The Inkwell
The Inkwell | |
---|---|
Directed by | Matty Rich |
Written by | Trey Ellis Paris Qualles |
Produced by | Irving Azoff Matthew Baer Jon J. Jashni Guy Riedel |
Starring | |
Cinematography | John L. Demps Jr. |
Edited by | Quinnie Martin Jr. |
Music by | Terrence Blanchard |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million[1] |
Box office | $8.9 million |
The Inkwell is a 1994
Plot
Set in the summer of 1976, the film follows the adventures of Drew Tate (
On Martha's Vineyard, Drew is thrown into an affluent, party-loving
The Inkwell follows Drew's bumbling pursuit of the insufferably snooty Lauren (Jada Pinkett). He also befriends Heather (Adrienne-Joi Johnson), a young woman whose husband, Harold (Morris Chestnut), is a faithless louse. The movie comes to an end on the Fourth of July, when the Bicentennial fireworks end up symbolizing not just America's 200th birthday but Drew finally having sex with Heather.
Cast
- Larenz Tate as Drew Tate
- Joe Morton as Kenny Tate
- Suzzanne Douglassas Brenda Tate
- Glynn Turman as Spencer Phillips
- Vanessa Bell Calloway as Francis Phillips
- Adrienne-Joi Johnson as Heather Lee
- Morris Chestnut as Harold Lee
- Jada Pinkett as Lauren Kelly
- Duane Martin as Junior Phillips
- Mary Alice as Evelyn
- Phyllis Yvonne Stickney as Dr. Wade
- Markus Redmond as Darryl
- Perry Moore as Moe
- Akia Victor as Charlene
- Jadeas The New York Dream Machine
Production
For the 20th anniversary of the film, the cast reunited with writer/filmmaker Lathleen Ade-Brown for Essence[3] where Larenz Tate spoke about the casting process. He told the magazine "Matty Rich was holding auditions in L.A. Jada [Pinkett Smith] was already cast in the role [as Lauren] and I remember her calling me, saying, ‘You got to do this movie!’ In fact, she was saying, ‘Listen, let’s meet up and rehearse because they are going to want me to read with you, so let’s rehearse, so you totally land it!’ I told her, ‘I’m going to rip that role! No need to rehearse, you just keep up with me and we just play off each other.’ She says. ‘I got you, let’s do it!’ I go in the audition and we really just lit up the room, then I had to audition solo. They didn't know what to expect considering I just did Menace II Society playing O-Dawg, a completely street person. So that impressed them and they offered me the part."
Reception
The Inkwell was poorly received by critics. It holds a rating of 22% on
References
- ^ http://textfiles.com/media/film93.ans
- ^ a b Holden, Stephen (April 22, 1994). "The Inkwell (1994) Review/Film; Young, Black and Confused In the Complicated 1970's". The New York Times.
- ^ EXCLUSIVE: The Cast of 'The Inkwell' Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary, Essence, April 25, 2014
- ^ "The Inkwell". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "The Cast of 'The Inkwell' Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary". 27 October 2020.
External links
- The Inkwell at IMDb
- The Inkwell at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Inkwell at Box Office Mojo
- The African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard including the Inkwell Beach