Terrence Dashon Howard Movies
A young boy grows up among a makeshift family of oddballs and dreamers in this adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's acclaimed one-man show. Ruben Junior (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young boy who was born in the late '40s into a family that started crumbling not long after he was born. Ruben Junior's parents were from Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, and were living in a rooming house run by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose place was a hub for the local African-American community. When Ruben Junior's parents split up, he and his mother return to Lackawanna and Nanny's rooming house; with mother overworked physically and in sad shape emotionally, Nanny takes Ruben Junior under her wing, and offers him the sort of nurturing she gives all her boarders. Nanny's house is full of people struggling for a fresh start in life, ranging from former convicts to recovering drug addicts, and she opens both her doors and her heart to them as they strive to make themselves better people. Ruben Junior finds a loving home amidst the colorful eccentrics in Nanny's circle of friends, but as America changes over the course of the 1950s and '60s, so does the neighborhood where Nanny and her tenants live -- and not for the better. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Lackawanna Blues features a stellar supporting cast, including Delroy Lindo, Louis Gossett Jr., Rosie Perez, Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, and Ernie Hudson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- S. Epatha Merkerson, Julie Benz, (more)
The proprietor of a beauty salon that serves as the one remaining thread that ties her community together finds her last bastion of unity threatened by eminent domain in Barbershop director Mark Brown's adaptation of Shelly Garrett's hit stage play Beauty Shop. Jenny (Vivica A. Fox) owns a modest neighborhood beauty parlor that is hugely popular with the folks who reside on her street, but mom-and-pop businesses are going belly-up all over the place and lately a corporate giant has been clamoring to set-up shop on the block. Despite formidable pressure from the Department of Water and Power, however, Jenny refuses to accept the offer made for her shop and decides to test her luck against the DWP in the local courthouse. Monica Calhoun, Kym Whitley, Darrin Henson, and Terrence Dashon Howard co-star in an underdog comedy that shows just how fierce some people are willing to fight in order to maintain their sense of community. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivica A. Fox, Kym E. Whitley, (more)
Filmmaker Tyler Maddox-Simms follows up his 1999 debut, Beverly Hood, with this romantic comedy-drama centering on a radio call-in show. A pair of talk show hosts team with a relationship-guide author to help listeners improve their relationships. Eventually, the trio unwittingly expose their own love-related baggage. Starring Terrence Howard and Robin Givens, Love Chronicles screened at the American Black Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
