I can imagine how challenging it can be for someone to drop everything and move to Hollywood with the hopes of being an actor. I have a few friends who did exactly that and while I could not advise them on acting, I told my friends that they need to refrain from being on their knees for too long, and if things go south, just come back home. The question in my mind is how difficult can the acting profession be for someone not surnamed Barrymore? And now comes the hardest question of them all. Answer this with me, imagine being Black and trying to do this out that way. Until I saw 20th Century Fox Home’s new movie entitled Who Made the Potatoe Salad? I like to think that I had very few answers to that question. I’m saying this because, and you can call me a stereotype if you want, but it certainly does look tougher being Black and trying to make a mark in Hollywood.
Michael is played by Jaleel White aka Steve Urkel, who happens to be an obnoxious and extremely clumsy police officer in San Diego. His girlfriend, Jennia Frederique, is unbelievably stunning and a little bit insane. She is ‘Craziful’ (Crazy and Beautiful) at the same time. I would have given this film a great review had it included nude scenes because there is so much I could rant about. Michael proposes to Ashley in front of a fancy San Diego restaurant but instead of pouring wine, the man sent it out for the ladies. Looks like the director wasn’t planning on bringing them into the shoot, thanks to the horrible set of the film Someone’s Basement. The table was also set up with a tablecloth on it, which made the scene slightly bearable. The budget seems shady but there is no guarantee that the film is terrible just because there was a lot of poor spending.
DeRay Davis plays Jun Bug, a wannabe gangsta who is extremely anti-cop and certainly sees me joining his team.
Her sister, Mookie (Daphne Bloomer), is really kind. Just don’t ask her, “Who Made the potato salad?” Her grandparents are elderly potheads. Her brother-in-law, Ray Ray (Mark Chalant Pfiefer), is a violent garbage man who despises police officers. Mrs. Jenkins (Ella Joyce) provides a rational perspective, believing Michael is not so awful. Chaos is only thrown into the mix by Eddie Griffin, who portrays Ashley’s ex-boyfriend, and Tiny Lister, who is a madman pursuing the role of Ashley’s new boyfriend. What follows is utter mayhem and huge doses of laughter.
The truth is, “Who Made the Potatoe Salad” was quite awful. It is a tired story, and almost everyone could tell it in a much better way than this. A majority of the dialogue is poorly written. “Who Made the Potatoe Salad” is best suited for amateur filmmakers. Damon ‘Coke’ Daniels should do some serious soul-searching and consider whether he actually wants to be a director. From the lighting to the poor set design, the pacing to the lack of framing, all the elements were terrible.
But, unexpectedly, ‘Who Put the Potatoe Salad‘ taught me that not everything is as bad as it seems. While the film was shot on DTV, I still think many theatrical releases have done much worse. The film certainly had many shortcomings starting from poor lighting to bad sound quality, but I have to commend Damon ‘Coke’ Daniels for trying out different routes by casting so many varied actors in this movie. Clifton Powell III comes to mind first. His resume includes a range of movies where he played supporting roles such as ‘Ray’ and stars roles like ‘Menace 2 Society‘ and ‘Never Die Alone.’ In the film, he wowed everyone with his performance as the Angry ex-black panther with a loaded sawed off in the trunk. Ella Joyce is another one of my favorite actresses, she has a minor role in the TV show ‘Roc’ and I remember seeing her in a couple of August Wilson plays and loving them. In the film, she played the understanding mother and did a wonderful job. DeRay Davis was great too. While I think he was being a petty thief in the movie by trying to take the spotlight as the son, it was great to see his comedy side.
Even Jaleel White, who will NEVER cease to remain in the ever-present shadow of Steve Urkel, is a seasoned actor in his own right and fits the role of the straight man in this catastrophically misplaced film rather well. Did I say Jennia Frederique is Crazy Fine?
I’m sure none of them wanted to do this thing, for they knew if black actors and the one white guy they stuck in this thing had some kind of choice, then there was no way in HELL they would agree to be a part of such disastrous project especially with robots and for Steve Urkel’s sake. If for research purposes or if you want to see excellent actors in an awful movie, ‘Who Made the Potatoe Salad’ is the movie you’ve been looking for.
To watch more movies visit Fmovies
Also Watch for more movies like:
