So, the anthology comedy "Movie 43" is coming to theaters this weekend, and yet despite the massive, star-driven cast, it seems the picture is being kinda buried. No press screenings seem to be happening, perhaps proving that you can round up as many big stars as you want, but if the material isn't there, they can't make it work. So in a bid to get you to buy a ticket, a full segment has dropped online and it will perhaps entertain you enough that you might just wander over to a theater to see it for curiousity's sake.
Titled "Victory's Glory," this five-minute skit wouldn't be out of place on "Saturday Night Live" (except for the F-bombs perhaps). The premise is simple: Set in 1959, Terrence Howard is the coach of a black high school basketball team who are gearing up to play against some white boys in a championship game. They're nervous, so Howard gives them a pep talk that is essentially: "You're black." The gag runs out of steam pretty fast, but Howard is pretty game anyway, and drops a couple lines that might make you smirk. Given the single setting location, and the big game being shot without a crowd, you can tell the budget on this was likely non-existent.
This short is helmed by Rusty Cundieff, whose credits include "Chappelle's Show," "Human Giant" and "The Wanda Sykes Show," but this probably isn't his finest hour. Anyway, give it a click below. "Movie 43" opens on January 25th.
Howard is great in it, but it's very underwritten. A good concept with mediocre execution. The "slow clap" joke was pretty hilarious.
I suspect that if the skits in this movie were a lot more bizarre, the movie might achieve cult status. But this sketch was pretty pedestrian.
If the rest of the movie is like this then we know why there hasn't been any screenings. The trailer was funnier.
I thought Terrance Howard was white