Film Review: Hidden Figures
by Emery W.
Photo Credit Tumblr/Google
I don't know where to begin when reviewing a movie as monumental as Hidden Figures. This film is so inspiring and educational. It's quite possibly the best film based on a true story I've seen. Honestly, it's probably because the story centers around people like me; African-American women.
Long story short, Hidden Figures tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson (portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae respectively) as three women who work for NASA as human computers during the '60's when America first put man in space.
Though their stories intertwine as a strong female friendship, each of these incredible women have their own personal story to tell of how they changed the face of math and science forever.
Katherine Johnson, a math prodigy, is brought from the Black wing of the space program to create and solve equations that inevitably put the first man in orbit. Tackling a mountain of racial and gender barriers, Johnson eventually does the impossible, and becomes more than a computer. She becomes an integral part of the team. Henson does a stupendous job of portraying the journey of a woman who starts in the background of a room to the forefront of an entire operation. Her bathroom scene ( I won't go into details) brought me to tears, and made the whole theater erupt in applause. If you thought Taraji P. Henson is a Cookie Lyon typecast actress, watch this film, and be immediately proved wrong.
Dorothy Vaughan is the woman who *spoiler alert* eventually becomes the first African-American supervisor for NASA. So not only is she a ground-breaker for women, but people of color as well. Octavia Spencer has always been a Goddess on-screen in my opinion, and this role is another addition to a list of roles that has made me fall in love with her.
The one thing about the film I would tweak is the story behind Mary Jackson. While Janelle Monae undoubtedly did an exceptional job with the role, I wish I'd been shown more of Jackson's story. It's an inspirational look into how one of the most brilliant minds in the world was silenced because of the color of her skin. In fact, the initial problem with the space orbit may not have happened if this woman was given a fair chance to get her degree. I just wish the film showed more of her work with N ASA. However, what did feature Jackson was extraordinary.
I give this film a solid 10/10. I'll buy it, watch it, and share it with future generations. I'm so thankful that this film was made because it's a part of Black history that wasn't featured in my books.
A Generation of Mean Teen Queens
by Emery W.
Every generation is blessed with a movie centered around a high school clique of popular girls that rule the school. The ‘80’s babies got Heathers, us ‘90’s kids were deemed worthy enough to have Clueless, the early 2000′s had Mean Girls, and this current generation has The DUFF.
When I first got wave of the movie before it came out, I looked at the cast list, and immediately brushed it off as pointless, and unworthy of my time. Boy, was I wrong. I finally got bored enough one Sunday night while twisting my hair, and decided to watch it, and I was not disappointed.
It has your general makeup of the underdog, the mean bitch, and the boy that both girls inevitably want, but what makes this one relevant for today is not only the language (yes, I am condoning the use of profanity in the film), the use of social media, and *spoiler alert* the guy gets the girl in the end, but you don’t see it coming from the beginning.
Mae Whitman plays Bianca, her two best friends’ DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend), and let’s get one thing straight, Bianca is none of those things unless you compare her to her friends Jess and Casey (Skyler Samuels and Bianca Santos respectively). Both friends are completely unaware that they have placed their friend in this category. In fact, the theme of the whole movie is how a DUFF never realizes they are one.
School stud and (shocker) captain of the football team, Wesley Rush (portrayed by Robby Amell) is the boy next door/former childhood friend who informs Bianca of her role as The DUFF, and agrees to help her break this image, and get the guy she has been crushing on for a while in exchange for some tutoring. Of course a string of mishaps and drama courtesy of resident Head Bitch/Wesley Rush’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, Madison Morgan (Bella Thorne).
Pretty typical stuff for a movie geared toward high school kids. What really makes this movie is the acting chops of young Hollywood thespians you wouldn’t expect. I’d always seen Bella Thorne as the ditzy character she played in Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, and while Madison is superficial and devious, she is true current-day mean girl, equipped with her own side kick, and largely followed social media platform. Bella Thorne does an immaculate job with the character, and while she’s no Regina George, she’s a pretty close second.
The next shocker of the movie is Robby Amell. I’m not going to lie, I knew I’d seen him in other things before as the cute guy that the girl falls for, but never a memorable performance. Until this one. I guess the 25-year-old in me wasn’t expecting the array of penis jokes, and all-around sexualization of the character, but I guess if I have to grow up, actors do too.
Mae Whitman’s Bianca is a mix of Ellen Page’s Juno, and Emma Stone’s Olive of Easy A, and she is every high school awkward kid’s spirit animal. Her come-to-Jesus moment, courtesy of her two best friends, and mostly unavailable mother played by Allison Janney. Add in the teacher that’s rooting for the underdog (Ken Jeong), and you have Mean Girls revamped without anyone getting hit by a bus, and instead of a Burn Book, you’ve got YouTube.
So who knows, maybe I’m biased because I went through puberty, and even still rely on Mean Girls to guide me through the rough times, and finding something that can almost match up to what has now become a cult classic makes me really excited. `