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Hayley Reviews: The Color of Friendship

From Wikipedia: “The Color of Friendship is a 2000 television film based on actual events about the friendship between two girls; Mahree & Piper, one from the United States and the other from apartheid South Africa, who learn about tolerance and friendship.[2] The film was directed by Kevin Hooks, based on a script by Paris Qualles, and stars Lindsey Haun and Shadia Simmons.”

I’m gonna admit it, I watched this as a kid and most of the racial issues and the apartheid storyline went RIGHT over my head. All I remember was that the black main and the white main were expecting each other to be the opposite race and that the black girl told her parents that the white girl may have called her a racial slur.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this film was kind of unfair to Mahree, the white main character. As soon as she gets to America, the black family treats her like she’s a diseased racist, but she’s a literal 14 year old child! Sure, she benefits from racism and makes a few cultural blunders when she first gets there and she casually uses now-racist terms such as “Bantu” and “kaffir” and calmly talks about the oppressive systems that were in place for black citizens in her home country at the time. She says those systems are there for everyone’s own good because that’s what she’s been told her entire life. She doesn’t see the truth until later in the movie, and this takes place in the 70’s when there was no internet, no online news media, no twitter, no way to really do your research and learn things besides what you were raised on.

The black family often makes cruel, dismissive comments where Mahree can clearly hear and disregards her feelings. If I were a 14 year old girl traveling by myself to a completely different country and was treated that way, I’d probably lock myself in a room too. However, I do see Piper’s perspective as well. If anyone had taken to my room when I was that age, I’d be very upset.

All in all, I really enjoyed it. They did sugarcoat it and slap a happy ending on it, but they also don’t shy away from anything. They have a black character say the n word, they describe what happened to a black man who died under suspicious circumstances while in police custody (sound familiar?). The adults could’ve been a little more mature, but what can I say? I’m really glad Disney decided to get over itself and put this on Disney+ because it’s one movie that I think shouldn’t fall by the wayside.

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The acting in this version of Little Women is awful, save a few.

Marmee just sounds cold and disinterested, Laurie sounds like a high schooler in his first lead role in a tightly budgeted school play, I don’t know what the hell they were going for with Mr. Laurence, John Brooke, and Professor Bhaer.

The ones that really save it are the sisters.

Like Laurie confessing his love to Jo had about as much passion as someone reading their grocery list.

Also @ scriptwriters: “I’d kill myself if I thought it would help” if you had read the entire book, not just cherry picked, you’d know that Jo March would never say something like that.

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Amy was 12 in the original book and I love this Amy, but she ain’t 12

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“Laurie Laurence” wtf his first name isn’t Laurie, so Jo should be calling him Teddy

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So I appreciate the fact that a lot of the script is taken from the original book

But the score sounds way too modern at some points

Also I don’t buy Michael Gambon as Mr. Laurence. Go back to Hogwarts, buddy

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Ouch. After all his shit, max still cared for billy.

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Ok WHAT IS WITH THIS MUSICAL NUMBER

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“We don’t know it’s your kids” well you would say that Murray since you’ve never MET those kids (minus Jonathan and Nancy)

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“Where we’re going, we don’t NEED ROADS!” BRSHDGEGWGX

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I love how Mike apologizing to El and trying to tell her he loves her is totally awkward and he says “like” and stumbles over his words like YES THATS REAL LIFE. Of course he’s not going to bust out w some Shakespearean monologue. Like he’s a teenage boy, and they’re all stressed out and tired and possibly about to die.

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HAHA YOU GUYS I KNEW IT WAS BILLY IN THE VOICEOVER

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JOYCE WAVING AT THE CAMERA IM SO WEAK

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“Yeah duuuh”

“You do something useful”

I LOVE JOYCE BDSVDGECSCE LOVE HER

Also I love how she keeps investigating

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I do not feel sorry for Billy at all, even when he grovels. I still have sympathy for Will bc he was set up as a generally sweet, kind, passionate kid. Billy was a racist, abusive trash heap from the start. And yeah, his dad was abusive but that doesn’t make it ok

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“If you die, I die.” THE BEST BROMANCE EVER

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NOT CASTLE BYERS

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I LOVE Dustin’s cassette tape shirt omg