Oh, my guuudness! Jumping on the Tyler Perry train, Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence are set to star in a feature film based on outrageous female characters last seen on 'In Living Color' and 'Martin.'
Screen Gems has acquired Sheneneh and Wanda, a comic vehicle for Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence to star in.
The duo is set to play female characters they developed during their stand-up comedy days in the comic caper film. Foxx will write the script, and he and Martin will produce it together through Foxx's Foxxhole and Lawrence's Runteldat banners (production companies).
The project originated as a parody of a movie trailer for a film called 'Skank Robbers,' which Foxx and Lawrence made for the BET Awards.
The reaction was strong enough that the duo decided to turn the concept into a real film. In the comedy, Sheneneh and Wanda are modern-day independent women trying to make it on their own, one bank robbery at a time.
I'm sure I would not apply the term "modern-day independent woman" to throwback parodies Sheneneh or Wanda. In fact, it's an insult. And where Foxx's Wanda used to throw me into hysterics and Wanda's "Heyyyyyy" was my go-to to get a laugh back in the day, I don't think an impoverished woman with a wandering eye is so funny anymore. And I can see Sheneneh's limited world view and not-so-smart life choices even if the male creator of her character doesn't perceive her that way.
From Eddie Murphy in 'Doctor Doolittle' to Martin Lawrence in 'Big Momma's House' to Tyler Perry as Madea, the number of black men dressing as black women for laughs is feeling oppressive. Maybe it's worse because there are so few strong black female characters to counterbalance these jokes. Even the vision of the strong "urban babe" bank robber has been relegated to the '90s -- unless you're on Wall Street. We are more than a decade away from 'Set if Off.' As troubled as those main characters were, they were strong, smart and dimensional.
What say YOU? Is there anything wrong with black men dressing up as black women for laughs?
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