''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 educati ...

, 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 '' Dreamg ...

Plot

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

Atlanta 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 498,71 ...

, 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 Europ ...

, 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). 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 and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily de ...

, 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 Series ...

) 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 * Julia Campbell - Missy Carnes *

- Clifford Worthy *

- Nadine Biggs *

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

- Fabian Marks

Critical response

Film critic

Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth father. Biography ...

wrote in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' that the movie is "too bland to be offensive" and "mediocre pap" with a "heavy-hitting theme

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

is a smokescreen for an absence of fire," that it "retreads all-too-familiar territory," and noted that "You don't need a lifetime of sitcom TV viewing to see where this is going. But you'll need it to buy the one-note characters." Writing in the ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'', critic Marjorie Baumgarten described the film as a "morality tale

is pretty predictable and uninspired ..delivered with some fresh zip by its central cast," but noted that "you can't escape this creepy feeling that the people involved with inventing this story are none too wild about women as a category of people."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

described the film as "beginning with a terrific idea for a movie, and then works hard, and successfully, to whittle it down to the level of a brainless sitcom."

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 English-language comedy films