T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh Movies
- 2003
15-year-old Raven Baxter (Raven-Symone) manages to get herself, her family, and her friends into all sorts of hilarious scrapes thanks to her remarkable -- and remarkably faulty -- gift for prophecy in season one of the Disney Channel sitcom That's So Raven. In fact, the series has barely gotten started before Raven is on the outs with her friend Eddie (Orlando Brown) because she refuses to peer into the future to help him pass his high school Spanish exam. Later on, Raven experiences a vision that her ten-year-old brother Cory (Kyle Orlando Massey) despises her, senses disaster when her dad Victor (Rondell Sheridan) gets the opportunity to appear on a TV cooking show (and also predicts that Victor will lose his chef's job), nearly wrecks her various friendships in her efforts to touch base with other psychics, and jumps to the conclusion that her dad and mom (T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh) are headed for divorce. The problem, you see, is that Raven's glimpses into the future are only fragmentary -- leading her to misinterpret what's in store for her and react upon it in a fashion that would do I Love Lucy proud! The season ends with Raven discovering that the source of her -- er -- gift might well be her Grandma Viv (Jenifer Lewis), who may or may not be a witch. (Though clearly intended as the season finale -- and identified as such in the series' rerun package -- this episode did not originally air on Disney Channel until halfway through season two!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raven Symone, Orlando Brown, (more)
Worried that Fox's overexposure of existing In Living Color episodes would weaken the series' appeal in rerun syndication, creator Keenen Ivory Wayans exited the show halfway through Season Four, followed in rapid succession by his brothers Damon, Shawn and Kim Wayans. Though sibling Marlon Wayans would continue to appear during season five, by mid-season none of the Wayans were left -- leaving Jim Carrey as the top-billed star of the property, and Jamie Foxx (whose main recurring character by this time was oversexed and spectacularly ugly Wanda Wayne) as the principal supporting comic. Amidst all this turnover, season five ushered in several talented new regulars, among them Chris Rock, Anne-Marie Johnson, Jay Leggett, Carol Rosenthal, Marc Wilmore, and Reggie McFadden. Among the best individual sketches seen during In Living Color's fifth and final season are "Russell Simmons Def Strawberry Jam," "Ike Turner and Hootch," "Anorexic Sumo Wrestler," "Circus of the Stars," "Sam Kinison: Live From Hell," "Wile E. Coyote on Trial," "Mary Tyler Mo," "East Hollywood Squares," "66th Annual Infomercial Awards," and "Prison Cable Network." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlon Wayans, Jim Carrey, (more)
Season three of the Wayans brothers' cutting-edge comedy variety series In Living Color features most of the familiar regulars along with two newcomers: Steve Park and future Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. This year's crop of guest stars include Ray Combs, Debbie Lee Carrington, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas -- not to mention all those celebrities who appear "by proxy" in the comedy sketches (Pee-Wee Herman, Al Sharpton, Clarence Thomas, Jesse Jackson, Paula Abdul, Mike Tyson, Jimmy Swaggart, Michael Jackson, Connie Chung, Sally Struthers, George Bush the First, Hammer, and Michael Bolton). And, of course, such recurring characters as Homey D. Clown, Fire Marshal Bill, Handi-Man, gay movie critics Antoine and Blaine, and Anton the Wino show up in the series' various sketches, which during the 1991-1992 season bear titles like "The Fist That Rocks the Cradle," "Hour of Power Preachers on Trial," "Crazy Polident," "Rescue Whenever," and "Wilt Chamberlain Wall." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
The fourth season of the Wayans Brothers' cutting-edge comedy sketch series In Living Color marks the first appearance of Marlon Wayans, holding his own with siblings Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans,Kim Wayans, and Shawn Wayans just as though he'd been a "regular" all along. Also making their series debuts this season are new regulars Alexandra Wentworth and Twist (aka Leroy Casey), while Steve Park has left the series for new career opportunities. And though Damon Wayans is no longer appearing regularly, he can still be seen making guest appearances in such familiar guises as Anton the Wino. While much of the series is the mixture as before, there is one significant format change, one that had been test-marketed during season