“Divas deserve more attention and more understanding than they already get” … Is that your thesis? Mariah Carey, Madonna and Beyoncé deserve more attention? Hmmmmm, well, allow me to rebut: “pppppffffffffthh.” Perhaps I’m being too harsh; I suppose piffle needs a point-of-view, too. But, seriously, the last thing Madonna needs is more attention. You feel invisible, misunderstood, neglected, Ms. Ciccone? Boo hoo. Welcome to life.
Beyond the Lights gives as sympathetic, if one-sided, view of a diva. As a little girl, Noni (India Jean-Jacques) is presented as a tool of mom (Minnie Driver). Minnie here combines the pigheadedness of Lohan parent with the accent of a Lohan chauffeur. Hence, Noni grows up to be the kind of gal who shows off her incredible voice by using an invisible thigh master in rock videos. BtL is fairly stingy with that voice; adult Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, straight A student at the Benedict Cumberbatch School of Bad Hollywood Names) gets cut off in each and every piece of hip hop junk until a karaoke moment late in the film. Yes, Lady Gugu can sing, but you have to wait until Act III to get real proof.
That’s all irrelevant. Story is Noni feels all depressed and alone in Beverly Hills and tries to jump off a balcony, but Cop Kaz (Nate
Parker) saves her, and the two develop a Lady & the Tramp relationship of glitz and burgers. He digs her; she digs the way he makes her feel. Hey Noni, Noni … it’s a Noni-coup. This material is done a lot better in Notting Hill; the music was a lot better in *shudder* The Bodyguard.
My apologies to Madonna, but this is the kind of film one makes to meet celebrities … real celebrities, not just the ones in your film. Gina Prince-Bythewood wrote and directed this like she wanted a specific superstar to pay attention: “Hey, [Katy Perry, Aretha Franklin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, etc.], I understand, girl.” Liking this movie is admitting that celebrities are, in fact, more important than other people — they deserve our sympathy because we just don’t know how it is. No, that’s true, we don’t. And just because they entertain me doesn’t mean they don’t have emotions. BUT, and I’ll repeat it if I need to, just because they have emotions doesn’t make their emotions more important than those of the masses. Your voice? That makes you special; let’s stop there before we embarrass ourselves, shall we?
1:00 Sleeping past noon, isn’t it swell?
2:00 Woke up too soon, oh life is Hell
3:00 What’s my cause today … any suggestions?
4:00 Press conference blues, so many questions
5:00 Give a speech, pretend I’m no sinner
6:00 Eat a tic-tac, it’s time for dinner
7:00 Early for concert? Hey, that’s a laugh
8:00 Make ’em wait more; I’m a star-and-a-half
9:00 A wig and a wink and the crowd is my toy
10:00 Can turn any man into a small boy
11:00 Check out, y’all how my magnificence glistens
12:00 Gonna kill myself, nobody listens!
Rated PG-13, 116 Minutes
D: Gina Prince-Bythewood
W: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Genre: Diva Soul
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Beyoncé
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of the Big Band era
