Ya gotta cut da crap fo' ya kin cut da mustard

April 5, 7:02 PMPhiladelphia Movie ExaminerWilliam Sternman

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In an interview after a showing of Cuttin Da Mustard at the Philadelphia Film Festival, writer-director Reed R. McCants told the audience that he wanted his semi-autobiographical movie to emphasize the importance of literacy. But rather than dive into such a heavy topic right off the bat, he decided to ease his audience into it by having some fun first.

And so he does—with jump cuts, speed-up photography, hip-hop lingo, and stereotyped comic characters and situations.

Then comes the literacy. Rolo (Brandon T. Jackson), a functionally illiterate would-be actor, decides he has to be able to read in order to cut the mustard onstage. So he locks himself up in his apartment and in one month teaches himself to read—Shakespeare, no less.

I believe McCants’ claim that this comes right out of his own life, but I didn’t believe it in his movie for a single minute.

Nor did I believe the hokey plot about a bunch of kids from Queens, none of whom have any acting or producing experience, who decide to put on a show (shades of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland from the Thirties).

Nor did I believe the subplot about a gangster who wants to close down the venue (Yo Freaks) because the owner owes him money, then changes his mind when he catches the opening-night performance. And wants to be in the show himself.

Nor, I must add, did I believe the way all the characters resolved their personal problems in time for the send-them-out-smiling ending.

The actors are all appealing, especially Jackson, Chico Benymon, Chioke Dmachi, Lil' Zane and Keshia Knight Pulliam. There are even guest appearances by Sinbad and Charles L. Dutton.

But when you strip away the frenetic (and tiring) editing, what you have left is an updated sitcom, pure and simple, crafted to appeal to those who are looking for that kind of thing.

One of the comments on the MySpace site (where you can watch a video) tells it like it is: “Ohh i wanna c dis cuz i lUV me some BRANDON T JACKSON.” The prosecution rests.

Frankly, my dears, I prefer Mickey and Judy. Hey, kids. let’s put on a real show.