Gabby Soleil Movies
Popular Adult Swim show on Cartoon Network! Based on Aaron McGruder's comic strip which was distributed in 350 newspapers nationwide. Granddad sneaks the boys into the movies to be cheap. Sarah's obsession with Usher after meeting him threatens her relationship with Tom. Riley and Granddad refuse to talk with cops about two local thieves, even after Granddad's car is stolen. Stinkmeaner's spirit possesses Tom and he tries to get revenge on Granddad. Riley joins the basketball team, and the boys fight over who will be boss while Granddad's on vacation.
- Starring:
- John Witherspoon, Regina King, (more)
Based on the syndicated comic strip of Aaron MacGruder one of only a few African American cartoonists and arguably the most successful this animated show appeared on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. MacGruder satirizes race relations and contemporary culture in a dry cynical way that pulls no punches and generates a great deal of controversy along the way. The show follows protagonist Huey a 10-year-old revolutionary-in-training and Riley his 8-year-old brother and future gangsta. The boys have been moved from their home on Chicago's South Side to the suburban "boondocks" to live with their grandfather where they get into trouble and comment freely upon the idiosyncracies--to put it mildly--of the white people in whose culture they are now immersed. In season one Huey and Riley debate R. Kelly Huey directs "The Adventures of Black Jesus" for the school Christmas play and Grandad opens up Woodcrest's first soul-food restaurant.
- Starring:
- John Witherspoon, Regina King, (more)
After the death of his beloved wife, Helen (Lynne Moody), wealthy African-American suburbanite William Campbell (James Earl Jones) finds that Helen has left behind a "living will" in the form of a videotape. As William watches the video, his late wife urges him to take his huge personal library down to the tough inner-city neighborhood and to establish a reading room. Though confused by this request, William does exactly that, only to find that none of his new neighbors seem inclined to read -- not until he posts a sign reading FREE SODA. Ever so slowly, a few "regulars" trickle into the reading room, among them an idealistic young special-ed teacher (Joanna Cassidy), a high-schooler (Keith Robinson) studying for his SATS, and a little girl (Gabby Soleil) who hopes to get her mother to learn to read. For the most part, however, William's little sanctuary is the target of break-ins and the hangout for local gang members, and with this in mind it isn't surprising that several people encourage him to pack up and get out -- none more adamantly than the Reverend Rashid Rahim (played by George Stanford Brown, the film's director), a self-appointed urban activist who perceives in William a threat to his supremacy. Eventually, whether or not William stays or goes boils down to his attempt at "redeeming" a youthful thief named Javier (Douglas Spain) -- and it is at this point in the narrative that William finally understands why Helen wanted him to open up the reading room in the first place. Filmed with the endorsement of the National Center for Family Literacy, The Reading Room was produced for cable's Hallmark Channel, where it first aired on November 26, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Georg Stanford Brown, (more)
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer serves as both producer and star of this comedy about a family who discovers just how much can go wrong en route to a family get-together. When Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) is invited to a big family reunion in Missouri, he sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with his estranged wife and growing children, as well as a chance to show up his wealthier know-it-all brother, Mack (Steve Harvey). Nate takes delivery on an expensive new SUV, persuades his recently separated wife, Dorothy (Vanessa L. Williams), to tag along, and packs up his three kids -- nubile teenager Nikki (Solange Knowles), under-age wannabe rapper D.J. (Bow Wow), and precocious seven-year-old Destiny (Gabby Soleil) -- for what he imagines will be a leisurely drive from Los Angeles to St. Louis. However, between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, bizarre hitchhikers, bad diner food, and an unfortunate run-in with a cement mixer, getting from point A to point B proves to be just short of a nightmare. Johnson Family Vacation was the first feature film for director Christopher Erskin, who previously distinguished himself directing music videos for the likes of Missy Elliot, TLC, and Boyz II Men. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, (more)
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