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Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Rate:
2
Viewed:
5/25
5/25:
Good gracious, Hollywood Shuffle has aged so badly with bland writing and is never funny for a second.
There are some truths in the film, but for the most part, the whole thing against blacks in Hollywood comes down
to one undeniable fact: net profit. Black movies don't generally make money; there were several white
films with just one black star making into the top 50 box-office-wise annually during the 80's and the 90's.
In the 70's, Blaxploitation blew up only because there hadn't been any black films hitherto, and it was a
welcome change. Before then, almost everybody was cast in a stereotypical role whether it be a slave, a mammy or
butler, a cook, a servant, a porter, a drug dealer, a gangbanger, or a plain criminal. There was just one actor
who broke through, and his name was Sidney Poitier. His universal appeal enabled him to do important films.
When the genre ran out of steam by the end of the decade, no famous black star (think of Richard Roundtree,
Pam Grier, Jim Brown, Ron O'Neal, and so on) was able to have a second life. That meant serious acting ability
was more of an important factor, hence the rise of Louis Gossett, Jr., Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, and Laurence
Fishburne. Only three became megastars: Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Whoopi Goldberg. It's because they were
genuinely funny but had to have an all-white cast to reach for the broad audience. By the end of the 80's, Denzel
Washington made his mark for being the total package in the mold of Sidney Poitier, and the rest was history.
In other words, it's not about discriminating against the blacks that's the problem. They don't bring in
the money, period. That's why in Hollywood Shuffle the white casting director said, "What we're looking
for is an Eddie Murphy type. We want somebody who can act like Eddie Murphy from head to toe. That's what we
want. Someone who can dress like Eddie Murphy to look like Eddie Murphy, to be Eddie Murphy, to give him the
actor himself, a Murphy-ectomy, to have a Murphy-like quality, Murphy-esque, to be Murphonic."
Robert Townsend could keep fighting, but he was proved to be an underwhelming actor, having flamed out in the
early 90's. See The Mighty Quinn for comparison, especially when he went
against the powerfully charismatic Denzel Washington. Keenen Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans were able to last
longer in the business because they were funny and had strong screen presence, seeing enormous success
in In Living Color.
All in all, Hollywood Shuffle doesn't give the correct reason why black thespians failed to make through in
Hollywood.