Hide Article Text (OCR)
Lean On Mesome redeeming valuesTwo recent Hollywood movies. TAPS, and LEAN ON deverve mention fibb wlMEMay, wnNrtofrfev.h?fNeither have received especially favorable review from the critics for a variety of reasons, many of which I disagree Admittedly, both movies were sometimes glossy, overstated, with underdeveloped or unrealistic plots, but in general both showed considerable sensitivity to their subject and respect for the characters they presented In the final analysis, though, it was the superb performances by the actors, Gregory Hines and Morgan Freeman in particular, which gave a human touch to what could have been laughable caricaturesIn TAPS, Hines plays an ex-convict and tap dancer His deceased father, who was considered one of the great tap dancers of all time, is a role model Hines does not wish to emulate. He sees his father as a failure, his only legacy being a community dance school, now staffed by his father's friend and daughter (played by Sammy Davis Jr. and Suzanne Douglas).Sammy A Friends try to convince Hines to come and work at the center, realizing that there are few opportunities for “real tap dancers to work at their craft. His daughter (Douglas) is also a dancer and the woman Hines left behind when he went to prison Shehas a son, 4 wonderful dancer, and exuberant personalitylaw»•. The Center provides a place wncre runes can oe a parror rroving family, but his desire to be more than his father, and make money pulls him away from the family. The tap dancing scenes, which take place in the Center between Hines and his father’s old buddies who interpret any criticism as a “challenge are some of the most memorable scenes in the movie . T,;..Greats like the Nicholas Brothers, Sammy Davis and Jimmy Slide demonstrate that tap dancing is a rich legacy which we cannot afford to forget. Hines'dance and romantic scenes with Suzanne Douglas, a strong Black and beautiful Black woman are important because we so rarely see realistic and wholesome love scenes, between Black menand women on the Hollywood screen. :'^35*; ■ piHines’ brief venture back into the life of crime provides the tension which Hollywood thinks we need in order for a movie to be unsuccessful. It was the most underdeveloped and unrealistic part of the movie.Joe Morgan (BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET) wasexcellent in his role as the protagonist who thinks Hines has lost his touch as master thief and seduces him back into the life, a life Hines ultimately rejects and returns to his first love, tap dancing and the family tradition which his father started.In LEAN ON ME, Morgan Freeman is moving and mesmerizing as Joe Clarke, the New Jersey Eastside High School Principal who turns an urban school (a Jungle as Hollywood would call it) into a school where student are free to learn. I am not sure how closely Freeman’s role adheres to the realities of Joe Clarke’s actual experiences; in the movie Clarke emerges as a hero which only Hollywood can create (one man who fights the system, wins the support of the community, and walks into the sunset).The inspiration for me in this movie stems from its measure of hope; hope that our schools can be turned around through love and caring and belief in our kids which Clarke inspired in this movie. The movie is timely and particularly revealing. In one scene, Clarke tells the teachers to take down the cages which the school has erected as a punitive measure; “if you treat kids like animals, they will act like animals, a lesson which Columbus’ Fair Wood Alternative School can well afford to listen to. Although we may not always agree with Clarke’s tactics, there are times when a Joe Clarke is needed. A tender movie with a tough message, I would recommend LEON ONME to anyone involved in public schools today.
Newspaper Details
Call and Post
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Thu, Mar 30, 1989
Page 29
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 29 Mar 2022
Other Publications Near Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Enakopravnost
Cleveland Echo Wochenblatt Der Vereinigten Deutschen Socialisten Clevelands
Cleveland Dirva Field
Cleveland Daily Leader
Cleveland Ohio Farmer
