By TUREKA TURK
Mlchlg.n Cltlan
Imagine walking to friend'
house on day. Some w, not
paying att ntion, you make
wrong tum and wind up taking a
two hour and forty-five minu trip
down a street that has every situ
ation the media stereotypes as
Black. There are famUi that have
struggling recovering drug addicts.
There are sons (and some daugh
ters) who sell drugs, not to survive,
but for no "real" reason.
There are daughters who are
faced with the responsibility, not
only of deciding whether to in
dulge in the stream of emotions that
le ds to the big ocean of sex, but
also of carrying "protection", just
in case, and explaining what "just
in case means" to a mother oblivi
ous to the reality of disease.
There are friends who foolishly
mix business with pleasure in the
nam of loyalty. There are police
officers who run into members of
their own family on the job.
You finally get to your friend's
ho in a puzzled nd recite
what you w. Does your friend
believe YO\l? 'Do you believe you?
Would you believe "Laurel Ave
nue"?
Gay Thoma and Dan Martin a
-Laurel Avenue.- ,
_ "Laurel Avenue", taking on
every situation imaginable, adds it
self to the pot of productions at
tempting to capture the reaction of
the Black family to society'S trap
pings.
"Laurel Avenue" i HBO's at
tempt to include Black life into its
'cable programming of feature
movies, adult en ,R el Sim
mon's DefComedy Jam and other
quirky attempts to reach audi��ces
unsatisfied with regular television.
FROM TH producers of the
Fox television eries "Roc" and
with "Roc" himself, Charles S.
Dutton, as one of the executive pro
ducer , the hyp surrounding
"Laurel Avenue" p mises to be an
"00 t r Ii tic" view of a Black
family.
"We ho that it will en rtain
nd move n of our view rs with
i po rful portra yal 0 a Black
wor ing cia s family," says
Brid tt Potter, senior vice presi
dent, original programming of
HBO. •
Powerful? Maybe. Honest?
Mo tly. Realistic? Yeah, you
could y that. Will it move you?
It may, but it will defini Iy hit
home.
Don't be sucked into the puff of
advertisements reminiscent of the
old B movie posters ("Gritty!",
"Heart warming!" and "A Master
piece!"). "Laurel Avenue" will
not move mountains nor will it
answer any of life's problems. It is
a mirror of quite a few Black fami
lies in the country whose members
find it hard to deal with themselves,
letaloneeachother. It reminds you
that your "family" has the capabili
ties of being everything to you and
then nothing at all.
"Laurels: venue" is director carl
Franklin' fi t project since direct
ing the critically acclaimed "One
False Move". Franklin has uc
cessfully taken on the transition
from the physical brutal violence
ance in "Boyz N The Hood",
"Menace II Society" and "Roc".
Sweet' ch cter, Rushan Arnett,
is rribly underdeveloped and his
"I don't knows" really p the
audience on the surface of a young
Blac man's mind.
Juanita Jennings is tough as Yo
landa Arnett-Friedman, the ister
who takes responsibility for every
one in the family. Jennings, who
was also in "Basic Instinct" is the
police officer of and for the Arnett
family.
Rhonda Stubbins-White por
trays Rolanda Arnett, Yolanda's
twin and the welfare-dependent
mother, recovering from drug ad
diction as well. Her portrayal is not
typical nor stereotyped. It is mov
ing and real.
Although "LaureIA venue" does
embody some problems that Black
families must carry on their shoul
ders, it unjustifiably touches on
some situations that do not get an-
ered in i rt two-part-mi
eries length of time. On can only
wonder hy Pletcher (Uly es
Zachary) is on the verge of mental
instability and can only sympathize
with Sheila Arnett (Malinda Wil
liams) his date and witness of his
breakdown.
TIlE EXPLICIT love
scene between. Woodrow and
Kathleen Arnett, portrayed by Dan
Martin and Gay Thomas, sticks out
like a sore thumb. Although a mar
ried couple, the scene is like a piece
of a porno flick that happened to
show up in the reel. Black love is
beautiful. Black sex belongs be
tween the partners only.
