“Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris has yet to make his directorial debut and already people are up in arms over the concept of his first film.
Barris has joined writing and producing forces with actor Jonah Hill, famously known for his roles in “Superbad” and a remake of “22 Jump Street,” for a Netflix comedy that feels anything but original.
“Plot details are being kept under the cloche, but it is said to be a modern look at the themes tackled in ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?’ the 1967 classic that saw a white couple’s daughter surprise her parents with a Black fiancé,” wrote “The Hollywood Reporter” in its exclusive.
Acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier starred in the original. A remake of the film came out in 2005 starring comedians Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher. Barris expectedly was thrilled to share the news with his following on social media. He wrote in part, “👀👀👀🔥🔥🔥🔥 LET’S. F——-G. GO!!!! Sooo pumped to be doing this crazy project with my boy @jonahhill and @netflix. Can’t wait to show y’all the hilarity we have cooked up!!!” He finished by praising Hill’s talent. “Jonah is truly one of the most overall talented people on the planet and I’m psyched to be on this awesome team!!!”
Those who are looking forward to seeing Hill and Barris’ take on the story flooded the post with support.
“Yooooo this is gonna be a banger 🔥🔥🔥”
“I can’t wait to see it! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽“
However, elsewhere on Twitter critics blasted the concept for its lack of originality.
Other grievances expressed by critics were echoes for Barris to take a break from creating new, and new-ish, content. While his hit show “Black-ish” has racked up scores of awards and praise, the same appreciation was not shown for “Mixed-ish” or his Netflix original “Black AF.” The latter was met with harsh criticism of not being black enough and again highlighting a biracial cast.
“Why are all of his projects about interracial families. He centers race and I’m convinced it’s a fetish,” said another Twitter user. No other details about the film has come out yet and Barris has yet to respond to the criticism.
