Black Men Can't Jump In Hollywood

It's the end of summer and football season is nearly here! We delve in to the 2000 Disney film, Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington. We discuss the merits of revisionist history in films, why having a black screenwriter makes a difference in race films, if the problem of racism will ever go away, and if this film helped the cause.

We take a look back at the 1989 Civil War film Glory starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher. In light of the terrible incident in Charlottesville, we touch on the real history of the Civil War, question whether or not Glory is a "white savior" movie, discuss why Denzel was the only actor to get recognition and determine if this film helped the cause!

Special guest Abbi Crutchfield (TruTV's You Can Do Better!) is here to talk about the "breakout role" of Jessica Williams in Netflix comedy, The Incredible Jessica James. We talk the legitimacy of black leads in non-race centered storylines, the incredible likability of Jessica Williams, the importance of maturity and if this film helped the cause! This week's episode is brought to you by Blue Apron!

Special guest Langston Kerman (Insecure) helps us break down the blockbuster The Dark Tower, starring Idris Elba, based off the Stephen King book series. We discuss if Idris is actually the lead, why such a beloved film adaption was given to such a little known director and if this film actually helped the cause.

Finally, we complete our Wayans family saga with the 2014 film Let's Be Cops, starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson. We discuss the under the radar success of this film, the odd juxtaposition of the film's release date to the Michael Brown shooting, if Damons Wayans Jr. will ever be as popular as his father and uncles...and if this film helped the cause.

Special guest Monique Moses (IFC Sports Court, Astronomy Club) joins the boys to review the new film Girls Trip starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish. In a year where Rough Night and Snatched "disappointed expectations", we discuss the significance of the box office success of Girls Trip, the breakout performance of Tiffany Haddish, whether or not there is such a thing as "boy humor" and if this film helped the cause! This week's episode is brought to you by SquareSpace!

Marlon Wayans stars in the 1997 sports comedy The Sixth Man, marking his first leading role without his brother Shawn. The boys dissect Marlon's non-spoof solo career, question why Kadeem Hardison never got a shot, and try to understand who this film was made for (and if it helped the cause).This episode was brought to you by Blue Apron!

The Wayan's marathon continues with this 1996 'Hood Film' parody starring Shawn, Marlon, and Keenan Ivory Wayans. Jon toughed out this review on painkillers from a wisdom tooth extraction -- it either helped, or hurt that the flick had the boys laughing through out. Find out if this flick helped or hurt the cause!This week's episode was brought to you by Squarespace.

We continue our Wayan saga with Blankman starring Damon Wayans. We discuss Damon's style of comedy, the balance between black cultural references and "black jokes", why we think Blankman is better than Major Payne (sorry Major Payne lovers) and if this film helped the cause!

Our Wayans family saga has begun and we start with Keenan Ivory Wayans and his 1994 action film A Low Down Dirty Shame. We discuss the importance of the oldest Wayan's brother, how few black led action movies existed, and whether this film helped the cause.This episode is brought to you by Squarespace

Our 100th episode is here and we are looking back 30 years with a review of the 1987 Robert Townsend film, Hollywood Shuffle. How far has Hollywood come in thirty years? Do the sketches hold up today? Is our podcast the new Hollywood Shuffle? All this and more on our

Special guest Anna Drezen (SNL writer) helps the guys review Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot. This historic film has naturally been ripe with controversy, but it's significance for women can't be ignored! We discuss this bonafide hit, what it did wrong and what it did right, and if it ultimately helped the cause.

We review the new film Baywatch starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Zac Efron along with a diverse cast. Critics have trashed this movie, but we discuss if the criticism is warranted, the sex appeal of Dwayne Johnson, and if this film could still help the cause.

We take a trip down memory lane with the 1999 coming of age film The Wood, starring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs and Richard T. Jones. We explore the lack of coming of age films with black leads, personal stories of growing up and whether this film helped the cause.This episode is brought to you by Blue Apron!

We review the bizarre cult classic Pootie Tang, starring Lance Crouther, Chris Rock, and written and directed by Louis C.K. We discuss the novelty of a black-led absurdist film, the breakout parts for J.B. Smoove and Wanda Sykes, whether or not this film had any deeper satirical points, and if it truly helped the cause!This week's episode is brought to you by Squarespace!

In light of the recent healthcare bill, the boys review the 2002 film John Q. starring Denzel Washington and Kimberly Elise. In a fiery and unashamedly political episode, we discuss the impact of this film on the healthcare debate, the importance of a black man representing "Middle America", and why everyone (Republican or Democrat, white or black) should be concerned with healthcare.

This week we dive in to the 1992 Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens rom com Boomerang! A young Halle Berry plays 'the best friend' and this movie was some how considered a failure despite a huge box office and a smooth take the genre. But was this flick good for the cause?This week's episode is brought to you by Blue Apron!

Guest Roy Wood Jr. (The Daily Show) joins for a bit as we talk about the blockbuster that started it all for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the 1995 film Bad Boys directed by Michael Bay. We analyze why the film was able to become a franchise, how the lack of explicitly "black" references allowed the stars to have cross over appeal and if this film truly helped the cause.

We review The Fate of the Furious, the multi-billion dollar franchise that arguably boasts the most diverse cast out of any major blockbusters...ever. So why do these films, headed by Vin Disel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese, Chris Bridges....among others, have such global appeal? And despite their commercial success...does the film's subject matter and style actually help the cause? Find out!This week's episode is brought to you by Squarespace!

Trigger Warning: There is a brief moment in the podcast where we talk about prison rape due to a story line in the film.We review Dave Chappelle's first (and arguably) only leading film role in Half Baked, a 1998 stoner comedy written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan. We talk Chappelle's influence on comedy, female representation in stoner comedies, whether or not this film helped the cause... and a brief discussion in the opening about Chappelle's controversial Netflix specials!This episode is brought to you by Squarespace and Blue Apron!