Lorraine Hansberry's play, the first written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway, premiered in 1959 with Sidney Poitier in the lead (he reprised his stage role in the well-regarded 1961 film version). This ABC-aired made-for-TV film version of the recent Broadway revival finds erstwhile hip-hop star Sean Combs (no “Puffy,” “Puff Daddy,” or “P. Diddy” in his billing) attempting to fill Poitier's shoes—a very tall order indeed. Amazingly, while critics stopped short of putting Combs' stage performance on a par with Poitier's, most were impressed with the rapper's sincerity and passion. Retaining the 1950s Chicago setting, this earnest production focuses on the Younger family, who are eagerly awaiting payment of the $10,000 life insurance payment due to them following the death of the patriarch. Each member has different ideas of how to use the money: daughter Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan) hopes to finance any one of her several career dreams, son Walter Lee (Combs) would like to invest in a liquor store, and mother Lena (Phylicia Rashad) wants to put the money towards the purchase of a house in an upscale white neighborhood. Director Kenny Leon remains faithful to the play's kitchen-sink realism, though his handling of the material feels somewhat stage-bound, but the performances are uniformly effective, with Combs solidly registering in a demanding role. Recommended. (E. Hulse)
A Raisin in the Sun
Sony, 131 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99, May 13 Volume 23, Issue 4
A Raisin in the Sun
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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