''Livin' Large!'' is a 1991 comedy film starring Terrence "T.C." Carson,

Lisa Arrindell Anderson Lisa Arrindell is an American actress. She is most known for her role as Vanessa in ''Madea's Family Reunion'' (2006), Heather Comstock in the series '' In the House'' (1995), and Toynelle Davis in ''Livin' Large'' (1991). Early life and educatio ...

, and

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress, singer and voice actor. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgir ...

Plot

Dexter Jackson (Carson) is a young, black deliveryman in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, who aspires to become a news reporter. He gets what he considers his big break when he drives up to a hostage situation. When the reporter on the scene is killed, Dexter steps in and confronts the hostage-taker, who threatens to kill himself on live television. However, Dexter talks the man out of it, and ratings-obsessed executive producer Kate Penndragin (

Blanche Baker Blanche Baker (born December 20, 1956) is an American actress and filmmaker. She won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the television mini-series ''Holocaust''. Baker is known for her role as Ginny Baker in ''Sixteen Can ...

) offers Dexter a reporter position at "News 4 Atlanta". A recurring gag throughout the film involves Jackson seeing himself on TV with notably different facial features, i.e. thinner lips, straight hair, and a lighter complexion. As Kate tries to transform Dexter's urban image (mainly his

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

, clothing, and vocabulary), he begins questioning whether he's starting to sell out as he becomes more and more successful. In other words, he wonders whether becoming successful also means becoming "white". Although Dexter begins to fulfill his dream, he also starts forgetting where he came from and begins destroying his important relationships. He alienates those close to him with tabloid-style exposé stories, such as a local barber's illegal

numbers racket The numbers game, also known as the numbers racket, the Italian lottery, Mafia lottery or the daily number, is a form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery played mostly in poor and working class neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a be ...

and a restaurant's unhealthy cooking style. Dexter loses his

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, Toynelle (Arrindell Anderson), after a night on the town results in him spending the night with ditzy weather forecaster Missy Carnes (

Julia Campbell Julia Campbell (born March 12, 1962) is an American film and television actress. Her most noted role to date was "mean girl" Christie Masters in ''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion''. Career Campbell had a starring role in the feature fil ...

). Dexter also betrays his best friend and narrator Baker Moon ( Nathaniel 'Afrika' Hall) by revealing a local criminal's plan to commit

grand theft auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...

, a plan Baker secretly confided to Dexter. As a result of the report, Baker winds up in the hospital. After longtime anchor Clifford Worthy (

Bernie McInerney Bernie McInerney (born December 4, 1936) is an American character actor. Personal life McInerney grew up in Delaware where his father was an auditor with the DuPont Company. McInerney came to acting at a young age, announcing the World Serie ...

) loses it on the air, Kate promotes Dexter to lead anchor and teams him with Missy, much to his chagrin. Kate also arranges a live marriage between the two, which she plans to exploit for ratings. However, in the end, Dexter comes to his senses and calls off the wedding, deciding to go back to Toynelle. Finally admitting his fault for the entire ordeal, he publicly apologizes to those he stepped over. Dexter finally (and truly) reaches his goal, becoming co-anchor at News 4 Atlanta, alongside Clifford Worthy.

Cast

* Terrence "T.C." Carson - Dexter Jackson *

- Toynelle Davis *

- Kate Penndragin * Nathaniel Hall - Baker Moon *

- Missy Carnes *

- Clifford Worthy *

- Nadine Biggs *

Ted Henning Ted Henning is an American Video game producer, video game and animation producer, and former stage, television, and film actor, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter. Acting and writing career Early roles - Stage acting and voice work Ea ...

- Fabian Marks

Box office

The movie was released September 20, 1991, in the US. It opened at #4 at the box office, grossing $2.1 million. Its total domestic gross was just under $5.5 million.

References

External links

* * {{Michael Schultz 1991 films 1991 comedy films 1990s English-language films African-American comedy films Films directed by Michael Schultz Films scored by Herbie Hancock The Samuel Goldwyn Company films 1990s American films