Jasmine Burke

  • Karen (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, September 2021) Let’s admit it: It’s really hard to resist a film titled Karen when it’s about a crazy entitled racist white woman taking on a couple of likable black protagonists. It’s such an on-the-nose topic (even acknowledged by the characters in a rare clever meta-moment) that it’s barely surprising when the film pulls out all of the stops to make its titular antagonist as humanly unpleasant as possible. We all know where this is headed, from neighbourly microaggressions with a fake smile to gunning for the female lead in a rain-soaked night-time finale. It’s clearly meant not meant to be a good movie, but to satisfy some appetite for retribution and I suppose that it does exactly that. It could have been far wittier in better hands, but writer-director Coke Daniels, perhaps working according to a specific deadline, doesn’t waste much time in non-essential refinements. Karen is unsubtle to the point of being amusing, although there are a few occasional nice touches (such as the HOA refusing to go along with the antagonist’s overly racist schemes) to keep it from floundering too badly. Taryn Manning, made up to be as ugly as her character, is perhaps too good in the role considering how easily she gets to be so exasperating. Meanwhile, Jasmine Burke doesn’t have all that much to do as the female lead, but she looks good doing it. As the male lead, Cory Hardrict has a meatier and not entirely perfect character to play with — and he has the unenviable task of acting through a ridiculous scene where he discovers a bathroom filled with Confederate memorabilia, including a soap dispenser with a Dixie Flag sticker. I mean — really? If you’re not laughing at this point, you’re probably missing the point. (Although the point may be that this probably should have been turned into an overt comedy.)  In the end what we get with Karen is not a good film, but it’s an entertaining watch, and you can make a case that it’s sociologically interesting. While I’m not happy about the rise of “Karen” as a generic insult (the two Karens I’ve known best were two of the sweetest, most likable women ever — and one of them was black), I think that the concept that it vehicles is useful — highlighting a racist archetype that is more insidious and no less corrosive than the typical redneck-KKK cliché which has been a too-convenient singular shorthand for too long. Still, there’s still plenty of space for a cleverer screenwriter to explore the subtleties of the idea because Karen really isn’t interested in being more than an in-your-face movie-of-the-week.

  • Angrily Ever After (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, September 2021) As far as BET original romantic comedies go, Angrily Ever After is strictly middle-of-the-road stuff — fun enough to watch (perhaps preferably while doing other things) but not memorable enough to stick in mind. That, mind you, is already not too bad — there are enough terrible BET original movies to make anyone appreciate the not-so-bad ones. In this case, the plot revolves around a young news anchor who, thanks to an emotional outburst against her fiancé and his too-intimate friend, ends up losing her job, her engagement, her apartment, her book contract on “Having it all” and much of her self-respect in one day. Things don’t necessarily get any better once she’s hired for another job, as her outburst has led her to be typecast as the “angry black woman” expected to issue enraged commentary on the issues of the day. For someone with a Masters in Journalism, that’s quite a step down — but she’s got other problems, such as confronting the white woman telling her that no $50,000 refunds are allowed on her wedding resort reservation — at best a year-long postponement. The ticking clock being activated, the rest of Angrily Ever After boils down to — is she going to get back with her two-timing ex-fiancé, that sexy new guy at the new workplace, or something else? Don’t worry — it all works out thanks to contrivances (what kind of moron kisses another woman in front of the bridal shop where his fiancée is trying her dress?), plot cheats and the weight of audience expectations. The portrayal of the TV business is hilariously warped: No channel ever hires someone for colour commentary and has them discover the exact nature of it on the air.)  It’s definitely heavier on romance than comedy — not that many funny situations here nor snappy dialogue, but at least it ends well. Jasmine Burke is lovely in the lead role, with Ta’Rhonda Jones providing much of the comic relief as the best friend character. You can argue that director Terri J. Vaughn’s film doesn’t manage to fulfill expectations — slack on comedy, not that exceptional on romance either, and curiously timid when it’s time to comment on social media toxicity or expectations toward young female professionals. But Angrily Ever After is watchable without being terrible, and it wraps up with a big smile at the “Joy of Losing It All.”  I’ve seen worse.