''Loqueesha'' is a 2019 independent American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written, produced, directed by, and starring indie comedian Jeremy Saville. The film tells the story of Joe, a middle-aged, divorced, white bartender who becomes a nationally syndicated radio host by impersonating a black woman. The film attempted to cover many topics including

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

income inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, and African American tropes. The film's trailer was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on May 11, 2019, prompting a backlash on social media for the film's perceived

. Other reviewers considered the trailer to simply be a form of

shock humor Shock humour is a style of comedy intended to shock the audience. This can be achieved through excessively foul toilet humour, overt sexual themes, mocking of serious themes (otherwise known as black comedy), or through tactlessness in the aftermat ...

, used as a form of viral marketing. The film had a limited release in theaters on July 12, 2019, and was panned by critics and audiences alike, and currently has a 0% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. It has since appeared on several lists of the worst films ever made.

Plot

After giving advice to a woman struggling with relationship problems, Joe is encouraged to audition for a local radio time slot. Joe hesitates to apply, but auditions in order to afford to send his son to a private gifted school. After getting rejected by the station, he resubmits an audition recording as Loqueesha, a no-nonsense

sassy black woman The representation of African Americans in media – speech, writing, still or moving pictures – has been a major concern in mainstream Culture of the United States, American culture and a component of media bias in the United States. Such med ...

, and becomes a national success.

Cast

* Jeremy Saville as Joe *

Susan Diol Susan Vanita Diol (born May 25, 1962) is an American television actress who has played supporting roles in over forty series, including ''Quantum Leap'', ''One Life to Live'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' NCIS'' ...

as Cindy * Tiara Parker as Rachel *

Albie Selznick Albie Selznick (born January 1, 1959) is an American film and television actor. His best-known role is Ben Rubenstein on the sitcom ''Suddenly Susan'' and D.A. Owen Pomerantz on Young and the Restless. He has guest starred and recurred in sever ...

as George * Mara Hall as Renee *

Dwayne Perkins Dwayne Perkins (born March 21, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian from Brooklyn, New York, currently residing in Los Angeles. He has made appearances on '' Conan'', Comedy Central, and as a regular correspondent on ''The Jay Leno Show''. In ...

as Mason * Savannah Williams as Crystal * Thaddeaus Ek as Jason * Michael Madison as Ken * Richard Milanesi as Bob * Herb Mendelsohn as Fred * Shaw Purnell as Joe's Mom * Brad Banacka as Don * Jay Costelo as Sean * Alveraz Ricardez as Richard

Controversy

The film's trailer was released on

on May 11, 2019, prompting a backlash on social media for the film's overt

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

stereotyping In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

and

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

. In response, Saville tweeted a photograph of himself with

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn Wa ...

, referencing the latter's film ''

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn ...

''; Wayans said, in return, that he "hated when people tag me in their bullshit. It is annoying as fuck". Dwayne Perkins, one of the black actors in the film, defended the film: "This is a comedy about a guy who does the wrong thing for the right reasons, and the movie really gets into all of it more than the trailer does... I think you have to withhold judgment until you see the movie, but again, making a mockery wasn't my intention".

Attempted submissions to film festivals

Promotional material for ''Loqueesha'' stated that the film was an "official selection" of the

San Luis Obispo International Film Festival The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF) is an American film festival held in San Luis Obispo, California. It is a six-day annual event, showcasing contemporary and classic film screenings at the historic Fremont Theater, the Pal ...

(SLOIFF). A February 19 press release by SLOIFF listed ''Loqueesha'' in the festival lineup, but SLOIFF later tweeted that the film was never "selected, screened, or given an award at our festival." The film was originally submitted to the George Sidney Independent Film Competition but was rejected. Saville, a resident of

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

, then submitted it to the "Central Coast Filmmakers Showcase", which is open to residents of

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

and Santa Barbara counties. After ''Loqueesha'' was accepted in this category and the festival guides had been printed, the film was pulled by its producers before the screening. The festival apologized that the film did not receive an adequate vetting process and committed to "installing appropriate measures to see that this unfortunate circumstance does not occur in the future.”

Reception

Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', reviewer Joel Golby criticized the quality of the cinematography, audio editing, casting, special effects, and plot of the film, concluding that ''Loqueesha'' was "the worst film ever made". ''

Entertainment.ie ''Entertainment.ie'' is an Irish web company based in Dublin. The company provides news and reviews of programs and films for TV and the cinema. It also provides information on upcoming comedy, comedies, festivals, theater shows and music in Ir ...

'' found the concept of the film difficult to believe and based on the trailer called it "the worst movie of this decade". ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

'' called it "Probably The Worst Movie of 2019". It was also on numerous "Worst Movies of the Last Decade" lists.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 7620554 2019 films 2019 controversies in the United States 2019 comedy films African-American-related controversies African-American-related controversies in film Films about bartenders Films about radio people Films set in Detroit American comedy films American independent films 2019 independent films Film controversies Race-related controversies in film Casting controversies in film Ethnic humour 2010s English-language films 2010s American films