Summary
- The film portrays the undying friendship between three black women through the joys and sorrows of life.
- The ensemble’s strong performances add depth to the emotional narrative of friendship and support, making us forget the film’s meaningless supporting characters and weak attempts at humor.
- Despite some Lifetime Movie-style moments, the heartwarming portrayal of enduring friendship shines through all the melodrama.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat tells the decades-long friendship between three very different black women. The narrative jumps back and forth between their teenage years and the turn of the 21st century, with laughter, tragedy and crises galore, mixed together like a malted milkshake. The odd tear may be shed, the film pours melodrama on thick in a Lifetime movie of the week fashion that does not help the long running time, irregular pace and run-of-the-mill supporting charactersNevertheless, both main ensembles are lovable and fill the screen with palpable heartBest friends love and care for each other through good times and bad.
Young, hopeful girls form a wonderful friendship
In 1999 in Plainview, Indiana, Odette (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), suffering from cancer, lies beneath a sycamore tree. She recalls the story of her birth 50 years ago. Her mother, fed up with being pregnant after 10 long months, pays a witch to speed up the process. She is instructed to climb a tree to send baby Odette into the world. The film portrays Odette as strong and capable from her first breath.
18 years later, teenager Odette’s (Kyanna Simone) domineering mother forces her and Clarice (Abigail Achiri), a talented concert pianist, to bring fried chicken to the wake of a deceased neighbor. The girls are stunned to find no one there except a frightened Barbara Jean (Tati Gabrielle) in the clutches of her wicked stepfather. Odette realizes they can’t leave the shy girl alone after her mother’s death.
Odette and Clarice take Barbara Jean to Earl’s all-you-can-eat restaurant. She meets Richmond, Clarice’s boyfriend, a football star, and James, his shy best friend, who loves Odette but is completely intimidated by her. Odette informs Big Earl (Tony Winters) of the terrible situation Barbara Jean is in at home. Big Earl and his wife decide to take Barbara Jean in on the spot. Big Earl names the trio of young, hopeful girls the Supremes, after the famous Motown group headlined by Diana Ross.
The melodrama of this film is as thick as molasses
Based on the bestselling novel by Edward Kelsey Moore. The girls’ lives become intertwined as each of them faces a rocky road to maturity. Sanaa Lathan and Uzo Aduba play the grown-up Barbara Jean and Clarice. Their hopes and dreams are often put on hold when they make important decisions that steer their futures in the wrong direction. Odette, who narrates the story, looks at the ups and downs with a mix of humor and regret. The Supremes remain unaware of her cancer diagnosis while she helps them overcome significant hurdles.
There is a lot going on here. Director Tina Mabry (Mississippi damnedthe OWN series Queen Sugar) examines each character and the events that shape them in great detail. For example, race becomes a factor when teenager Barbara Jean falls in love with Ray (Ryan Paynter), a white busboy given a job by the nice Big Earl and allowed to sleep in the storeroom. He too is the child of abuse and suffers from the town’s racist menace. Ray’s drunken brother Desmond (Jesse Gallego) makes a sport of chasing black people in his truck. Odette and Clarice warn Barbara about the dangers of an interracial romance.
We witness the aftermath of events that took place years earlier. The ill-fated romance between Barbara Jean and Ray is just one of several awkward situations the friends have been involved in. This is where the film falls into the contrived and predictable. Matches lit in their youth explode into bushfires over time. These scenes are meant to be the most dramatic and touching, but they feel contrived.
Decades of friendship portrayed in an encouraging way
Mabry, who also co-wrote the script, wants to address dreams that aren’t realized because of fear and complacency. The characters are haunted by the regret of not pursuing what made them happy. As adults, of course, they get a second chance to correct those mistakes, so the Lifetime soap opera allows for a happy new beginning.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat Used silly supporting characters to balance the drama with humor. An extended gag about Big Earl’s second wife is painfully stupid throughout. Thankfully, the talented lead cast, made up of Hollywood veterans and brilliant newcomers, overcomes this with genuine comedic chemistry. Simone is a real hoot as young Odette, and Ellis-Taylor takes over the baton into adulthood.. Her blunt, unbridled portrayal of the hard truth will have you laughing out loud. Mabry would have helped the sluggish second act by cutting out the silly nonsense and putting Odette’s devastating attacks front and center.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eatactivates the Girl Power box in a strengthening and uplifting wayOdette, Clarice and Barbara Jean have an unbreakable bond. They argue and can be hurtful, but they are always there to help when needed. The value of true friendship is never underestimated and their honest portrayal gives the film a certain quality despite some rough spots.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat is a production of Temple Hill Entertainment and Searchlight Pictures. The film is currently available to stream on Hulu. You can watch it using the link below.
Watch on Hulu
