And the film is extra long so that Lee can beat us over the head with his message. In a stilted, unrealistic and unconvincing performance, Damon Wayans stars as Pierre Delacroix, the only black writer for an upstart television network. Pierre, who speaks like a tape running at half speed, is as painful to listen to as someone scraping their fingernails across a blackboard.
Racial slurs abound in the script.
The didactic movie insults the viewer's intelligence at every turn. It's hard to pinpoint the lowest and most despicable episode in a story filled with vile moments, but the lowest of the low may be the television show's commercial. It advertises a malt liquor called Da Bomb that comes in the shape of a bomb. A bunch of wasted black actors swear by its potency, bragging that it's 120 proof. It is rated R for strong language and some violence and would be acceptable for high school seniors and older.