The level of Black Excellence and Black Girl Magic in Little is far from little! Let's start with the amazing and hilarious leads, Regina Hall (Girls Trip), Issa Rae (Insecure), and Marsai Martin (Black-ish). Then let's recognize and applaud Martin becoming the youngest executive producer in history! Hall is also one of the film's executive producers. The screenplay was written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip) and Tina Gordon (Drumline). The story is by Oliver, and Gordon directed the film. Will Packer (Girls Trip, Think Like a Man) and Kenya Barris (Girls Trip, Black-ish) are two of the film's producers. Tone Bell (Disjointed), Luke James (Star), JD McCrary (The Paynes), and Marley Taylor (Almost Christmas) are also in the film. Bonus for Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish) voicing Jordan Sanders' (Hall and Martin) virtual assistant, HomeGirl!
Little is now in theaters, and you need to go see it THIS WEEKEND! Not only will you be supporting all of the Black Excellence and Black Girl Magic on and behind the screen, but you will also be in for a hilarious hour and 49 minutes. The film is just as funny as the trailer promises, actually funnier! Rae and Martin were great together and played well off of each other. They definitely had some of the best and funniest scenes in the film, including the extra random "I'm Going Down" sing-off. HILARIOUS!!
Beyond the laughs there are great messages about bullying, privilege, finding your voice, and being your true self. There are even short messages about things like not touching Black women hair! Ha! But it is the message about not being afraid to be your true self that ends up taking center stage. Ironically, it took Sanders becoming little to regain the confidence to be the self she shrunk down as a middle schooler due to bullying and the opinions of others, something many of us have faced. The film reminds us to take a step back and reflect on our younger selves. The selves we were before someone made us feel certain parts of us may not have been cool. The selves that we truly are but learned ways to hide and suppress in an attempt to fit in, blend in, or be invisible to avoid bullying. The film challenges us to fearlessly share with the world ALL of ourselves the way we once did as children!
While I absolutely loved the film, it was not perfect. The beginning was a bit rocky. Hall's portrayal of Sanders felt over the top. This was likely an effort to get across to the audience how much of a big, mean bully Sanders grew up to be. However, it was not just Sanders. In the first few scenes, pretty much all of the characters except for April (Issa Rae) felt over the top. Rae's portrayal of April actually felt out of place in the beginning of the film because it was so much more of a natural character when compared to the other characters, who were over the top. It got to a point where for a moment I was convinced that this was an intentional choice to make it more of a kid-friendly film. It was definitely giving off Disney/Nickelodeon vibes, which I would have been okay with as it would have fit given Martin would be playing Sanders most of the film.
Then, just as I settled into this notion, Martin hits the screen and everything changes! The tone of all of the characters come down to the natural level already set by Rae in the beginning. So, in fact, most of the film does not have this over the top acting. Unfortunately, when Hall returns later in the film her character is still a bit over the top. It can only be assumed that the over the top acting was a directorial decision made by Gordon. While bullying was a key focus of the film, more of a Devil Wears Prada approach to Hall's Sanders may have been better suited for the film. And again, as mentioned, Hall was not the only actor with an over the top character. Connor, played by Mikey Day (Saturday Night Live) was also quite a bit over the top. However, the occasional over the top acting didn't completely take away from the film. It was simply a bit of a distraction.
I will definitely be going to support Little in theaters this weekend, and I hope you will too! #BlackGirlMagic #BlackExcellence #LittleMovie
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2019
CAST: Regina Hall, Issa Rae, and introducing Marsai Martin
DIRECTOR: Tina Gordon
STORY: Tracy Oliver
SCREENPLAY: Tracy Oliver and Tina Gordon
PRODUCERS: Will Packer, Kenya Barris, James Lopez
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Marsai Martin, Josh Martin, Regina Hall, Preston Holmes