MEET THE BLACKS

US, 2016, 93 minutes, Colour.
Mike Epps, Zulay Henao, George Lopez, Mike Tyson.
Directed by Deon Taylor.

Meet the Blacks is a raucous comedy designed for an African-American? audience, full of themes about clashes between black and white, full of rough language and, especially, an African- American use of the word ‘nigger’, frequently.

The pre-credit sequence is a satire on the Purge films, a television announcement that the purge is about to begin. In the film itself, Carl Black (Mike Epps) suddenly moves his family, his second wife, his children by his first wife, away from Chicago to avoid the purge and to settle in Beverly Hills where he has bought a mansion in a gated community.

His wife is suspicious of his motives, his young son is preoccupied with his vampire teeth and his pretending to be a vampire, his daughter preoccupied with gossip on the phone and with a secret boyfriend. The family goes for a walk – and is greeted by rather unctuous whites with a welcoming gift, whites who will appear again murderously during the purge.

Carl Black has had some sinister goings-on in the past, money and drugs stolen, witnesses in Chicago killed, financial deals. Accompanying them is a friend who has been in prison and who works on fixing cars and has an eye on Carl’s wife. The daughter’s boyfriend robs the safe – but, in a clash with his girlfriend, suddenly falls to his death on the ground floor.

There is a skit on President Obama announcing the purge night and urging everybody to be involved. During the purge satire there are all kinds of intruders in the house, especially a clown who performed at house party but was not paid and is coming to demand his wages. Obama is played by George Lopez and the clown is played by Mike Tyson.

During the purge night there are all kinds of goings-on, Ku Klux Klan invading, Blacks disguised as white, neighbours coming to kill, a security guard who wants the Blacks out…

This is very much in the vein of such parodies as the Scary Movie is franchise – and it is a wonder that one of the Wayan brothers is not in this film.

Audiences who do not respond immediately to the vein of humour will want to turn the film off fairly quickly.