Ron C. Jones Movies

Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan, and John Stamos all return to reprise the roles they originally played on Broadway in this made for television take on Lorraine Hansbury's timeless play about a 1950s-era Chicago family longing for a better life. Walter Lee has died, and now his widow Lena Younger (Rashad) is about to receive a $10,000 check from her late-husband's insurance company. Everyone in the family dreams about the ways their lives will be changed with the arrival of the money, family matriarch Lena - who longs to retire from her job as a domestic servant for a wealthy white family - in particular. Having lived in a one room tenement apartment ever since she and her late husband originally married, Lena is eager to purchase a house of her own and provide her family with a real home. Lena's son Walter Lee, Jr. (Combs), currently employed as a chauffer, and has recently become taken with the idea of purchasing a liquor store as a means of solving his family's financial woes. Like her mother-in-law, Walter's wife Ruth (McDonald) is also a domestic servant for a white family, and dreams of the day she can walk away from her job. While Walter's sister Beneatha (Lathan) strives to become a medical professional, tuition is expensive and she is currently being pursued by two men - wealthy but superficial George Murchison (Sean Patrick Thomas) and intellectual classmate Joseph Asagai (David Oyelowo). Much to everyone's surprise, Lena uses the lion's share of the money to purchase a home in the all-white residential neighborhood of Cllaybourne, splitting the remainder between Walter (for his entrepreneurial endeavor) and Beneatha (for tuition). Around the same time Walter loses his share of the inheritance to a smooth talking con man who claimed he could help finance the liquor store, the Claybourne "home improvement" association makes the discovery that the Youngers are black and sends emissary Mr. Lindner (John Stamos) to try prevent their neighborhood from becoming integrated by buying the house back. Now faced with the prospect of losing it all, Walter considers making a deal with Mr. Lindner in order to recover his losses. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A non-narrative comedy that explores issues of race in contemporary America, A Day in Black and White concerns two friends who are students, identified only as Black Man and White Man. Black Man has to deliver a speech in class on race relations, and the two begin to discuss both the speech and the larger ideas involved; and, as one might expect, they have decidedly different views on the subject. As the pair go through their day, the argument continues and others add their opinions on everything from popular culture and professional sports to the O.J. Simpson case. The debut film from writer and director Desmond Hall, A Day in Black and White was shown at the 1999 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Huey Tate (Chris McKinney) is arrested for the double murder of a black-activist congressman and his bodyguard. Subsequent investigation reveals that one of the victims may have been responsible for an innocent person's death. Crucial to the D.A.'s prosecution is the eyewitness testimony of a woman who is an informant for the FBI -- and as such, cannot be allowed to testify. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A beautiful African American girl's dream of becoming a famous actress hinges on her willingness to disrobe for the camera. For some this would be a simple decision, but for Cicely it is crucial. This off-beat, razor-sharp comedy (marking the feature film debut of screenwriter/director Bridgett M. Davis) sharply focuses on the things that have made the issue such a cross-roads for the budding actress. She is the daughter of the notorious Lydia Love, one of the 1970's hottest blaxploitation stars. When Cicely was young, one of Lydia's boyfriends molested her. The girl then spent her adolescence overweight and feeling ugly. Eventually she lost 57 pounds, but even though her boy friend and director Joel assures her that she's gorgeous, Cicely just can't believe it. She is so self-conscious and worried, that she refuses to take off her clothes when she and Joel go to bed. She gets her first acting break when arty filmmaker Marcel Brown casts her in his latest avant-garde masterpiece. It's a fine experience but for the nude scene. The comedy comes in as different people attempt to persuade her to relax and show-off her beautiful body. In so doing filmmaker Davis takes every opportunity to take some well-aimed pokes at everything from acting to modern philosophical reasoning. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi