MovieChat Forums > Harlem Nights (1989) Discussion > I wonder if a lot of the negative reacti...

I wonder if a lot of the negative reaction over the years,

posted 14 years ago by JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies
2 replies | jump to latest

. . . and especially at the time of release, wasn't due to the fact that the film isn't primarily focused on being a comedy (in the colloquial sense of something that's going to make you laugh out loud frequently), yet it features a cast of comedians. It might have even hurt those reactions more that there are some funny parts and funny situations in the film.

It's more of a "light" gangster film, a period piece, and it's just as often quite serious. Genre melds can be difficult for audiences anyway, but when you've got a cast of comedians doing a meld of genres, where only one of the occasional genres being engaged in is comedy, it can be very difficult. The film is best appreciated with zero expectations/preconceptions, in my opinion.

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[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PACman66 14 years ago

I saw this film in the theatre when it first came out, and I remember not liking it too much… Not because I’m white, but because it was billed and marketed as a comedy. I mean with 3 generations of black comedians staring in this film, what was one to expect? I was let down, because with a cast like this, it could have been laugh out loud funny! I wasn’t prepared for something so subtle.

Revisiting this film 21 years later, I can now appreciate this film and what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish… Knowing it's a drama, more then anything else...
However, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed , in the fact that… With Foxx, Pryor AND Murphy… This could have been the funniest comedy ever made.

Trust me,
Swan
My, you're nosey, aren't you?