Product Description

A modern-day prodigal son story with a twist. Patrick a magazine writer seems to have the "perfect life" until one day there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face-to-face with the traditional southern family he hasn't seen in over 10 years.System Requirements:Running Time: 107 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/FAMILY GATHERINGS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543466536 Manufacturer No: 2246653

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18569 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2008-02-12
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Features

• A modern-day prodigal son story with a twist. Patrick, a magazine writer, seems to have the "perfect life," until one day, there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face-to-face with the traditional southern family he hasn't seen in over 10 years. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 Age: 024543466536 UPC: 02

Amazon.com
When Sheldon (Rockmond Dunbar, Soul Food) comes back to the small Georgia town he left ten years before, he discovers he has a son--and a whole lot of unresolved family secrets. Dirty Laundry follows Sheldon as he struggles to sort out his relationship with his domineering mother (Loretta Devine, Kingdom Come), his jealous brother (Maurice Jamal, who also wrote and directed), his snooty aunt (Jenifer Lewis, The Cookout), and his naive lover Ryan (newcomer Joey Costello), who follows Sheldon from New York. Dirty Laundry plays like a remake of Sordid Lives as it might be directed by Tyler Perry. Southern caricatures abound, everyone's feuding with everyone else, gossip and good Christian values go hand in hand, and every church service features a dancing gospel choir. The characters are enjoyable and individual scenes play well, though the overall plot doesn't amount to much. Devine storms through the movie like a force of nature, Lewis musters her highest dudgeon, and Dunbar manages to be prickly but genial at the same time, which is no simple trick. A warm, friendly, dysfunctional family romp. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Coming Home and Facing Truths in a Laugh-Fueled, Southern-Fried Family Dramedy
I got the chance to see a rough cut of writer/director/actor Maurice Jamal's film last year during the 2006 San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. As an openly gay black man, he lends a particularly unique and contemporary perspective on the Prodigal Son parable with this tale of a class-conscious New York-based magazine writer whose discovery of a ten-year old son leads him back to the family he left behind years ago in his hometown of Paris, Georgia. Those who have seen Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown or Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy will recognize the fish-out-of-water comedy that dominates the movie's first half. However, the movie gradually congeals into a more resonant drama of acceptance and forgiveness.

Despite his bare-bones production budget and a sometimes too facile approach to easy laughs, Jamal has a keen eye for his Deep South setting and especially his characters that manage to sidestep stereotypical treatment. What I particularly like about the family interactions is how Jamal chooses to emphasize the son's elitism that has alienated the family, not as much his sexual orientation. Rockmond Dunbar brings a sympathetic core to the uptight son, Patrick in his current life but Sheldon to his family. However, it's Loretta Devine who shines as his mother Evelyn, a hardened, alcoholic washerwoman who holds her own secrets and rails against her son with fervor. She seizes a great moment as she delivers a near-soliloquy at the dinner table near the end. With her foghorn, female-impersonator delivery, veteran scene-stealer Jenifer Lewis plays judgmental Aunt Lettuce with her usual gusto and provides the film's biggest laughs.

Most of the cast is amusingly over-the-top - Terri J. Vaughn's supportive sister Jackie, Filipino comedian Alec Mapa as the overzealous metrosexual friend, Sommore's throaty turn as the sassy daughter-in-law, and Jamal's own performance as Sheldon's straight, dim-bulb brother who runs the local butcher shop. The one major fly in the ointment is Joey Costello, who comes across far too flighty and naïve as Patrick's partner Ryan. The film has a too-pat though forgivable ending, but Jamal shows himself to be a most idiosyncratic comedy talent.

Jennifer Lewis & Loretta Devine----Lord, Give Me More!
Jennifer Lewis & Loretta Devine---what more could a moviegoer ask for? These two stellar talents wring more humor and pathos out of a line of dialogue than Laurence Olivier in his prime.

This movie is not the greatest story ever told. And it won't be taking home a busload of Oscars. But there are moments of real truth and poignance and compassion here. And the acting---though over the top---is an absolute delight. Rockmond Dunbar is sexy and subtle and moving. The entire cast deserve a huge Bravo.

But the movie belongs to Jennifer Lewis and Loretta Devine. They should be charged with grand larceny, because they steal every scene.

"The Wedding Banquet" for us Black folks!
In both of these movies, a gay man of color has to deal with his family face-to-face after a long time. In both, they have white lovers who are more obvious than they. In both, a child is involved. Both have big family functions where tension rises. In both, at least one parent becomes or admits to accepting their son's sexual orientation. The role that language plays in "Wedding Banquet" is played by socioeconomic class here.

There are two small differences. In this, the gay man of color goes to his family's world whereas in "The Wedding Banquet" the parents come to their son's world. Here, there are only Black folk on the cover whereas Mitchell is on the cover with the Chinese characters, if I remember correctly. This must do with target audiences. This movie is trying to bring in Black viewers without spilling the beans. "Wedding Banquet" attempted to attract non-Chinese viewers who might assume it's "just Chinese" otherwise.

Though Loretta Devine's character says, "This ain't Soul Food!", this film's penultimate scene is clearly taken from that film.