A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy in this pulpy mystery caper.
Like most, I can imagine you’ve never heard the name Juel Taylor. I sure hadn’t, but he’s on my radar now. After the trailer was released for They Cloned Tyrone, of course, I was hooked. My interest level rose through the ceiling with excitement. Jamie Foxx, Teyonna Parris, and John Boyega at the lead? I didn’t care what the film was about. I just wanted to see it with such a great cast for my own personal taste. There were no doubts in my mind that this film could deliver. The amount of joy that overcame my body with the thought of an all-Black led film on Netflix gave me something to look forward to, and new director Juel Taylor is responsible for that. With me being obviously biased I can admit the film is far from perfect, however, I thought the writing and small details about the underground Black community were spot-on genius.
There’s a lot to love within this film starting with that visual aesthetic, the cinematography. It feels as if this was shot on film instead of digitally. The film grain polish added to the shots creates the setting that this was made decades ago playing fresh off a new VHS tape in your VCR. Yet the events take place during modern recent years. It’s a fun element that’s explored just to get you into the groove of things.
The soundtrack and costumes were fire as well. There’s a well-rounded list of old school classics that drop during this film and fit perfectly, including the popular hit “Tyrone” (1995) by Erykah Badu. The rest are familiar titles that will at the very least get your body moving while you’re taking all of this in, including some of the score that was put together by Pierre Charles & Desmond Murray. Many characters, especially the leads, had their own distinct colors that they wore, which treated them like characters out of a comic book superhero movie. Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), the entrepreneur/pimp rocked a purple suit and jacket. Fontaine (John Boyega), the hustler, embraced green earth tones, and YoYo (Teyonah Parris), the working girl, wore a burnt yellow that complimented her dark skin. They’re an unlikely trio but came together in the film looking like the Black Power Rangers. It was hilarious yet felt unintentional which is delightful. Other characters had their signature swag too, and it all added a bit of spice and distinguished their characters from one to the other.
What makes They Cloned Tyrone so great is the funny adventure aspect of it. This isn’t a horror movie, but a popular trope running in the Black community is that if Black people were part of the cast of a horror movie the film would be over within 20 minutes, because we would outsmart the nefarious antagonist. So, this film takes that same concept but puts it in a comedic adventure in the hood. When the crap hits the fan the three leads are able to put their heads together, put their differences aside, and work as a team to get the outcome they desire. Did I say they did all of this while making you laugh too? It is a hilarious journey that they embark on. What makes it funny is there’s so much you can relate to as a Black person. Every character in this film you’ve met before at one point in your life, and so when you see them in the film your eyes will get big. There are a ton of stereotypes in this film that some would feel are negative but the writing flips them upside down, turning them into positives to increase the quality of the script and plot. It was a clever, rich move that was part of the icing on the cake for this film. While so many people may not feel this way, nearly everyone in the community has an important part to play whether it is the pastor at the local church or the man down on his luck outside of the liquor store. You matter and this film says so.
The movie also deals with the notions of government conspiracies as well. Are they really experimenting on Black people? This is fact and has actually taken place over the last one hundred years or so to Black people in this country. So it isn’t a stretch to have that as the main plot within this film. It just hit home harder, due to it being based in actual reality. This film makes fun of it in a unique way and it’s extremely satisfying to watch, especially with some of the surrounding cast that pops up towards the middle and end to escalate the drama. The film breaks it all down with the stereotypes ranging from the music Black people sing and dance to, the fried chicken Black people eat, the products in their hair, and the drinks Black people consume. It’s an interesting take on things and might change your perspective on many aspects of life as well.
However, the runtime of this film was right at two hours, and the first twenty-five to thirty minutes didn’t deliver as well as the last two acts. We meet Fontaine early on in the film, and to be honest, he wasn’t the most convincing character at fulfilling his role. You still like him, and the code he lived by, but the performance from Boyega was lacking in a few areas. Him trying to portray a hustler from the streets of Glen unfortunately didn’t reach its full potential and stuck out like a sore thumb at times. In addition to that, given the story, it was probably obvious that some random character will show up at the end in a white coat to explain what’s been going on and why. This should’ve been ironed out more to answer and address all questions and concerns, but it feels as if we only got the cliff notes. There’s also an underlying theme of whether you are actually living your life, or just existing, and that’s brought to the forefront when we’re getting to know the main cast more, especially YoYo. She’s not just a working girl on the corner. She’s smart and has ambitions of achieving more in life, which is respected.
Overall, They Cloned Tyrone is a must-see and an absolutely fun ride. There are barely any white people in this film, but that doesn’t mean that all groups of people no matter how they look won’t be able to appreciate the contents that are within. It’s a fun hilarious adventure, and the way the hood came together at some points for the greater good could be used as a comedic syllabus to fight the system back for justice. Again this is just a movie stretched from reality, but there is some truth to it all. It’s a film that you can watch over and over again, and everyone involved should be proud of themselves for the hard work they put into this production.
Video Review:
SPOILERS Review:
Official Teaser:
Official Trailer:
