I spent the weekend, mostly glued in front of my television, watching movies. TVOne had some awesome movies on this weekend, and I just went along for the ride. I am fighting some anxiety (more on this later), so I needed to chill out, and these movies did just the trick…

Claudine

The incredibly beautiful Diahann Carroll, the talented James Earl Jones, and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs at his best…Claudine is one film that should be on everyone’s list to see. Claudine is raising six children, and is on welfare, when she begins a relationship with Rupert (Roop), who is a garbage collector. The thing is, if “they” find out that she is even dating him, her welfare benefits are reduced and if they get married, then they can’t afford to raise the kids without her benefits. Talk about complicated…the kids don’t like Roop, and the oldest (LH-J) is just downright nasty to him, because he thinks that Roop will be like the other suckers who have come into his mother’s life and left her there all alone with the kids.

At the core of this movie, though, is the strength of Claudine. She is a single mother who is doing the very best she can to keep her children together. The bond is strong, and so is she. Life doesn’t always guarantee that things will be rosy and bright, but it does teach us to make the best of what we have. I think that is the lesson that I learned from Claudine. And, the music is out of this world! Curtis Mayfield wrote and produced, Gladys Knight and the Pips sing…it is heavenly!

Uptown Saturday Night / Let’s Do It Again

I remember spending the night at my granny’s house and her laughing so loud in her bedroom that she woke the whole house up…when we went in to check on her, she was laying in her bed, holding her stomach, with tears rolling down her face from laughing so hard. She was laughing at Let’s Do It Again, with Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby…when I finally saw for myself what she was laughing at, I had to admit that it was pure comedy! Sidney is excellent as the straight man, and well, Bill was at his comedic best. In Uptown Saturday Night, Wardell (Bill Cosby) convinces Steve (Sidney Poitier) to go to this uptown nightclub. While there, they are robbed and Steve’s wallet is stolen. Steve finds out the next day that he has won the lottery and the wackiness ensues!

Let’s Do It Again takes the cake though. I think I laughed from the beginning of this movie until the end. It’s kinda like Richard Pryor’s Which Way Is Up? (a true classic) in that the funniness never ends. This time, the two are trying to raise funds for their brotherhood club. They decide to fix a boxing match, with none other than Jimmie J. J. Walker as Bootney Farnsworth. It is also worth noting that James Evans John Amos is in this film as Kansas City Mack and fine ass Calvin Lockhart stars as Biggie Smalls (yeah, this is where Biggie got his name from).

Purple Rain

What more can be said? The acting is terrible, save for Clarence Williams III, but the music is phenomenal. The storyline is easy to follow, but I think the draw is Prince himself. It is easy to believe that he went through some of these things, and to feel his angst and frustration. Troubles with his parents, with his girl, competition with the other band (I think it was hater-ade myself…Morris was jealous)…all of this combined to make him push even further. But once he finally opened up and got with the program, the ending was incredible! I could watch Purple Rain over and over again, if for the music alone.

So that’s my weekend in a nutshell…what did you do?

I saw this during my Stumbling, and thought that it was worth posting…enjoy! 

• Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully
• Memorize your favorite poem
• Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want
• When you say, “I love you,” mean it
• When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye
• Be engaged at least six months before you get married
• Believe in love at first sight
• Never laugh at anyone’s dreams
• Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely
• In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling
• Don’t judge people by their relatives. “NO KIDDING”
• Talk slow but think quick
• When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
• Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk
• Call your mom
• Say “Bless You” when you hear someone sneeze
• When you lose, don’t lose the lesson
• Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions
• Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship
• When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it
• Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice
• Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, his/her conversational skills
  will be as important as any other
• Spend some time alone
• Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values
• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer
• Read more books and watch less TV
• Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time
• Trust in God but lock your car
• A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home
• In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past
• Read between the lines
• Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality
• Be gentle with the earth
• Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it
• Never interrupt when you are being flattered
• Mind your own business
• Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you kiss them
• Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before
• If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction
• Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck
• Learn the rules then break some
• Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other
• Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it
• Remember that your character is your destiny
• Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon