In a recent interview with the Village Voice, Spike Lee said, "I don't
want to sound like Amiri Baraka or something, like I'm the gatekeeper of black
cinema, but c'mon. A lot of these films that are coming out are just
bullshit."
Woo is the latest example of the "bullshit" Spike's talking about. Here
we have Jada Pinkett Smith as Darlene "Woo" Bates, a sassy New York party girl
with a nefarious way of treating men. When a psychic friend tells Darlene that
the man of her dreams is about to enter her life, she agrees to go on a blind
date with law clerk Tim (Tommy Davidson). The stuffy yuppie clashes with snooty
Darlene; she indirectly gets his car stolen, and she certainly doesn't
appreciate his effort in treating her to fine Italian cuisine.
Directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Woo offers endless slapstick gags
that are lame and obvious. Boxer shorts catch on fire, characters fall down at
the most inopportune times, arguments are spawned by chaste hugs of friendship
that are misunderstood by witnesses. Mayer has Pinkett Smith reprising, to no
greater avail, Parker Posey's turn in the director's previous film, Party
Girl. She's pampered and whiny and utterly annoying. A crass film from
first frame to last, Woo leaves one wondering why it's so easy for
studios to woo black audiences with crap like this.
--Danny Lorber
Full Length Reviews
Woo 
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Woo 
Woo 
Other Films by Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Madeline 
Film Vault Suggested Links
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