A ChitownJ

Bold, Bougie, and Botched. 5 Black business women spend time together: arguing, calling each other the “b” word, twerking, drinking, gossiping about each other, bragging about how good they look, etc. After watching two episodes, I had to read a book because I felt completely brain dead. Completely unoriginal and superficial.

There's a lot happening in this movie. I honestly had to watch it twice just to really understand how this movie impacted me. First and foremost, the storytelling and the message are powerful, which makes up for some of the slower parts of the movie. Several stories overlap and while that can be a distraction at times, the central theme is not lost. What works really well for this movie is the use of nonlinear storytelling and movement between parallel realities that are brought together through Isabel's research and personal life.

So I watched this movie because I like KR’s acting and the title was very intriguing. I also appreciate TP’s contribution to films centering Black characters. So, I’ll always press play. Although slow at first, the first half was hopeful. It all went downhill at the table when the mother announces the son will run for mayor, to which the son then replies that the defendant was going to be “his poster boy” to show that he’s combatting crime. Say what you will, but in a thriller you don’t just announce the plot twist. I knew then that the son and the mother had done something underhanded with this case, so that was a spoiler. Then there were the small scenes, albeit few, that annoyed the film buff in me (the broken phone that wasn’t broke at the end, the overtly fake background shots of Chicago from the office windows, the fight scene cuts that made them look poorly AI generated, and very rushed ending). I would have loved to have seen the husband as a victim of his own family’s deception, who later rushes to stand up for his wife because the pretext shows them in counseling trying to fix a broken marriage due to infidelity and family interference. Mea emphasizes that they “will figure it out” which should have been a Mea Culpe moment for them both. Making the husband a villain shows rushed writing in an effort to just bring closure to the husband’s storyline. The murder suspect should have been a more complex character as well. He was being falsely accused of murder but was preoccupied with sex to the point of indifference about the murder he didn’t commit. It would have worked if he was more complex like Sharon Stone in Basic Instincts. The positives: I was feeling the music, which gave it a very seductive thriller type vibe. The acting was decent. Kelly had some really good moments, and some characters you flat out hate, which is what a good story is supposed to do. Next level would have been making the sister in law the unsuspecting villain because she was clearly abused and had the affair. She had the best motive.

Multiple storylines collide for some theatrical highs and lows. Bullock does complex very well and is highly underrated in this role. While some parts of the story seemed forced and not well developed, theme is not lost. However, the casting mismatch is NOT forgivable. Viola Davis needed more screen time, perhaps as Ruth Slater's probation officer. The plot twist between Ruth and Katherine would have been more believable had the relationship been maternal. As for the ending, viewers are forced to make an investment into the lives of several characters only for there not to be any meaningful resolve.