch get." It's like Perry is sending a message to women that we are the reason men have sex with other men. It's our evil ways that make men turn to other men. The same type of hype they accused Oprah of spreading when she arrived on the scene. A woman bashing thing. Although Janet gave a horrible performance, I did not like it when the truth was finally told that she had acquired HIV in the movie. He wrote in all of his creativity a portion of the movie that did not fit with Shange's play. He turned the ultimate woman's book, into a story about a gay man and his wife's relationship.
It is safe to say that it did not work, because his muse, cannot act. Janet Jackson's role as the Lady in Red was mediocre to say the least. It is Thandie Newton and Kimberly Elise that steal the show. Add in the superb acting of Whoopi Goldberg, as a throw in to show the reason for Newton's acting out and you have a wonderful assemble of actresses with flare. Not to mention the lesser knowns who bring dynamite and so much feeling to the screen. The young woman and her tale of backseat love is so wonderfully done, I was amazed. The way she went on and on not taking a breath while her friends listened with amazed and astonishing looks of longing for their own backseat soiree. This scene is not missing anything, but a flash back of what happened to move it along. Like the "contrary spirit" in the church, I believe that Perry wanted desperately to put men faces into a timeless woman's classic.
He did that wonderfully, and once again chose some of the finest men in the business to accomplish it. Accept that are all the same men, in this story or any other story that a woman tells about the pain she experiences in a relationship. He wants to see her come to nothing, he wants to hurt her, isolate her and bring her to nothing. He doesn't need a face to be real, because he is nothing. The problem with no name. The men were given entirely too much voice in the movie, and the relationship these women had that helped to nurture her and bring her back to who she was is neglected. The book was truly about pain and angish, but it was also about women, loving, listening and helping each other. In the play there are no other people present on the stage, but these women. They speak, they dance, they sing and they tell their stories. They step out of the dark into the light to comfort one another, to hold one another and to relate to one another. That's what "Colored Girls" is all about. With the addition of the Lady in Brown, who acts as the heart and soul of these women. She is their spirit, their wisdom and she is who brings them together to create the rainbow of their suffering and ultimate enlightenment. This book is not so much about what the men did to them, because they joke about them, talk about them with love and caring, but they also despise and loath them. These women grow strong throughout the play, and their attitudes are fierce and their tears intense. We have suffered they would say, we have fought but we also have overcome. The only woman who has a good relationship in this movie is the one who is enable to have children. Her husband loves her, but she is incapable of actually doing what a woman can do.
All the women who are whole and able to be women, can't get a break. I don't like that. I must give him credit, he did have the women come together in couples to relate to one another. Phylicia Rashad acted as the Lady in Brown on occasion. She wipe Newton's tears and soothed Elise's wounded heart. But she didn't bring with her the spirit of dance, of music, of communication. The idea that women can listen to one another, feel for one another and like one another. The whole movie loses that spirit of black women being able to come together and love one another. In this movie, they just run into each other in the hall. I think he is afraid that if he shows women in that kind of light people will judge his intentions. He thinks that people will mistake his intentions that he thinks that everyone should be gay. Since he fears being outted, he has incorporated the workings of men in the lives of women as essential and that they can love them despite how they are being treated. He didn't want to make it appear that he was developing a gay agenda. Just like the "contrary spirit" who gave me the flucks about adding men into my skit at church. He is homosexual, and proud of it though.
In an attempt to curb his homosexuality, he has slighted one of the best modern pieces of our times. The dancing and singing is what gives these women hope. It what takes them back to their childhood, when things weren't so hard. At the time the women dance on stage they are so free, and can't nothing touch them outside of their "shortbread" circle. What I get in this story I saw today, was just a bunch of women bumping into one another saying speeches. I don't get that they are listening to one another, or growing from one another's experiences, but just moving on a stage of life. But when you put Rashad, Goldberg, Elise and now I know Newton on the screen; what do you expect? These women are great, and Anika Noni and her beautiful dancing lights up the screen, the young girl played by Tessa Thompson is wonderful. Kerry Washington's role wasn't as moving for me. She seemed stale and out of touch with the other character's she was in the movie with. To be a social worker she seemed distant. Maybe that was done intentionally for her character. I don't, but I think she had something going on during this movie. She seemed like she didn't even know the other women. I know she does better work than that!!!
All in all, however, this movie will entertain. It was worth my $5, and I wasn't bored or nothing. I'm just an advocate for women. I love the thought and idea that we can get along, without getting it on. If you catch my drift. I want women to be able to love one another, see one another on a regular bases, raise their children, preach, teach, but not get confused that they are men. We are not men, but women, and Shange teaches is through her work that is a lovely, wonderful and sound thing to be. Now there are things that come with it, like being abused, raped and taken for granted. The key is to understand and find hope and move on. There are stories in the book that weren't told and for some reason all the Lady and Brown's jobs were masked in disappointment for me. When Rashad tells Newton that she's looking at nothing. I kinda cringe, but she does go back in the apartment to help her.
See, this book and play were not about about what women do to women, but what men do to women and how we overcome. Yeah, we know that we have something to do with the reason we can't conceive, or men cheat, leave and go with another woman, rape us, abuse us and our children and so on. The thing is not to exploit that, but to grow and move away from it. Loving and laughing and telling our stories with seriousness at times, crying at times, but with joy and laughter, love and I must say it again...HOPE! When Rashad tells Elise that she had a hand in her husband dropping her children on the ground, I cringe again. What? Who in a million years would ever think about their child being murdered by their father. Yeah, it could happen, and there is a chance you can be in a tornado in Kansas, but people still live there. And you must believe that more people survive abuse than those who die from it! And what's with Goldberg wearing white, when her character was surely the devil and she surely was no angel? When she fails to take advantage of the time she has with her daughter to begin to mend their relationship, I cringe again. Why create a character who doesn't exist in the play, to bring such hate and bad feelings?
Now I know why Perry is so interested in my emotions. He wants to exploit them and show the world how stupid I am. His character Madea and all of her infinite wisdom is a man, which mens she really looks like a great big all bulldyke when you think about it. Yes, I have...thought about. All of the women in his shows or movies are dumb, broke down or delusional. When the truth is we are the victims of men usually, but Perry jealous of our natural beauty and biological truth, has to dress up like one. He does this in order to let us know that we as women are dumb and don't know what in the hell to do with a man. He knows, however, and I wonder how and why he even cares to let me know. I don't know if Shange is a lesbian, but if she is, she is truer to herself with her play than Perry has done in his adaption of it. As a lover of the book, I lose the spirit. I lose the fire of their attitudes and can't hear the laughter. Just the hurt and pain, Loretta Devine did a great job of getting her stuff back! Thank you, Jesus!
I guess it sparks some amusement, but these women seem to hard. For all of their inability to have good relationships, they don't show an ounce of compassionate, true and honest love towards one another. I guess it is nice to have a bunch of angry women on film, being angry, crying and sorry all the time. I would just have liked to seen a little resolve with that anger. I only saw anger and I didn't see no dancing in between the lines with smiles and joy and glee and celebration of being a woman, innocent, loving, free, kind and energized. Cause I would love to say that this could e any woman. In fact, I said it to my mother the other day. All women are lied to, beat up, cheated on and such, but Shange wrapped it up in one sentence.
"I couldn't stand to be sorry and colored at the same time." With that...I'm done.
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