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Poster (c) 20th Century Fox
Antwone Fisher, starring Denzel Washington and based on the life of Antwone Fisher, is directed by Denzel Washington and written by Antwone Fisher, which is its major problem. Fisher didn’t write one bad thing about himself, like he actually would. Washington includes himself way too much for a one-dimensional character. Worst of all, Washington is too much of a novice at directing to realize that the characters not only need development, but also need to have two sides to them. Antwone, although I’m sure he’s a fascinating guy, but the way that Fisher writes himself is with such pride, he can’t write a bad word about himself. And Washington seems to think that he’s now in the “elite” of the actor-directors and wants to show us that he too can work like that. He wants to show Woody Allen or Kevin Smith or any other actor-director that he’s now in control, so he’s in as many scenes as he can be.
The story, which isn’t really anything to make a movie about anyway, has Fisher (Derek Luke, in an overrated debut film) in the navy and a short temper, something that flares up only once or twice more in the film. He’s sent to see a psychiatrist, Jerome Davenport (Washington), who digs into Fisher’s abusive past, as he’s sent to a foster home. During the present, he falls for Cheryl (Joy Bryant), and advances in a relationship with her.
The one most remarkable thing about this movie is that Cheryl is probably the most multi-dimensional one-dimensional supporting character in a recent movie. We learn a bit about her, such as where she works, which is more than I expected to know about her. However, like Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can, Davenport was fine as a “character” where we didn’t really want to know much about him, but a crucial thing is learned at the end. Also, at the end, when Davenport is spilling his guts out to Fisher, it’s clichéd and scripted, not something that could actually happen.
It’s not to say that Antwone Fisher is boring, it’s just not exciting. With its two parts, the first part being the more interesting of the two, it can’t have a straight flow. Nothing really interested me throughout the film, but I never found the need to pay attention to something else. I wasn't touched at all, how was I to be touched? Nothing grabbing came out of it. How is this supposed to be touching? Because a man remembers his past? I don't think so! Basically, Antwone Fisher is an OK movie. It’s not exciting but not boring, the acting is not great but not bad, and the movie itself is not great but not horrible.
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and mature thematic material involving child abuse.
Review Date: July 15, 2003