''True Identity'' is a 1991 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 ...

directed by Charles Lane and starring

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American stage and film actor. He has won four Tony Awards: two for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Nixon in Peter Morgan's '' Frost/Nixon'' and as André in Flori ...

and

Anne-Marie Johnson Anne-Marie Johnson (born July 18, 1960) is an American actress and impressionist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Nadine Hudson–Thomas in ''What's Happening Now!!'' (1985–1988), and Althea Tibbs in '' In the Heat of the Night'' (19 ...

. The plot revolves around a

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

man (Henry), who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob.

Plot

A struggling black actor named Miles Pope is on a plane ride home from a failed acting audition. Miles meets a producer named Leland Carver who accidentally reveals his mafia ties when he believes that their plane is about to crash. However, the plane does not crash and Miles is the only man who knows Leland's past. To escape, Miles persuades his makeup artist friend Duane to transform him into a Caucasian male. As Miles is packing his bags to get out of town, a hitman walks in and a struggle ensues. Miles kills the hitman, but through a comedy of errors he is mistaken for the hitman. Miles must assume a parade of identities to stay one step ahead of the mafia on his trail.

Cast

as Miles Pope *

as Leland Carver *

as Kristi *

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

as Himself * Charles Lane as Duane *

Peggy Lipton Margaret Ann Lipton (August 30, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an American actress, model, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes ...

as Rita *

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ( ...

as Taxi Driver *

J. T. Walsh James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films include ''Tin Men'' (1987), ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), '' Hoffa'' (1992), ''Nixon'' (1995), ' ...

as Houston *

Andreas Katsulas Andrew Katsulas (May 18, 1946February 13, 2006), known professionally as Andreas Katsulas, was an American film and television actor, most recognized for portrayals of Narn Ambassador G'Kar on the American science fiction television series ''Bab ...

as Anthony *

Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. He is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen who has appeared in films including ''Catch-22'' (1970); '' W ...

as Othello's Director

Reception

The film received mediocre reviews. Caryn James of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that Lane's direction was "tame and conventional" and that although Henry had "obvious" talent, ''True Identity'' does not take enough advantage of it".

commented on the film retrospectively in 2010: "When I went to America to do ''True Identity'' in 1991, I realised they had their own

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, they didn’t need me pretending to be Richard Pryor, so I had a massive career rethink." The film was not a box office success.

References

External links

* * * {{rotten-tomatoes, true_identity, True Identity 1991 films 1991 comedy films Touchstone Pictures films Films with screenplays by Andy Breckman African-American comedy films Films directed by Charles Lane (filmmaker) 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films about race and ethnicity