Black Men Can't Jump In Hollywood

Happy Thanksgiving! The boys discuss the 1997 holiday classic Soul Food, starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, and Nia Long. We discuss the nature of black families, the damaging label of "ex-convict", the hit soundtrack, and if this film helped the cause. Gobble it up! (We apologize for that joke.)

It's the 20th Year Anniversary of Space Jam starring Michael Jordan and we used that as an excuse to take a trip down memory lane! We explore the impact Michael Jordan had on America, why Space Jam worked over other films with NBA leads, and whether or not this film helped the cause! Oh and singing, there's lots of singing.

Special guest Romany Malco (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Weeds) joins as we talk all about the Academy-Award nominated Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got To Do With It, starring Angela Bassett. There's a lot of love for black women, a lot of love for Angela, a lot of love for this film, and a blissful ignorance of the presidential election.

Buckle in, this one's a doozy. Directed, produced, written, and starring Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation (2016) is a retelling of the controversial historical figure of Nat Turner and his infamous slave rebellion in 1831. However, Nate Parker's own controversy has overshadowed even the film's subject matter and we discuss it all with special guest Keisha Zollar (HBO's Divorce). Get into it.

The name Tyler Perry immediately conjures different images in many people's heads: successful, minstrel, empire, a joke, highly entertaining, shameful embarrassment. We have ignored Tyler Perry films for too long. We review the latest in the Madea franchise and in the process learn something...or maybe, lose something? We still don't know...

This 1995 Horror/Comedy film may not have any bonafide stars, but did have the backing of Spike Lee's production company 40 Acres and a Mule, plus the bragging rights as one of the very few "scary movies" with a majority black cast. We discuss the not-so-hidden messages of the film, whether or not film's title & poster are beneficial, and if it helped or hurt the cause!

Special guest Jermaine Fowler (CBS's Superior Donuts) helps us kick off the Halloween season with the 2004 mashup sequel AVP, starring Sanaa Lathan. We discuss the portrayal of the black female heroine, whether or not AVP is a good installment of either franchise, why Sanaa Lathan's career isn't even bigger than it is, and if this film helped the cause!

Denzel Washington stars in this 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven, which in itself is a remake of the Japanese film Seven Samurai, and your boys have some thoughts. We discuss the merits of diversifying the new cast, who should have killed the big bad, and if this film helped the cause.This week's episode is sponsored by Squarespace!

Guest Sasheer Zamata (SNL) is in the studio to talk about one of her favorite films, the 1995 cult classic Waiting To Exhale starring Whitney Houston, Angela Basset, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon. We talk about trifling men, scarcity of black women in film, the Bechdel test, and if this film truly helped "the cause".

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the greatest, highest-grossing actors of all time...and he also made this film in 1996 called The Long Kiss Goodnight. Shane Black was one of the highest paid screenwriters in Hollywood in the '90's and he also wrote The Long Kiss Goodnight. We talk about Sam's career, stereotypes of black actors, and we also review The Long Kiss Goodnight.The episode was brought to you by Squarespace!

Special guest and star of the new FOX series Lethal Weapon, Johnathan Fernandez, joins to talk about the brilliance of Danny Glover and co-star Mel Gibson in 1987 film Lethal Weapon! There's a lot to digest in Shane Black's script and we cover all of it, cause we ain't too old for this!

Black Men Can't Jump is literally In Hollywood!!! Live at The Hollywood Improv we special guest Shaun Diston (writer for TBS's Wrecked) as we discuss the 2002 comedy Undercover Brother starring Eddie Griffin. Was this a razor sharp satire chuck full of poignant racial commentary or another dumb film filled with stereotypical black jokes? Most importantly, did it help the cause!?

Special guest Nicole Byer (MTV's Loosely, Exactly Nicole) joins as we talk about the 1993 comedy Made In America starring Whoopi Goldberg at the apex of her career. There's a lot to discuss including Nicole's undying love for Whoopi, an interracial make-out scene, Nia Long's underrated performance, and if this film helped the cause.

This week we review the 1989 comedy-drama Do The Right Thing written and directed by Spike Lee. It's hot in the studio, which seems pretty appropriate for this indie that changed how hollywood thought about Spike, and remains a true classic!

Special guest Akaash Singh (MTV's Guy Code) is with us to discuss the 2009 Academy Award's Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire starring Dev Patel. We discuss the portray of Indian actors in Hollywood including obsession with the poor, white directors, unrecognized performances, and whether or not this film helped the cause!This week's episode is brought to you by Tidal!

Will Smith. This is the reasoning we are reviewing the comic book film Suicide Squad, starring a colorful cast of characters. We discuss the new DC universe movie's use of diversity, it's portrayal of female characters, whether Smith was the lead and if this film truly helped the cause.

It's our One Year Anniversary!!!! Fittingly so, we review Beverly Hills Cop 2 to see how Hollywood handled Eddie Murphy's fame in a sequel. We talk police culture, the blatant lack of a swirl, the femme fatale stereotype and our genuine appreciate of you the fans! Oh and of course, The Cause.

With the Olympics on the way we reviewed the 1993 film Cool Runnings! Find out if this dramatization of the Jamaican bobsled team was good for the cause- or did it crash and burn!? This episode was recorded live at the Del Close Marathon!

It's Friday! What better way to celebrate than reviewing Friday starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker! The guys discuss how black filmmakers affect the portrayal of African-Americans on the silver screen, Chris Tucker's star-making performance, swap personal family stories, and whether or not this film helped the cause!

Special guest Jordan Carlos (Guy Code, The Nightly Show w/ Larry Wilmore) joins us to talk the 2002 Brazilian film City of God starring Alexandre Rodrigues. Unpredictably timely, we discuss racism in Brazil, police corruption, shadism, empathy for murderers, the 2016 Olympics and so much more!