Home :: DVD :: African American Cinema :: Comedy  

Blaxploitation
Breakthrough Cinema
Comedy

Documentary
Drama
Series & Sequels
Soul Cinema
TV & Miniseries
Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $13.48
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Family values and family follies : a heartwarming comedy ...
Review: ... about a family, the Slocumbs, that gathers for the funeral of its patriarch, Bud, about whom his widow (Whoopi Goldberg), asked by a minister to share happy memories, can only muster the words "He was mean, and right surly." Whoopi's character is as cool as the Buddha, except for one outburst of wrath at her bickering children.

LL Cool J plays the son of the deceased, Ray Bud, a hard-working auto mechanic; he contends manfully against alcoholism and a short fuse, while his wife Lucille (Vivica A. Fox) is a supremely sweet-tempered woman, unable to conceive a child.

Another son of the deceased is Junior (played by Anthony Anderson), who has lost all his money on an unwise business venture, and whose perpetually carping and combative wife Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith) has just discovered another woman's earring in the family car. She is ... not pleased. They have, in addition to their financial and marital woes, a trio of untamable children.

There is a daughter named Delightful (played by an actress named Masasa). She does not speak a single word from opening frame to closing credit, but steals just about every scene that she's in.

The American treasure Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls, Waiting to Exhale, Boston Public, Funny Valentines) plays Aunt Marguerite, a born-again Christian widow, whose son Royce (Darius McCrary of Family Matters) is a feckless party-animal collecting an unemployment check. Aunt Marguerite gives new meaning to the word "Bible-thumper," as she is often seen whacking her son on the head with a copy of the Good Book, and calling him a demon.

And then there is the minister, a good-hearted soul (Cedric the Entertainer), prone to platitudes delivered lispingly, ample of appetite, and sometimes dyspeptic. As Whoopi describes her late husband in unflattering terms, we hear the minister huskily sigh and see him reach for his antacid.

I found this to be an enjoyable and ultimately uplifting film. Not always subtle, no deep message (unless it's the minister's "What is yesterday but the tomorrow we thought we could not face the day before?"), but heartwarming, and an ode in praise of the cohesion of family with all its flaws and follies and foibles. Also, a message of trust in God, highlighted by some hip-hop gospel on the soundtrack by Kirk Franklin and company.

But mostly, I found it funny. And find it funny, after having seen it several times.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Family -- and HOW!
Review: A family patriarch dies unexpectedly . . . and the only way his widow (Whoopi Goldberg in a perfectly executed performance) can describe him is "mean and surly." No one in this extended family can really find anything much better to say for him, and yet they're forced to come together for the man's funeral. Some of them, apparently, haven't spoken in years. But invariably, as they combine to plan the funeral, they find themselves re-examining their feelings, not only about the departed, but for each other and even about themselves.
Pretty heavy-sounding stuff for a comedy, isn't it?
Trust me on this, it works as a comedy here. In fact, it works as a wildly -- and at times, wickedly -- funny comedy. It works for two reasons, primarily: First off, the laughs aren't "cheap" or forced; secondly, and equally importantly, there is no "butt" of all the jokes . . . each character, even a marvelously ineffective minister (Cedric the Entertainer), is granted his or her validity as a person. (The minister, for example, for all his bumbling, serves to redeem the eldest son -- LL CoolJ -- in a moment of personal crisis.)
There is a true universality to this film that, sadly, during its theatrical release, was overlooked by most people due to the fact that it was marketed primarily as a "black" film. It is no such thing. This family, with its individual members and their individual problems, could be ANY family, virtually ANYwhere. The love they rediscover, the strengths and the hope they find, is what 'family' is all about.
Come to think of it, DON'T trust me on this; see the film for yourself!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Like Everyman, Every Southern Family
Review: Almost didn't watch this movie....wasn't in the mood for musicians trying to be actors....but decided what the hey, might be lighthearted and worth the video rental price...ended up really enjoying it, even coming to amazon.com to buy it. This film has many southernisms and dysfunctional-but-you-gotta-love-them familyisms. We adopted several lines in our own family "You know yo Daddy love us!" ....a certain sign that we enjoyed it! It had excellent situational comedy and Whoopi plays the most understated part of her career, and it really works!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: no plot whatsoever
Review: first off, i thought this was going to be a very funny movie, because of all the stars and wonderful people in it such as L.L Cool J, Whoopi Goldberg, Anthony Anderson, my girl Jada Pinkett Smith, Toni Braxton, and a host of others. first of all is was all about them at a funeral. it wasnt that funny and the plot was very weak,we was so excited about this movie when it came out but its not worth it, and i love everybody that was in the movie just not the characters that they played. so i give it a D-

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A comedy about as much fun as a funeral
Review: For a comedy this one feels awfully glum; perhaps this is because it's about a funeral, but one gets the impression that it wasn't intended to be so dry. Whoopi Goldberg plays the matriarch of an extended family whose members turn inside out when their "Mean and Surly" grandfather dies, leaving two sons (LL Cool J, Anthony Anderson) to deal with the problems that have divided them for too many years. Viveca Fox (in a surprisingly disappointing performance) and Jada Pinkett Smith (who tries to be charming but ends up going over the top with her role) play their wives. The film's best moments come from the very funny Loretta Devine as the ultra religious and highly exasperated aunt whose dresses always match her Bible; she comes as close as possible to giving this film some good rhythm. Other than that, the film has no real moments of tenderness, no exposition of character depth, nor much payoff in the end. Considering it is Goldberg's first major role in almost four years, one would hope the writers would have given something meatier to work with.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: not worth buying
Review: I agree with one of the previous reviewers. The plot was very weak. Too often I was left saying to myself "ok, what's the point here?" I did enjoy certain actors' ability to take on diverse roles, but when it came to substance.......a needle in a haystack.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent movie but not worth the money
Review: I have to start off by saying who ever cast this movie did an excellent job. Who ever wrote the script did a very poor job. The story line was no where as great as the casting was. The story line was very corny,repetitive, and many times boring. I was so glad when the movie was over. I think the movie could have been a whole lot better but it wasn't just awful. In case you are thinking about buying this movie, DON'T.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Oustanding Performance
Review: I liked Kingdom Come. Especially, when it had my favorite singer, Toni Braxton in it. She did a very good job for her first movie. I thought the movie was heartwarming. A family type movie. It was full of life. A down to earth movie. Just like real life situations. The movie really meant something to me. Sometimes it has to take someone to die to bring the family together. I highly reccommend this movie to all ages. Full of laughs. Cedric the Entertainer will have you cracking up all through the movie. He's so hilarious. This is a gotta see movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this is the best family movie since soul food
Review: I love this movie. It's funny how it's usaully the movies you almost don't buy that you like the best.I heard so many bad things about this movie I almost just rented it it, It was also a few dollars more then what i like to pay for a single dvd, But i bought it and was very happy I did. This is the kind of movie you can watch with your whole family unlike the eqaully good Soul Food that had some raunch that was not for the small kids.This is a realsitic family dram that is also very funny, I loved Cedric the Entertainer as the preacher with gas. The Dvd had a few features a Kirk Franklin Mary, Mary music video for Thank you and the trailer and tv spots as well as a four minute featurette that was too short too be enlighting. There is also A commentery by the Doug Mchenry the filmaker who directed the film that havent watched yet. Although I would have liked a few more features this is a great movie with a great transfer and sound. There is one other thing if you are planning to watch this on a small tv it's a very wide transfer not 1.85 as the box states, It 2.35 35mm aspact ratio so it will be vey small and hard to see.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Funny Christian Commedy- take the kids 2
Review: I must admit that I only wanted to see this movie because my favorite singer in the whole world Toni Braxton was in it. But then again some of my most favorite actresses were in it too like Vivika, Tamala (always funny) and Jada. When I got to the movies I almost choked at how funny this movie was... It reminded me of my family. However I was kind of disapointed that there were only really 3 main scenes and that Toni Braxton was only in a few and did not sing. I do agree that they should not have had Jada acting like she could sing when Toni was in the mivie. But all toghther the best characters were Loretta, Jada, and Anthony. This is a great movie with no curses under the exception of maybe 1 little word, but I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes to laugh and my little brother 4 years old enjoyed it so maybe other kid mught as well.


<< 1 2 3 4 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates