THE SUPREMES AT EARL'S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Tina Mabry
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Sanaa Lathan, Uzo Aduba, Mekhi Phifer, Julian McMahon, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Russell Hornsby
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Writer: Cee Marcellus (Gina Prince-Blythewood), Tina Mabry
Runtime: 124 min
Rated: PG-13 for thematic content, sexual content, strong language including racial slurs, and violent content
Buy This Movie: Apple TV

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Synopsis:

THE SUPREMES AT EARL'S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT follows a trio of best friends (Uzo Aduba, Aunjanue Ellis, Sanaa Lathan) known as "The Supremes" who, for decades, has weathered life's storms together through marriage and children, happiness and blues. Now, as heartbreak and illness stir up the past and threaten to destroy their friendship, Odette, Barbara Jean and Clarice see their bond put to the test as they go through their most challenging times yet.

Review:

"The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat" marks the directorial debut of TV writer/director Tina Mabry ("Queen of the South", "Queen Sugar"), and is an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name by Edward Kelsey Moore that follows the friendship between three Black women over a span of 40 years, from the late 1960s until the early 2010s. Adapted by Mabry and Gina Prince-Blythewood ("The Woman King", "The Old Guard") under the pseudonym Cee Marcellus, the film also becomes the story of an entire community, and while it takes a while to get to the meat of the material, it's an earnestly heartwarming and casually watchable melodrama.

The cynic in me started watching this movie with his claws out, ready to skewer it for the slightest dip into saccharine territory. And at least a quarter to half of this movie does indeed suffer from a heavy-handed narrative style. Most of the usual cliches are also present, ranging from adultery and alcoholism to illness and loss. But it also does a good job building a convincing bond between the three protagonists, and I found myself more invested than I expected I would be.

A healthy balance between tender humor and soap-opera drama goes a long way in keeping the film watchable, as do the lead performances. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Sanaa Lathan and Uzo Aduba play the older women, while Kyanna Simone, Tati Gabrielle and Abigail Achiri star as their younger versions. Everyone does a decent enough job with the material, and manage to liven up the story.

While the cinematic language employed here is fairly simplistic, the film still manages to hit the right heart strings. I suspect the merit belongs mostly to the source material, which I confess, I have not read. To Mabry's credit, the movie communicates its themes efficiently enough, and even though there's nothing groundbreaking here, on the whole it's an enjoyable watch.

SCORE: 7/10