The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat
Not gonna lie, this had me in the first half. The new film “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat,” directed by Tina Mabry, in the first hour, is a charming and overdramatic story of three black women’s friendship which has survived over a number of decades. Featuring the plot of the same-named novel written by Edward Kelsey Moore, the comedy zigs- Though named the Supremes, it does not center around the famous music group- and zags centered around the lives of these ladies.
Its tonal changes light and airy in many ways recall the tone present in Black films produced in the 1990s such as ‘soul food’ or ‘The best man’, whose focal point is love among the characters which helps them struggle against overwhelming odds and emerge unscathed. And for a time, this film of Mabry is a great contribution to that body of work.
Odette Henry who is167 years of age in 2050 (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) in her first non-linear scene is seen as exhausted and resting under a tree. She narrates the story of how her worried pregnant mother contacted a witch for help who advised her to sit on a sycamore tree. There, Odette was born. From that moment on, she is unafraid.
Through her eyes, we jump back to the year 1968. Odette (Kyanna Simone plays this character in her younger version) is studying to be a nurse, while her larger-than-life charismatic best friend, pianist Clarice (Abigail Achiri) seems to have a recording contract in place. The two girls meet and then rescue Barbara Jean (Tati Gabrielle) from her alcoholic mother and abusive stepfather, before bringing her to live with Earl (Tony Winters) and his wife who run the family business at the diner.
These early scenes are among the The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat film’s best. While it is easy to understand how this close-knit couple could assume the nickname ‘The Supremes’. But as one witnesses more of the life of the main characters and the movie leaps into their later ages, the development of the picture becomes so sudden that it tips you over and one can almost forget what made this film so appealing in the first place.
Certainly, the plot is captivating as it is set in the US during the late 1960s. The costumes are brightly colored, with varying shades of warm yellows and oranges. And there is some sex appeal as well. One example being, Barbara Jean has a crush on busboy Chick Carlson (Ryan Paynter) who happens to be a white guy and a survivor of physical abuse also working for Earl.
Chick’s brother is an insane racist, a violent bigot, and though there is a love story between Chick and Barbara Jean, their love loses some of the tension that the film puzzled me how it allows it to evaporate.
Instead of expressing simply a story of unhabitual comradeship, the film bites off more than it can chew. Fast forward to the present day, we see that all the women have emotional scars which they are working on. Their father figure, Earl is dead and all he left behind was a superstitious wife (Donna Biscoe) and a calm son. After the death of her husband, Lester (Vondie Curtis-Hall), Barbara Jean (Sanaa Lathan) is going through a stage of alcoholism.
Clarice (Uzo Aduba) quit pursuing her dreams of becoming a pianist, and now it appears that her husband, Richmond (Russell Hornsby) is likely being unfaithful to her as well. Of course, Odette has a wonderful healthy marriage with James (Mekhi Phifer). Although she leads one of those obviously picture-perfect lives, she is suddenly diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. That is at least the taste of the multiple plot twists that span through the infinite plot of the movie.
The final thirty minutes of the movie, and once again the script introduces us to another story within a whirl of unexpected turns and elements of surprise: divorce, murder or other tragic death that is rapped in melodrama with a sharp sense of dark humor attached to it.
In fact, I still have no clue what I actually watched. The available cast does not seem to have any idea either. It is though the actors, despite their best attempts, their commitment goes to waste as their role characters – probably in a movie trying to be a soap opera – do the most unreasonable things. Ellis-Taylor, who is enjoying an extraordinary hot spell, is mostly able to control the situation but not even her extraordinary skills are able to salvage certain portions of some scenes from going overboard. Lathan is similarly powerless as the most absurd beats of her character, appallingly, become the character’s after thoughts.
Seeing the gorgeous period details and feeling the emotions of the actors, how can you not hug “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.” Unfortunately, this is a film that appears to be determined about shoving you away with the ridiculous nature of its plot. What is frustrating about this film is that it has a very powerful story about Black women – full of hopes, dreams that are slowly being crushed by the harshness of life – but that story gets lost in this knotty work that essentially strangles itself in its own complexity. There seems to have been a strong story in this film, but good intentions on Mabry’s part are not sufficient to rescue a story that has a narrow scope.
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- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Country: United States
- Director: Tina Mabry
- Cast: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Sanaa Lathan, Uzo Aduba
