6 December 2013
An inept, often ludicrous, take on Langston Hughes' 1961 musical-play. A starry cast (including a silver-wigged Mary J Blige) belt out earnest songs in modern-day America, as a feisty-but-unlucky single mom in Baltimore (Jennifer Hudson; vocally perfect, but a total blank in the acting department), is forced to send her teenage son, Langston (Jacob Latimore), to stay with her god-fearing parents, (Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett), in Harlem. After lots of tears, everyone ends up in church (it's His way or the high way). Those not in the mood to count their blessings should read Hughes' 1932 poem, Goodbye Christ. Playful, startling, relevant; it's everything Kasi Lemmons' movie should have been but ain't.
