ShareThisIt was nearly two decades ago, but I remember precisely what I was doing at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, 1992. I was in a theater watching Spike Lee's "Malcolm X."
Lee urged the black community to skip school or work and see his film on opening day to provide box-office muscle. The truancy suggestion was controversial, but effective, and the theater was packed.
I was also the only white person in the room.
Yet, I've never felt a sense of urgency to see a Tyler Perry film on opening day. That's not meant as a swipe at the writer-actor-director's work, it's simply my reaction as a film critic to his movies -- middle-of-the-road comedies with endearing, positive messages but lacking anything memorable artistically -- which don't carry the kind of must-see urgency that Lee's onscreen resume does.
Opinions of the outspoken Lee are justifiably polarizing, but his ability to stir national debate and the cultural importance that trait provides him as a writer-director cannot be dismissed. A guerrilla-style filmmaker who prefers his independence from major studios, Lee recently stirred up comments at the Sundance Film Festival about not pairing with Hollywood on his new film "Red Hook Summer," which is about a black teenage boy whose preacher grandfather fervently tries to convert him.
"They (studios) know nothing about black people ... and they're going to give me notes about what a 13-year-old boy and girl are doing in 'Red Hook'? (Expletive) no!" Even Lee's wife urged him later not to "defeat the purpose" of the film's premiere at the festival with such comments.
Perry, though, is mostly invisible to white media. His films, which feature strong female leads, play largely to black women and have not made the leap beyond cultural barriers, nor are they hits with critics.
I watch Perry's work with critical indifference and there's nothing praiseworthy or cinematically deleterious. His films are like air: ubiquitous, invisible and always there. His latest, "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds," is about a business executive (Perry) whose structured life changes for the better when he helps a down-on-its-luck family.
But it's Perry who consistently delivers the bigger audiences.
Perry's nearly dozen films have averaged nearly $56 million.
Lee's top-grossing film is "Inside Man" with nearly $89 million. His lowest-grossing film, "She Hate Me," however, made less than $400,000, and the average box-office take for his 18 films is less than $21 million.
It's also worth pointing out that Lee has directed several well-received documentaries -- "4 Little Girls," "When the Levees Broke" and its follow-up, "If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don't Rise" -- as well as concert films ("The Kings of Comedy") and play adaptations ("A Huey P. Newton Story," "Passing Strange").
It's been 25 years since Robert Townsend co-wrote, directed and starred in the scathing satire "Hollywood Shuffle," a low-budget and blistering commentary on the state of Hollywood and its condescending roles for black actors. The film focuses on a young actor (Townsend), determined to make it in movies and television, and finding the only roles available to him are stereotypical gangsters and pimps. At one point, a white female producer even directs him on how to act "more black" for his role as gang leader of "The Afros."
Townsend went on to direct a few other films, but unfortunately his movie career flamed out.
Still, "Hollywood Shuffle" proved to be a harbinger of a new wave of black filmmakers:
-- Mario Van Peebles, son of Melvin (1971's "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song"), with 1991's "New Jack City," 1995's "Panther" and 2003's "Baadasssss!" -- itself a tribute to his father's film.
-- John Singleton with 1991's "Boyz n the Hood.'
-- Keenen Ivory Wayans with 1988's "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka," his trailblazing 1990s' Fox sketch-comedy series "In Living Color" and, more recently, the "Scary Movie" franchise.
-- Antoine Fuqua with 2001's "Training Day," which earned Denzel Washington his second Oscar, and 2009's "Brooklyn's Finest."
-- Lee Daniels with 2009's "Precious," which happened to be produced by Perry and Oprah Winfrey.
-- Gina Prince-Bythewood with 2008's "The Secret Life of Bees."
There are other successful black filmmakers as well (George Tillman Jr., F. Gary Gray), but none of them carries the widespread recognition of Lee, the consummate provocateur, often to the detriment of his work.
Not surprisingly, Lee has also commented on Perry's films, which have come under attack for enforcing racial stereotypes, including his most-famous character, Madea, a crass and sassy older Southern woman played by Perry in drag.
"Each artist should be allowed to pursue their artistic endeavors, but I still think there is a lot of stuff out today that is 'coonery' and buffoonery," Lee told Ed Gordon on the syndicated talk show "Our World with Black Enterprise" in 2009. "I know it's making a lot of money and breaking records, but we can do better."
Perry was not pleased with Lee's comment, telling "60 Minutes" later that year that he was angry at the swipe and other criticism and found it insulting. "It's attitudes like that that make Hollywood think that these people do not exist, and that's why there is no material speaking to them, speaking to us," Perry said.
New filmmakers look to emulate Perry's business model of appeal to the masses.
Rapper-turned-filmmaker Ice Cube, for example, has built a film production company that is similar to Perry's, though smaller. Like Perry, Ice Cube makes movies and TV shows -- and has recently gone after the family market.
In an August 2010 interview, I asked Ice Cube about his progression from R-rated comedies to PG films, including the movie he was promoting, "Lottery Ticket." His response bodes well for the longevity of Perry.
"I still want to dabble in R-rated dramas at some point in my career (but) for now, this is what you do entertainment for. You don't just do it to be on your own page, sometimes you do it to give people what they want from you. That's what we're doing. To me, entertainers and artists that get on their own page are quickly on their way out the door. But people who give the people what they want usually last a little longer."
(Contact Kirk Baird at: kbaird(at)theblade.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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