Bovie Movie

It’s a little puzzling to work out who this live action update of the 1970s cartoon series is actually aimed at. It’s not knowing enough for grown-ups who remember the original, while it’s probably too sugary for today’s savvy youngsters. The original series, created by Bill Cosby (he serves as producer here and also pops up in a cameo), was centred around the feel-good antics of a gang of young black youths. Here the cartoon characters literally climb out of the TV set to help a lonely young teen (Kyla Pratt). Keenan Thompson makes a good fist of the fleshed out Fat Albert but a few nostalgic chuckles aside, this is as much out of step with modern tastes as the cartoon characters are in the real world. 

Watching this messy comedy drama, you may well wonder if director Spike Lee has totally lost the plot. Not only is this film audaciously offbeat, but it’s also excruciatingly clichéd and so unconventionally constructed that it plays like a handful of genre movies all competing for supremacy. Jaws will certainly drop, as suave Anthony Mackie goes into unofficial business by impregnating rich lesbians — including Monica Bellucci’s Mob princess — after being sacked as a whistle-blower from a corporation pushing a defective Aids vaccine. Following the internalised emotion of 25th Hour, Lee is back on his socio-political hobby horse, attacking corporate culture, greed and preconceptions about black men. Unfortunately, the feature’s increasing ludicrousness and his insistence on pandering to crude male fantasies ultimately undermine any serious messages. Still, there are some very funny moments, not least John Turturro as a Godfather-quoting Mafia don. Consequently, the overall effect is like a car crash — a tragic waste, yet impossibly riveting.