"Laurel A venue" is definitely
worth watching, if only because it
is another attempt at telling the tri
als and tribulations of Black fami
lies. And, if you're very careful,
you may smell a new HBO Black
soap opera. .
While it is not the answer or the
single key to a stereotype-free
Black film genre, while it does tell
one story of the Black family,
while it is a step towards variety in '
Black film and while we know that
we still have a long way to go in the
film industry, we should all take a
trip down "LaureIAvenue" July 10.
\
Back row (from left): Michael T zla (How rd Friedman), Juanit Jennin (Vol nda Arn tt-Frl d-
man), Vonte Sweet (Ru han Arn ttl; Second row: Gay Thoma (Kathie n Arnett), Dan Martin
(Woodrow Arnett), M ry Allc (Maggi Arnett), M I Winkler (Jake Arn ttl, Rhonda Stubbins-White
(Rolanda Arn ttl, Scott Lawr nc (Keith Arnett); Malind Willi ms (Sheil Arnett); L t row: Monte
R el (Marcu Arn ttl, Jay Brook (Uncle Oti), nd Ondre Shalbetter (Shan qu Arn ttl.
Albums Report Card
of "One False Move" to the psy
chological battle f'the dysfunc
tional Black family. His efforts, of
course, were complemented by
Bla k cast members, wh e faces
trigger familiarity but whose
names escape the mind.
. MARY ALI E I sweetly ir
ritating a mother 10 t in her own
world and ideals what "family"
sh uld be and oblivious to the pain
o her family. Having played an
aim t similar but mu h happier
role in Charles Lanes' "To Sleep
With Anger", AJice gives Maggie
Amen a naive t uch. -
Vonte weet is g tting a teady
lin of gigs lately, making appear-
ARTlST: BELL BIV DEVOE
SINGLE: -Hootie Mack" (MCA)
COMMENT(S): 'Hootie Mack," is a well put together
sophmore alb un. This time around the BBO clique talks
about everyday life. 'Hootie Mack, , is a stepback from the
classic "Poison" album, but it's in ther .
�RADE: B+
Singles Report Card
ARnST: RAVEN SYMONE
SINGLE: "Tners What Uttle Girls Are Made or ( CA)
COMMENT(S): When I listened to the single, I thought this
was something .I could "really" rag on. To my surprise
Raven has style. The music was tight and the lyrics were
wack (a mixture ot Kris Kross and ABC). Raven is off to a
good start.
GRADE: B
-----
ARTlST: VARIOUS
SINGLE: -M1V Party To Go Vol. 3&4" (Tommy Boy)
COMMENT(S): A collaboration of '92 top dance songs. Irs
for a good cause (AMC Cancer Research Center). this
album includes "Real Love" (Mary J. Blige), "My Lovin"
(EnVogue), "Give It Away" (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and lots
more!
GRADE: B-
ARTlST: VARIOUS
SINGLE: "Roll With Tha Flava" (Flava Unit/Epic)
COMMENT(S): Members of the Flava Unit crew put
together one oflhe best albums out. If this is any indication
of what to expect from the Flavor Unit crew, I think we're
seeing the 2nd coming 01 the 'Oef Jam' legacy_
GRADE:A+ .
A nST: ANTHONY WAYNE
SINGLE: "Keep Flowin'/Break 'em Off" (Inner Circle)
COMMENT(S): Detroit artist are on the rise. Wayne is proof
Detroit artists have talent Wayne keeps it mellow with
"Keep Flowin'" and kicks the whole flava on "Break 'em Off'.
GRADE: B
ARnST: NIK-TASH'TA
SINGLE: "Hangm' Out" (An el City)
. CO MENT(S): California cuties doing their own than on
their own label The music IS something you can bounce
to. Check it out.
GRADE: C+