three. From now on, each episode begins with a devastating spoof of a popular music video, with the regulars cutting up as faux celebrities. Longtime In Living Color fans should get a pretty good idea of what's in store for them this season by merely perusing the titles of the sketches, including "Rodney King and Reginald Denny Speak Out", "Basic Instank", "Head Detective," "Homey D Clown Meets His Son," "The Dysfunctional Home Christmas Show," "Boyz 2 Wimps," "Straight Pride Parade," and "Thema and Louise Jefferson." Also, mention must be made of the ever-increasing appearances by series regular Jamie Foxx in the recurring role of ugly, libidinous good-time girl Wanda Wayne, a character he would carry over with great success into his popular standup routine. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
The Wayans Brothers -- Keenen Ivory, Damon, Kim, and Shawn -- continue to dominate the proceedings on the cutting-edge comedy variety series In Living Color as the show begins its second season on Fox. Still, the series' other regulars -- Jim Carrey (this year introducing the character of hideously disfigured "Fire Marshal Bill"), David Alan Grier, Kelly Coffield et. al. -- are given plenty of elbow room in the many savagely satirical sketches and musical numbers. Plus, season two serves up a full complement of guest stars, including Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Billy Dee Williams, Nikki D, Leeza Gibbons, John Tesh, Ice Cube, and Public Enemy. Among the season's best individual sketches are "Homey the Clown: When Homey Met Sally," "Tag Team Evangelists," "Miss Black Person USA," "Vera DeMilo: Buffed, Beautiful, and Bitchin';" "Amazing Grace - Rocky VI;" "Handi-Man: The Justice Legion of America" (featuring a handicapped superhero); "Vanilla Ice: White, White Baby," "Anton in the Burbs," a showcase for the series' "pet wino;" "Andrew Dice Clay on Love Connection;" "Arsenio Hall of Justice;" "Fashion Tampons;" and "Clear Conscience Fur Farm and Outlet Store." ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
- 1990
The brainchild of comic actor Keenen Ivory Wayans, the Fox comedy variety series In Living Color has been described variously as the "black Laugh-In" and the "black Saturday Night Live." Whatever the case, the series garnered big laughs and bigger ratings by applying a hip, cutting-edge, Afrocentric slant on modern American culture, with freewheeling spoofs and satires of popular films, TV shows, commercials and music -- especially music. During In Living Color's first years on the air, the proceedings were dominated by Keenen Ivory Wayans and his multi-talented brothers, Damon Wayans, Kim Wayans, Shawn Wayans and (beginning with season four) Marlon Wayans. Also featured in the series' rotating repertory company were such brilliant black entertainers as David Alan Grier, T'Keyah "Crystal" Kehmah, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Rock, along with the show's "token white guy" Jim Carrey. Music was provided by some of the top R&B and rap artists in the country (Queen Latifah, Flavor Flav, and Heavy D to name but three of the many) with backup provided by the scantily-clad "Fly Girls" (one of whom was a young Jennifer Lopez). Merrily exploiting and skewering a variety of ethnic stereotypes, the series' recurring sketches and characters included "Men on Film," featuring a pair of flamboyantly gay movie critics, Blaine and Antoine ("Two snaps up"); Homey D. Clown, a dour urban kiddie entertainer ("Homey don't play that!"); SW-1 and Twist (Shawn Wayans, Leroy Casey), the show's exuberant veejays; "The Home Boys," a couple of streetwise scam artists named Wiz and Ice ("Mo' money!"), "Hey Mon," the ongoing saga of a West Indian family named the Hedleys; "The Buttmans," who looked exactly as you would expect them to look; Handi-Man, a multiple-handicapped superhero; Fire Marshall Bill (Jim Carrey), a hideously disfigured safety expert; and Wanda Wayne (played by Jamie Foxx), the ugliest, horniest gal in the 'hood. Also represented via impersonation and caricature were a number of A-list celebrities both black and white: Arsenio Hall, Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, Della Reese, Ray Charles, and many others. By the time In Living Color had entered its fifth season, all but one of the Wayans Brothers had left the show, following the lead of Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was unhappy with Fox's policy of censoring certain sketches and of overexposing existing episodes, thereby hurting their future profitability in syndication. Debuting April 15, 1990, In Living Color ran until August 25, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, (more)
