Not OutKast Anymore
Idlewild. André Benjamin, Antwan A. Patton, Terrence
Howard, and Macy Gray star in a film written and directed by Bryan
Barber.
Reviewed by Molly Freedenberg
If there were ever any doubt that André
Benjamin (André 3000) and Antwan A. Patton (Big Boi) of OutKast are
major players in a long line of great entertainers, Idlewild will
clear it up. The film is a retro-modern portrait of the
Prohibition-era South, with Patton as the outgoing, philandering,
magnetic singer and son of a bootlegger, and Benjamin as the shy,
piano-playing son of an undertaker. It’s about following your
dreams, finding your voice, organizing your priorities, and
enabling yourself to change. Which seems fitting, since for
OutKast, it’s also about stepping up to a new level of artfulness,
talent, and ingenuity, and reminding us that true innovation and
passion are still possible in contemporary entertainment.
But the movie didn’t have to go so well. In fact, it seemed
perfectly poised to do just the opposite. There’s an entertainment
industry joke that period films whose lead characters wear hats are
doomed to fail — and with this film set in the ’30s and one of its
protagonists always sporting a fedora, it’s not hard to connect the
dots. Add to that the fact that it stars pop singers, has a loose,
clichéd plot, and starts slowly, and Idlewild could have been one
huge, campy failure.
But thanks to director Bryan Barber’s vision and OutKast’s
undeniable charisma, the film soars, sings, and delights with
charming grace. The cinematography is gorgeous, the choreography
stellar, and the music, as to be expected, toe-tappingly original.
Judicious use of animation just adds to the film’s storybook feel,
and extraordinary performances from Benjamin and Patton suggest
that this is the film the duo was born to make. It also shows that
their creativity is greater than any of us expected, and that this
won’t be the last innovation we’ll see from Benjamin and Patton,
who prove they are classic entertainers as much as they are pop
sensations.
In fact, after seeing this film, it wouldn’t be far off to
compare the two — and Benjamin especially — to greats such as Fred
Astaire, Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and even Prince. Like
their predecessors, OutKast is of-our-time while also transcending
it. They, like this film, will become enduring classics.