Malibu's Most Wanted

Bomb Rating: 

The path of escape from Hollywood's hatred leads right into the crosshairs of Hollywood's ridicule.

African-Americans longing for that moment when they'll actually realize some level of respect and/or equality in this country need only watch this film to learn that the path of escape from Hollywood's hatred leads right into the crosshairs of Hollywood's ridicule -- and that the journey is shorter than Rodney Allen Rippey's career.

One need only examine the black characters in "Malibu's Most Wanted" for proof. They serve only two purposes: to represent either the hated black gangsta, or the sad Uncle Tom. There's no black character who's a normal, respectable person other than Shondra (Regina Hall), who ends up suffering the worst fate of all, as she's made to fall for Brad "B-Rad" Gluckman (Jamie Kennedy).

B-Rad is a ridiculous Malibu rapper wannabee -- the typical overplayed white kid who acts like he's black. Didn't we just watch Steve Martin do this character in "Bringing Down the House"? Never accuse Hollywood of failing to recycle. B-Rad is the son of Bill Gluckman (Ryan O'Neal), who's running for Governor of California. Because B-Rad is an embarrassment, Gluckman's curiously named black campaign manager, Tom (Blair Underwood), decides to have a couple of black actors kidnap B-Rad, scare him, and turn him back into a suburban white kid.

Taye Diggs plays Sean, the Julliard-trained actor pretending to be a thug, somewhere between wussy and Rip Taylor gay in an apparent attempt to make a statement that not all black people know what it's like to be street tough. Anthony Anderson tries to play P.J. with some degree of respectability, but frequently looks like he's just embarrassed to be in this thing at all. The cherry on top of all this sad casting is Ryan O'Neal and Bo Derek, who play Brad's Jewish parents. Bo Derek is about as Jewish as Fabio.

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