THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605040034
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
IS ``The Great White Hype'' a satire on racism or merely racist?
In either case, it has a mildly interesting plot, with hints that it is aiming for more substance than the usual knockabout farce.
It isn't a knockout, but it at least goes the distance - although the distance is just one hour and 27 minutes.
It's a bit of a strain to make light sport of boxing, with its corruption and violence, but director Reginald Hudlin manages to keep things featherweight.
The plot asks us to believe that ticketbuyers won't shell out money to see a black man fight a black man as readily as they will to see a black champion challenged by a white man.
For this reason, flamboyant promoter Rev. Fred Sultan overlooks the obvious black challenger and drags up a lackluster rock singer from Cleveland to challenge the champ, James ``The Grim Reaper'' Roper. The challenger is billed as ``Irish'' Terry Conklin and the match is billed as the ``Fight of the Millennium.''
The challenger seemingly has no chance, even though years ago he did knock out Roper in an amateur bout. More recently, Conklin's been singing with a group called Massive Head Wound.
The playing is broad.
Samuel L. Jackson, an actor who is capable of handling much more challenging roles, hams it up as the reverend - an obvious reference to promoter Don King and his shenanigans. Wearing a turban and flicking cigar ashes in all directions, Jackson is the con man supreme.
Neither Damon Wayans as the Grim Reaper nor Peter Berg as the clean-cut challenger look much like fighters, particularly not heavyweights, but, after all, this is meant to be a comedy.
Wayans is kept more in the background than you might expect. Berg, currently in TV's ``Chicago Hope,'' was promising in a recent Los Angeles theater thriller about AIDS. He's had experience in playing dumb characters via his role in ``The Last Seduction.''
The best role in the film is taken by Jeff Goldblum as a gung-ho television filmmaker. Goldblum suggests hypocrisy mixed with greed. Corbin Bernsen, Jon Lovitz and Cheech Marin merely blend into the background with nothing roles.
``The Great White Hype'' has just enough cheekiness to lift it a bit above the ordinary sports comedies. Just a bit. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``The Great White Hype''
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Damon Wayans, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Berg,
Jon Lovitz, Corbin Bernsen, Cheech Marin
Director: Reginald Hudlin
MPAA rating: R (profanity, violence)
Mal's rating: Two 1/2 stars
Locations: Area theaters
by CNB