Blatantly derivative of Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, as well as Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, They Cloned Tyrone has enough of its own idiosyncrasies to register as a riff, not a rip-off. Set against a cartoonish, blaxploitation backdrop, the movie stars John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris in stereotypical parts: Fontaine the drug dealer, Slick the pimp, and Yo-Yo the prostitute, respectively. All three have fun in their roles (Boyega a bit more quietly, given Fontaine’s bulky stoicism). Their broad playfulness, while initially suspect, makes sense once you realize the cliches are part of the point. Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that the trio uncover a nefarious plot in their impoverished neighborhood that involves the perpetuation of such stereotypes as a form of control. I wasn’t exactly sure of all the political points the movie was making. At its best it’s an interrogation of such movements as ghettoization and forced assimilation. At its worst, They Cloned Tyrone suggests that there is nothing in such neighborhoods, culturally speaking, that’s worth saving. Still, the movie—written by Tony Rettenmaier and director Juel Taylor, the latter of whom makes his feature debut—bounces along on its star chemistry and sharp sense of humor. It has a lot of personality for a copycat.
(8/30/2023)
