Ohmister Wilson! (Film Reviews & Artsy News): January 2013

"Anuva Hood" Film Review

Ohmister Wilson

*tear* memories

How long have we waited for a sequel to the original Friday? (Yes, I'm aware that there was Friday After Next and those 10000 other Fridays after!) We all, so desperately, want to see Chris Tucker and Ice Cube reunite on screen just as bad as we all wanted to see Floyd Mayweather fight Manny Paquiao. Remember how people would debate who would win that fight? We now know that Floyd would, most assuredly, hand Manny his own ass on silver platter with extra hot sauce because it would appear that "Pac-Man" is past his prime. The same could be said about a "true" sequel to the original Friday movie. Perhaps seeing Chris Tucker and Ice Cube on film now would come off as a bit forced, therefore making their performances less natural and not what we hoped to expect and ultimately not funny. We will probably never get that "true" sequel of Friday and perhaps it's for the best; so the original Friday can always hold that special place in our hearts.

However, ask yourself this question? Instead of waiting forever to see if Chris Tucker will appear in another Friday movie, what if the film were re-imagined? Not only re-imagined, but updated and exported to the U.K.? What would a British version of Friday look like, sound like, and would it be any good? Well, this is something that can be answered thanks to a cool little film called Anuva Hood (Anuva = Another, you gotta say it with a British accent to get it right.....try it!).

"Hi ! Why yes I am!"

Anuva Hood takes places in a small British project (yes they have projects in the U.K.....apparently) in or around 2010. Upon first glance at the environment, the people, and their mannerisms I immediately thought, "Damn, they just like us!" (me being black, the "us" refers to black people in America, just to clarify). I promise you, if you were to turn off the sound, you could easily see this film taking place in Brooklyn or Baltimore without question. Though, once you turn the sound back on, you will be bombarded with heavy British accents speaking so fast and passionately aggressive (hood) that turning the subtitles on would not be such a bad idea (I watched the film at least 10 times and didn't catch everything that was said UNTIL I watched it with the subtitles). Luckily, the acting in this film is so animated and zany that you can pretty much piece together or get a good idea about what's happening on screen. Furthermore, the language and the acting do enhance the film and although similarities between this film and Friday are apparent, this is still a uniquely fun film experience.

Just me & my book of rhymes

Anuva Hood follows the daily life of wanna be hip-hop star, small time weed dealer, and full time fuck up/"wasteman" (British word for fuck up/loser/chump) Kenneth. Kenneth, or K as he furiously demands to be called, is played by Adam Deacon (he was also in the film "Kidadulthood " which is also on Netflix and worth watching) Deacon, who is also the director of Anuva Hood, does a great job at evoking a rare emotion from the viewers. Remember, in Friday, how Craig was essentially a lovable loser that kept getting shit (other peoples problems) dumped on top of him? K is an actual loser that creates his own shit and pretty much basks in it. K, through the course of the film, gets beat up (after succumbing to peer pressure), quits his job (so he can purse his rap career), gets disrespected (by almost every character that has dialogue in the film), gets a lecture on why it is ok to just be yourself (and not a poser) by his friends, and when he actually successfully spits some game to get a girls phone number he blows it (by tearing down the sexual identities of his best friends THEN humping a lamp post....in front of the girl). Be that as it may, you still want K to overcome his self destruction, for some reason. I believe Deacon does a good job at humanizing an otherwise cartoonish/poser-ish character.

Exhibit A: Who got knocked the fuck out?

Although there are almost, zero similarities that can be drawn between Craig and K (Craig is black; K looks Middle -Eastern....but has white parents? Craig is average height; K is Napoleon short. Craig has to be convinced and coerced into smoking weed; K is a wake-n-baker 24/7). The biggest and most apparent similarity they do share is their best friend. Craig has Smokey; K has TJ. Although, it's worth mentioning that K dies have a little crew that he runs with (Bookie, Lesoi, and Enrique) TJ is without a doubt K's best friend. TJ, who is played by an actor by the name of Jazzie Zonzolo (that's a African pimp name if I've ever heard one....and I haven't) is the 2010 British replica of Smokey. He even wears his hat backwards in the same fashion as Smokey BUT the 2010 twist is he wears the high tube socks that match his hats and (LOUD) t-shirts seamlessly. As a matter of fact, exactly a minute and a half into the movie, if you are not convinced TJ is a British-Smokey-hybrid, then you need to get "knocked the fuck out!"

Blud = homie or dude

Quiz time! What character in Friday became so synonymous with bulling that if you yourself do anything that even resembled bullying, you would be called this characters name? (Hint: In the film Anuva Hood he is represented as the character Tyrone). Correct answer: Debo! Tyrone had to of graduated, Magna Cum Laude, from the Debo School of Neighborhood Terrorism. Tyrone, who can be seen a mile away with his Sisqo style blonde hair, terrorizes K and his friends (along with TJ, K has a random crew of mates ) and adds more stress and trouble in their daily lives. In one moment, he lines up K and his friends and gives them a long monologue about why he is so much stronger (he makes K feel his muscles...awkward), smarter, and gets more links (links = girls you hook up with on a regular basis) then them then proceeds to rob them. Although there are many similarities between Debo and Tyrone (if you listen closely they even have the EXACT SAME background music whenever they are on screen) the primary difference between the two (besides hairstyles) is the fact that Tyrone speaks with a very hard lisp. It is hard to understand Tyrone because of his lisp, but his comedic style of bullying and his catchphrases (JACK-A-ROONEY TIME! & NEXT HYPE!) followed by lining his victims up and running their pockets make him as relentless a bully as Debo but with a more comedic side. How many bullies do you know that will steal a man's journal?

If you are thinking that this film ends in the same way as Friday you are sorely mistaken. Yes K and Tyrone have an epic showdown but the way in which it plays it is very different (and funnier) then how Craig beats the snot out of Debo. (Tyrone learns a lesson that every man must know, no matter how big and bad you are there is always someone bigger and badder.....and often times that bigger and badder person is a woman). Is this film a direct Friday knock-off? I don't think so, as stated before this is a re-imagining of Friday so while there are some similarities to the classic movie this film does and can stand on its own. (But don't get it twisted, the similarities are there). If you are a fan of Friday, a fan if British film, and/or like seeing black people talk with British accents then you must see Anuva Hood. So go ahead to Netflix and add this film to your instant queue RIGHT NOW!

4 out of 5 (stars)