Stuff by Steve

If history teaches us anything (well, recent history, anyway), it’s that remakes happen. I’m not sure this is a bad thing in and of itself, as older movies often go unappreciated by a newer, younger crowd. That is only somewhat the case here because, while I have not seen the original (”Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967)), I am not sure that the remake fixed the fact that I haven’t appreciated it. “Guess Who” (2005), a story about an African-American girl who brings home her new Caucasian-American fiancé, struggled through most of its 96 minutes. I think that the inter-racial relationship story still works as the controversial centerpiece (I’m amazed that this is the case after 40 years of equal rights education), but in this case it was more of a comedic, awkward controversy. I found myself laughing a lot, but also being confused whenever a social statement was abruptly made. Ultimately, the protective-father-meets-new-boyfriend schtick was at the heart of this movie; they should have stuck to that and made a straight-up comedy.