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By
WAYNE KLEIN
A comedy for those who have
wanted to get laid but haven't been able to find a
condom on short notice (hey, why didn't he just
knock on the doors of one of the neighbors? Seems
like everything else but that was tried. What? You
wouldn't open the door for this man "in need"), I
love picturing the scene when creating a special
edition of this film came up.
"Hey, remember 'Booty Call', well we really didn't
provide enough extras."
"What about a complimentary condom?"
"No, too risky"
"How about a double helping of Saran Wrap?"
"Nah, someone might think the advertising was
talking about a new rap song and artist."
"Wait, I've got it! A 'How to' on booty call
technique. The guys renting this movie probably
can't get any and, well, if they copy Jamie or
Tommy in the film, they'll never get any so we'll
be sued!"
"Great idea"
"Yeah"
"Who wants to do it?"
A million crickets are heard so there's no
deafening silence.
The "plot" as such is about two players going on a
double date. One's clueless in spite of himself
(Jaime Foxx) while the other (Tommy Davidson)just
wants to score with his girlfriend (Tamala Jones)
of the last two months So Tommy arranges with his
girlfriend for a blind date for his funny, sassy
and nasty friend. Unfortunately for him she's (the
wonderful Vivica A. Fox who excels despite the
material) sexy, well-to-do and speaks multiple
languages. Fortunately for him, she'll have sex on
the first date and is kinky as all get out.
So the players are about to score when the girls
realize the guys don't have any decent condoms.
Things go downhill from there as the guys score
the wrong kind, lose one of the girl's dogs and
generally do really stupid things. What's a
desperate, horny guy to do?
How is this different from, say, a Farrelly
Brothers comedy like "There's Something About
Mary"? Crude jokes aside, there's considerably
more wit in any of their better films ("Me, Myself
and Irene" and "Shallow Hal" excepted both are on
the same level as "Booty Call"). Even Chris Rock's
misguided debut as a director wasn't as flawed or
poorly written as this. Speaking of pandering to
the lowest common denominator, I'm a bit
suspicious of a film where one of the co-writers
full name happens to be "Bootsie." Admittedly,
"Booty Call" has some very funny scenes and plays
off the profanity laced modern sexuality of our
time really well. All the cast members do the best
they can with the material they were given.
Unfortunately, the film wasn't very well endowed
from the get go. If you're really stoned, drunk or
generally feeling the need for a racy, nasty
comedy "Booty Call" will, err, turn the trick.
It'll also stay the night after if you need it to
as well.
The sharp resolution and nicely detailed sound
will make you feel like you're there. You might
not want to be, but, well, there you have it. You
can't make sirloin steak out of hamburger. While
the image looks really sharp, clear and the sound
jumps your bones, the big question will be how
long you'll put up with the film's come ons before
turning the TV off. My guess is it'll be well
before the long delayed climax of the film.
Baby's got lots of back in this special edition.
We get to see an alternate ending that the box
advertises as "hilarious." Hey, if it was so funny
why didn't they use it? Truth be told, I was just
happy the film ended. The "mini" documentary
"Smooth Operator" allows the film's cast, crew and
other celebrities to share elements of their
personal style when it comes to "scoring." Don't
know that this will be remembered as a high point
of civilization but the next generation of kids
might find it helpful. Particularly if they're as
clueless as some of the characters in this film.
We get an "analysis" of booty call technique over
the decades. This ripe documentary waits to be
discovered by a student aching to write a paper on
the subject.
Since when did "trailers" for forthcoming films
fall into the "extras" category? I suppose if
you've got something to sell and the target
audience can't get away, it might count. We get a
handful of previews for films of a similar nature
focusing on infidelity, lust, greed and the
mathematical proof of the existence of aliens from
outer space. Oh, and a nice glimpse of Einstein in
a tutu.. Just kidding about the last two folks.
Seems there was a party planned and it just so
happened to take place on the day they were
recording the commentary track. Lots of folks in
this very crowded room and lots of amusing
stories. Unfortunately, none of them from the
cast. My guess is the cast lost their RSVPs to the
event. Either way, the commentary track provides
additional entertainment and sometimes too much
information about the cast. If you decided to dive
right in because this happens to be the film of
your dreams, well the commentary will allow that
dream to become like the Energizer Bunny.
I'm not against a great comedy (or even a good
one) but "Booty Call" panders to the teenager in
all of us. Unfortunately, not all of us have that
wicked little teenager hanging. The picture looks
very, very good and it'll make you feel like
you're there. You may not want to be. A nice, long
shower might have been a great extra but would
have been a bit hard to package. The alternate
ending isn't all its cracked up to be, but it's
nice to have if you're a hardcore fan of the film.
I understand why "Booty Call" got the "Special
Edition" package (it's called money) but really
there are more deserving films. A mere trifle that
doesn't happen to be western civilization's
proudest achievement, fans will still enjoy being
to get down and dirty with this bootylicious
special edition. For the rest of us there's a
phrase my mom used to say when I was dating that
comes to mind, "you can do better." "Booty Call"
comes across as the saddest, most desperate date
one can imagine. |
