Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Spikeopath
Made in America is directed by Richard Benjamin and collectively written by Marcia Brandwynne, Nadine Schiff and Holly Goldberg Sloan. It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson, Nia Long, Will Smith and Jennifer Tilly.When doing a biology project at school, Zora (Long) notices that her blood group is different from her mothers, Sarah (Goldberg). Having never known her father, Zora learns that she was the product of artificial insemination. Quickly setting off to find out who her father is, it comes as a big shock when it turns out he's tall white car salesman Hal Jackson (Danson), a surprise since Zora and Sarah are black! Not the most powerful of set ups it has to be said, but in spite of the lowly rating afforded it by many critics and film lovers, it's a sweet and honest affair. Film pins its hopes on the central comedy premise of a white man somehow fathering a black daughter from a black mother. From there it follows a familiar course from the shock and horror born out by the reveal, to opposites at war and on to maybe opposites attracting? This of course only works if the viewer has a soft spot for Danson and Goldberg in the first place, but with them giving it complete gusto, and being a real off screen couple as well, their play off of each other is very easy to warm too. Sure it's contrived, and very treacle based once we land in the final quarter, but the mixing of races aspect has been well handled by the makers and there's some decent comedy moments. It may not be laugh out loud funny, unless you be the type of person who finds Danson astride a runaway elephant funny? But it has its moments and director Richard Benjamin is also enough of a pro to not let the pace sag. Good support comes from Long and Smith, while Tilly is wonderfully memorable as the fitness freak bimbo girlfriend of Danson.Slight but never less than charming, it's safely recommended to fans of the two principal stars. 6/10
moonspinner55
Richard Benjamin was such an interesting actor in the 1970s (indifferent, unafraid to appear dishonest, sharp-tongued) that his transformation into a film director of complete and utter piffle is both surprising and disheartening. Here, he helms a crass comedy laced with old-fashioned trimmings. Whoopi Goldberg plays the mother of a teenage girl, the product of mom's one-time visit to a sperm bank. After the secret comes out, the young woman then discovers her biological father is Ted Danson, an obnoxious, white car-salesman! Shrill, misguided piece flails about trying to be funny and does not succeed. Goldberg can't rise above the cheap, smarmy writing, nor can she do much under Benjamin's even smarmier handling. Good supporting cast including Will Smith and Jennifer Tilly is wasted. * from ****
Randall Joy (Hammer1310)
As another example of an average premise and equal execution "Made In America" doesn't disappoint. Whoopie Goldberg and Ted Danson star as one-time customers of a sperm donor bank that has mistakenly given them a very curious daughter. Entering her mid-teens, their daughter Zora (played affably by Nia Long) discovers she is the product of their unintentional love. While Sarah (Goldberg) wanted a strong, tall black man, she would have settled at least for the last part. Instead, she is introduced to Danson by her intuitive daughter after she uses her friend (played by Will Smith) to steal sperm donor records.The rest of the film is pretty much by-the-book. Father and Mother fight, get along, date, daughter gets weirded-out, parents save daughter from bad decision and hug....fade to credits and cliché song.In between:The movie IS worth watching. I give it crap because it's fairly by-the-book but it's not awful. When I first saw this film I was a fan of Danson from "Cheers" and Goldberg from her one-woman show and guest spots on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember being pleasantly surprised by both. Danson is an accomplished actor, best in "Pontiac Moon", and stretches his comedic skills here. Goldberg, on the other hand is best here in dramatic moments. She is warm and vibrant with splashes of real brilliance but it's not enough. It's not that she can't do the comedy at all, she is an incredible comedian, the script just doesn't give her enough to do besides be shrill and clumsy with a smattering of nice. Her few scenes with Danson are worth the time spent watching and make up for their tabloid headlines at the time. As for Smith's performance, this early role wasn't much different than most. Every minute on screen he is a joy, still in his "Fresh Prince" mode here he certainly doesn't disappoint. Nia Long is the real find here. If one person from this film should have been given a better shake than anyone it is her. She is vibrant, funny and worthy of the people she shares the screen with. That says a lot.
Dan Grant
When the executives watched the dailies of this film, did they really sit there and think it was good? Could they actually watch this muddled mess and think that the public would take to this crap? It is films like this that remind me how foolish Hollywood really thinks the audience is. They seem to think that as long as you have a couple of recognizable faces in the film, it means that it is going to be box office gold. But we are not that stupid. As a film goer I need a good story, good direction, and some good a acting. This film contains none of this. There is one funny part in this film and that is when Will Smith tells Whoopi there is a white man at the door. But we already saw that in the commercials, so there is nothing really to look forward to. This is really inexcusable garbage. I don't even know what 3/4 of this film is about. This is a film about a sperm bank mix up. In it you have a stereotypical dumb blond, an elephant chasing a bike, a bear, a monkey, a monstrous sounding nurse and too many more ridiculous situations that don't add anything to the film. Whoopi Goldberg started off doing silly but funny comedies, now she either does bad films or films that are too self important. She is still one hell of a funny lady but what she saw in this film besides a paycheck is an enigma wrapped inside of a riddle embedded in a mystery. The only good thing to come out of this is Nia Long got introduced to Will Smith and she later appeared on his television show. She is a great young actress and I am glad that she has broken into Hollywood. But the rest of the film is just plain terrible.
