The Absolute Middle.

Speaking of movies, I recently came across an argument somewhere (Klosterman? This American Life?) that The Truth About Cats and Dogs was the perfectly average movie. That is, everything better that Cats and Dogs is an above-average movie and any movie worse is below-average. I think there’s some merit to this argument.  The first time I stumbled across it, I ended up watching the whole thing. I didn’t feel like I wasted my time; it was perfectly pleasant. But I don’t remember really laughing, either.

Since everyone is doing their Best of the Aughts lists, it got me to thinking: what is the Most Average Film of the young 21st Century? I posed this question on Twitter, and my blogmates said it was either Brown Sugar or Love & Basketball. I personally don’t think Brown Sugar even rises to the level of average (“you’re like the perfect rhyme over a dope beat.” Really?), but I think it makes sense that the most Average Movie of the Aughts probably stars Sanaa Lathan.

G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.

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  • Either her or Sandra Bullock.

  • aisha

    Can’t we just let a move be cheesy? If the movie was asking to be taken seriously I could understand. Is there no space for lightheartedness, hapless romanticism, or fantasy on the big screen? How would we ever identify corniness if we didn’t have a reference for it?

  • Scipio Africanus

    By way of going in on Brown Sugar, the thing that upset me was that Hip-Hop was effectively on the wane and very much flagging by the time that movie came out. The analogy would be doing a current Doo-Wop appreciation movie in the late 60’s – that music had been over by then.

    And who greenlit casting Taye Diggs as a Hip-Hop head? He needed way more people. Mekhi Phifer or Omar Epps were basically conceived by their mothers for the purpose of starring in that role.

    And Sanaa Lathan. I’m sorry, but she always seems cold, detached, miserable, peeved, bored and annoyed in every single role I’ve ever seen her in (except that one with Denzel.) Most of those adjectives proscribe the ability to appear to be passionate about anything.

    Love and basketball was just a fantasy movie for girls and young black women. As such, I have no beef with it. Heck, I was just drooling at the old Mya “My Love Is Like Whoa” video this morning on VH-1 Soul, so I’m in the same boat.

    • blackink12

      No, you like Mya too? Welcome to the club, my friend.

      That said, I really didn’t have too many problems with “Brown Sugar.” It really didn’t leave an impression on me at all, other than those couple of Mos/Cavi joints.

      But my choice was “Vanilla Sky.”

  • storm

    Ha. You good choice Sanaa for most average movie casting choice.

    I enjoyed “Love & Basketball”

    What about “Something Different” (I think), the inter-racial romance Sanaa starred in with the cute “Mentalist” dude? A very average and bland movie.