Wendell B. Harris Jr.

(On Cable TV, October 2022) What a curio: A film about a lifelong impersonator that goes about life passing himself as others for personal gain. No, it’s not about Frank Abagnale, whose purported exploits eventually became the basis for Catch Me If You Can—this is based on another real-life character, William Douglas Street Jr., who worked in the Detroit area. But there are two far more important differences between both movies. For one thing, writer-director-star Wendell B. Harris Jr. is writing this film from a black perspective, which introduces an entirely different level to the idea of “passing” for another, for showing to others what they want to see—a thematic concern that seems so rich as to make the Spielberg film look inconsequential. The other difference is just as stark: Harris is not going for a conventional narrative here: the film often feels like a loose collection of comic sketches, rants, character moments and loose biographical touchpoints. It’s not obvious what proportion of this is intentional, and which proportion is influenced by production constraints from a low-budget. As a result, Chameleon Street feels more experimental and scattered than it should have been—there are some brilliant moments and quotes in the mix (anything French-related is doubly hilarious to me), but also a narrative that jumps forward in time without elegance or unified tone. Still, this is one fascinating film. For those interested in Black film history, or in forgotten masterpieces, this is a film that won a Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival… but then sank away from view almost completely until it was rediscovered decades later. The expression “Unlike anything else you’ve ever seen” is broad and overused, but it applies quite well here, and Chameleon Street has the added value of being quite funny at times—not just a dour arthouse favourite.