No, “Fifty Shades of Black” is not the sequel to last year’s hit, “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Marlon Wayans’ new spoof comedy may sound similar to “Grey,” but do not mistake it as the same film. “Black” tears “Grey” to shreds with comedy that packs plenty of laughs.
For full disclosure, I have not seen “Grey,” but “Black” depicts a ridiculous story that emulated what I think “Grey” is all about.
For obvious reasons, “Grey” is not a film for everyone and neither is “Black.” If you are a fan of Wayans and his comedy, then you will enjoy “Black.” If you do not like spoofs or Wayans, then this is not the film for you. “Black” is a very particular type of sensational satire that emulates the same humor as all of Wayans’ previous films.
“Black” is not the best spoof that I have seen, but it definitely is not the worst. Typically, spoof films have similar characteristics.
Comedian and actor Affion Crockett plays Eli Black in the film.
Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
First, they generally make fun of multiple films, television shows, celebrities and pop culture references. “Black” has a good mix of razzing some of the most ridiculous and best parts of 2015. Aside from the main storyline of “Grey,” the best parody was Wayans reenacting a scene from “Magic Mike XXL,” which is teased in the trailer. Even though most parodies jump back and forth between spoofs, “Black” is more consistent in making fun of “Grey.” This was refreshing because it was easy to follow and had running jokes throughout the entire film.
A second characteristic of a good parody is distorting a certain genre. In this case, “Black” shreds apart the typical romantic drama genre by flipping some of the stereotypes. For instance, Wayans’ character Christian Black acts the exact opposite of his counterpart, Christian Grey, in some of the scenes. By flipping the standards of the characters, “Black” uses this characteristic of spoof comedies succesfully.
Finally, spoofs focus on attacking the structure of a genre with creative criticism. “Black” was able to display this characteristic by slightly changing storylines to show the ridiculousness of the romantic drama genre. The film definitely sought to attack “Grey” with creative criticism through the story structure and dialogue between the characters. There are quite a few scenes where the characters describe the clichés that are occurring, which helped embellish the tendencies of the genre.
Overall, “Fifty Shades of Black” is a funny adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” By adhering to the standards of parodies, Wayans and company were able to pull off a successful spoof. There is plenty of comedy in each scene, which made the film enjoyable. The comedy is very satirical and ridiculous, so it will not be as funny for everyone. For me, this is my favorite type of comedy. If you are like me, then go see this movie because you will get a good laugh out of it.
