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‘Boomerang’ With Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, and Wesley Morris

May 26, 2020 · Boomerang (1992) · Comedy · Drama · Romance · 2:03:13

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 6:46Halle Berry — Career launching/peak moment for multiple actors: launches Halle Berry's career, last good thing for Robin Givens, best movie for David Alan Grier, launches Martin Lawrence's TV and movie career, revives Eddie Murphy's career
Van Lathan▶ 12:23Eddie Murphy — Launched Leela Rashawn's career and represents Eddie Murphy functioning in a new sphere of blackness, moving beyond his crossover appeal
Wesley Morris▶ 7:19Discusses the cultural significance as a big moment for Black people in movies and the pressure on the film, but doesn't specify individual career peaks

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 45:56Multiple scenes: the first lunch with Eddie Murphy, Marcus, and David Allen Greer (asparagus spears scene); Marcus sleeping with Lady Eloise then seeing Robin Givens at work; Eddie and Robin Givens flirting at the party ('when I seduce you' scene)
Van Lathan▶ 48:06Praised the lunch scene and Lady Eloise sequence, particularly noting the butler's reactions and how Eddie wrote scenes addressing rumors about himself
Wesley Morris▶ 50:55Discussed the breeziness and self-confidence essential to romantic comedy scenes, particularly praising the chemistry between confident characters who challenge each other

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:32Halle Berry's performance in this movie
Van Lathan▶ 1:24:43Agrees with Halle Berry's performance, noting she displays charisma and star power despite unfair perceptions of her acting ability at the time
Wesley Morris▶ 1:25:31Supports the Halle Berry pick while discussing broader context about black actors working with black directors and how Berry's best work came in those collaborations

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 1:33:22The racist store clerk's abrupt 'we don't keep cash in the store' line from the shopping scene, though not the entire scene; also mentions disliking Tisha Campbell's one-note performance and the excessive fade to black cuts in the last 45 minutes
Van Lathan▶ 1:34:57The amateurish fade to black cuts, specifically the one after they watch the commercial that was bad even as a kid
Wesley Morris▶ 1:33:58Acknowledges the racist store clerk scene as problematic but found it comedically effective as a parody of racist things that happen to people in stores

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:35:29Halle Berry — Shared casting facts: Hudlin wanted Halle Berry who got the role after Murphy approved her screen test; Robin Givens was controversial with executives but they fought for her; Vanessa Williams was backup for Jacqueline role
Wesley Morris▶ 1:37:01Vanessa Williams — Agreed that casting Vanessa Williams instead of Robin Givens would have been 'a different movie'

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:37:35Jeffrey Holder (the creepy ad guy)

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:39:17John Witherspoon — John Witherspoon - calls it potentially the all-time Dion Waiters performance and suggests renaming the award after him
Van Lathan▶ 1:39:26John Witherspoon — John Witherspoon - says it belongs in the Dion Waiters Hall of Fame and could be the most memorable scene of the entire movie
Wesley Morris▶ 1:40:42John Witherspoon — John Witherspoon - agrees but suggests keeping the award name as 'Dion Waiters' for Dion's sake

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:43:47Shared multiple trivia facts: Eddie Murphy created the film idea and took it to his SNL writers; Eartha Kitt was hardest to cast due to offensive material; cut scene of Grace Jones naked at Newark airport was used in perfume commercial; Jules and Jim influenced the love triangle story; Lila Rashad's feet were made to look ugly with makeup
Van Lathan▶ 1:44:07Reacted to the trivia with surprise about Eartha Kitt doing the film and agreement about David Alan Grier's great performance and career potential
Wesley Morris▶ 1:45:45Focused on David Alan Grier's performance quality and theorized about his career challenges, suggesting he was unlucky with timing and caught between being overqualified for supporting roles but not quite leading man material

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:51:00Angela moves in too fast with Marcus and the movie's timeline is confusing - she moves in quickly after hooking up, then four months later they break up and she has a new job with perfume already out, but the overall movie timeline spans at least three years
Wesley Morris▶ 1:51:41Suggests there's a three hour cut of the movie that would address the pacing issues, but agrees the current two hour version flows well

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:51:56Love should have brought your ass home last night
Van Lathan▶ 1:52:36Don't get pussy whipped, whip that pussy
Wesley Morris▶ 1:53:01I'm giving you my Mac Daddy vibes here

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 2:00:50Eddie Murphy — Eddie Murphy - calls it his best adult performance and says he uses all the pieces, gets the most out of himself, and makes other people in the movie better
Van Lathan▶ 1:57:57Halle Berry — Halle Berry - argues she's the hidden star, this was her stickiest role to date, and her reputation was buoyed by this movie for a long time
Wesley Morris▶ 1:59:36Eddie Murphy — Eddie Murphy - says the movie changes his career trajectory, liberates him to go more interesting places, and reinvests his interest in depicting black family life and culture

Movies Referenced (35)

Basic Instinct (1992)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 24:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Pretty Woman (1990)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:34:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

5 mentions · Wesley Morris, Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 17:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sin City (2005)

4 mentions · Van Lathan, Wesley Morris▶ 22:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Coming to America (1988)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 10:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Do the Right Thing (1989)

3 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 10:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harlem Nights (1989)

3 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons▶ 3:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Higher Learning (1995)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jungle Fever (1991)

3 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 55:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Star Trek (2009)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:22:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

28 Years Later (2025)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 6:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

House Party (1990)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 8:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (3)

Reginald Hudlin

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for House Party▶ 6:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Spike Lee

2 mentions · Wesley Morris, Van Lathan · Known for Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, She's Gotta Have It▶ 8:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mihir Lath

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 2:02:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (54)

Eddie Murphy

84 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Wesley Morris · Known for Harlem Nights, The Nutty Professor▶ 2:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Halle Berry

48 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Die Another Day▶ 4:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robin Givens

40 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Wesley Morris · Known for Boomerang▶ 4:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Martin Lawrence

28 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Wesley Morris▶ 4:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Witherspoon

27 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Van Lathan · Known for Friday, Next Friday▶ 45:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Grace Jones

15 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for A View to a Kill, Conan the Destroyer▶ 23:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mike Tyson

10 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for The Hangover▶ 25:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sharon Stone

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead▶ 24:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eartha Kitt

8 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris · Known for Holes, Boomerang▶ 11:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tisha Campbell

5 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons · Known for Little Shop of Horrors, House Party▶ 8:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Angela Bassett

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Strange Days, Black Panther▶ 32:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chris Rock

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for Top Five, The Longest Yard▶ 6:26IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (7)

David Allen

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Wesley Morris, Van Lathan▶ 45:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

3 mentions · Wesley Morris, Bill Simmons▶ 37:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Harvey Weinstein

2 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons · Known for Shakespeare in Love, The Hateful Eight▶ 1:36:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Andrew Cosby

1 mentions · Van Lathan▶ 43:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dana Gills

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Deepwater Horizon▶ 35:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Sheffield

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Boomerang, The Nutty Professor, Coming to America▶ 1:43:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Nora Ephron

1 mentions · Wesley Morris · Known for Julie & Julia, When Harry Met Sally...▶ 3:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (2)

Bet Rourich

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 4:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 2:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