Starring Kerry Washington, Melissa Martinez, and Anna Simpson
More than one named female character of color? Yes
Who spoke to one another? Yes
About something other than a man? Yes
Summary: Filmed in 2000, Our Song will take you back to your younger days, when your best friends were your entire world. That’s certainly the case for Lanisha Brown (played by a young Kerry Washington), Maria Hernandez (Melissa Martinez), and Joycelyn Clifton (Anna Simpson), the young women at the center of this urban coming of age story. At the film’s opening, summer school seems to have started off on the wrong foot after the girls learn that their Brooklyn public school will not be reopening in the fall, thanks to an uncovering of asbestos. Soon after, a new set of unforeseen discoveries ensues, threatening to ultimately drive the once close-knit threesome not only to different schools, but on to different life paths as well.
Young love admittedly plays an important role in the story line, but it is not the only important subject that friends discuss. Issues such as biracial identity (Latin and Black American), teenage pregnancy, living in the inner city, and budding romantic relationships dominate this picture perfect film, but the power of female friendships is what reigns supreme. In fact, the film’s dialogue provides each character with many dimensions, while managing to simultaneously keep the characters identifiable to the audience. I constantly found myself able to relate to Lanisha, Maria, and Joycelyn and their girl talks about family issues, growing up, and maintaining their friendship against all odds.
One thing in particular that raised my spirits as the portrayal of the inner city and the female characters’ interactions within that setting. For one, the neighborhood as not portrayed as an imminently dangerous cesspool for pathologies and deadbeat residents. Instead, the residents shared a sense of community and extended family, often hollering out of their windows to one another about babysitting availabilities or whether a friend could come out to chill. At the same time, a tragic dual suicide committed by one of the building residents and her baby served as a commentary on the societal distress that sometimes overtakes those living in that environment. Both the good and the bad that come with that socioeconomic situation were exhibited, a balance that comes rarely in the pathologically dominated inner city film genre. If Precious hit a nerve with you in that aspect, then Our Song’s around-the-way approach might be right up your alley.
Final Verdict:
Bursting with insightful interchange and significant subject matter, Our Song will provide you with an intimate interlude of genuine girl power between the usual banal Blockbusters and the overly flashy flicks. This film passes the Black Bechdel Test mainly because the dialogue between Lanisha, Maria, and Joycelyn veers away from the boy-crazy babble of its many coming of age movie counterparts.
