It's tough trying to entertain a four year old. I have no four year old friendly movies in my collection, so I have to pretty much rely on Comcast. Later after the little one was tucked away I broke out an oldie but a goody in my collection. It's while watching this particular movie that an idea came to me for this post.
So I was thinking; who are the top ten movie house Negroes of all time? I have my ten. Check it out and tell me what you think. If you have someone who should be on my list, by all means, please let the rest of us know about them.
Here is my list in no particular order:
1. Hoppin Bob from the movie Life. (The prisoners were more afraid of Brent Jennings character than they were of the warden. And you always got the impression throughout the movie that the warden had less respect for Hoppin Bob than he did the prisoners he was charged to keep.)
2. Bagger Vance from the movie with the same name. (Will, you are my homie, but come on.......don't you ever pick a script like that again)
3. Wendell from Get On The Bus. (Wendell Pierce played the hell out of this character. That line where he says to Ossie Davis; "why Nigger?" had me on the floor. But a used car salesman who sells Cadillacs and is proud of the fact that he didn't go to "one of them Nigger schools"? They should have thrown his ass off the bus a whole lot sooner)
4. C.J. Memphis from A Soldiers Story. (Am I the only one who thinks that Adolph Caesar's character, Sgt. Waters, was right?)
5. Sam, from Casablanca. (Sam, you don't have to play shit for me ever again. Dooley Wilson played Sam. The Negro's name was Dooley, so I guess playing Sam made perfect sense.)
6. Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump. (Run from this house Negro Forrest, run. I loved Mykelti Washington in "Con Air", hated him in Forrest Gump. It's S-H-R-I-M-P negro S-H-R-I-M-P!)
7. Left Hand Lacy from Mo Better Blues. (It's not the fact that Giancarlo Esposito's character was in a interracial relationship, it's the fact that he was so proud of it.)
8. Mammy from Gone With The Wind (Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar, and the first to sing on the radio. That's all great; but sorry Hattie, you were still Mammy in Gone With The Wind.)
9. Charlene Morton from Bringing Down The House. (Perfect title for that Queen Latifah fiasco.)
10. And last but certainly not least: My man Hoke Colburn from Driving Miss Daisey. (If I have to explain why to you then you might be a house Negro.)
