Movie changes.

[sup_fan]

I think calling Brian a product of his time a really weak excuse for making it ok to crap on another’s hopes, dreams and aspirations.
I certainly do find his character as dull as ditch water, never once prepared to see things from Tracy’s perspective or embrace anything remotely new or different.
Just because he was well intentioned in caring about his surroundings, doesn't make him any less of a blinkered chauvinist.
The films ending really was the stuff of fairytales. Perhaps Tracy had developed a masochistic tendency to being emotionally abused.

but you can't look at this through the lens of 2022. there were things that were acceptable to people and society back in 75 that aren't today. i do think you could have still brought Tracy's POV up that "hey don't shit on my dream" but the general thought at the time was that it's ok for her to give up her things for his

[RanRan79]

I think calling Brian a product of his time a really weak excuse for making it ok to crap on another’s hopes, dreams and aspirations.
I certainly do find his character as dull as ditch water, never once prepared to see things from Tracy’s perspective or embrace anything remotely new or different.
Just because he was well intentioned in caring about his surroundings, doesn't make him any less of a blinkered chauvinist.
The films ending really was the stuff of fairytales. Perhaps Tracy had developed a masochistic tendency to being emotionally abused.

I'm not excusing the way he came at Tracy about her aspirations or saying it was okay that he did that. I'm saying that the guy didn't spend his days saying to himself "How can I make Tracy feel like shit today? Hmmm, I know, I'll crap all over her dreams!" Brian didn't know any Black fashion designers, certainly none from their neighborhood. Another missed opportunity in the movie was showing how on one side Brian was telling the community the sky's the limit, but he himself had ideas about the community's limitations. There's long been a tradition for some in the Black community of a feeling of "go after your dreams, but don't get crazy". In other words, dreams are fine as long as they are realistic. Had Tracy told Brian she wanted to be a teacher, a doctor, a scientist, he likely would have encouraged it. Fashion designer? Model? That was beyond his idea of what a Black woman could be and he shit on it because to encourage it meant pushing Tracy to succeed and lose herself, at best, and pushing Tracy to failure, falling on her face, at worst. He loved Tracy but couldn't figure out how to love her dream. Again, the movie failed in that way.

Now it's been a long time since I've seen Mahogany, but unless I'm missing something, I don't recall him calling her a dirty ho or anything nasty and demeaning for having a dream. It's possible Brian wasn't much different than Fred Ross as his reaction to the dream Diana had before she made it. Brian, Fred, men of their time and environment. It doesn't make them bad people because of their inability to open their minds.

[RanRan79]

but you can't look at this through the lens of 2022. there were things that were acceptable to people and society back in 75 that aren't today. i do think you could have still brought Tracy's POV up that "hey don't shit on my dream" but the general thought at the time was that it's ok for her to give up her things for his

I think people in general are much more openminded today about people pursuing their dreams. Realistic, down to earth aspirations were what was encouraged in the 70s. I do think that people can certainly still be assholes in different time periods. Shitting on somebody's dream, whether it's 2022 or 1972 or 1862, is a really mean thing to do. But sometimes putting things into perspective of "another time and place" is necessary. I've always loved "I Love Lucy" ever since I was a kid. It's interesting to me that when I watch the show now, how often I get annoyed by the way Ricky sometimes treats Lucy, like she's a child and not his other half, his equal. Then I have to remind myself that it was the 50s and the show was catering to households all across the country that operated like the Ricardos, even though in real life the Ball-Arnez's were nothing like that. I don't watch Ricky Ricardo and think "asshole", even though ultimately that's what he was. I understand him in the context of the time. Plus, Mahogany, I Love Lucy, this is all fictional, art itself. The characters are ultimately how we view them, with no right or wrong involved, except for that what we put on the characters ourselves, largely driven by our own experiences.

[Ollie9]

but you can't look at this through the lens of 2022. there were things that were acceptable to people and society back in 75 that aren't today. i do think you could have still brought Tracy's POV up that "hey don't shit on my dream" but the general thought at the time was that it's ok for her to give up her things for his

Not quite accurate. Most of the reviews at the time mentioned how unlikely the ending was that Tracy would give up a life of glamour and a career she had trained for to devote herself entirely to her boyfriends career. Even Flo told her it was very unrealistic.
This was not the 50’s after all, but a time when women were starting to believe they could indeed do it all.

[Spreadinglove21]

I suppose ending of Mahogany could have tried to be both romantic and empowering by having Tracy, after the car crash, come home to Chicago and she leverages her fame and money to start her own fashion business--bring jobs and opportunities for the community. Brian sees this, is impressed and has a change of heart and they get back together.

[Ollie9]

I suppose ending of Mahogany could have tried to be both romantic and empowering by having Tracy, after the car crash, come home to Chicago and she leverages her fame and money to start her own fashion business--bring jobs and opportunities for the community. Brian sees this, is impressed and has a change of heart and they get back together.

Don't like it. Brian finally approves of her career choice and decides he wants her after all.
“Love means never having to say sorry”.

[mowsville]

How about the TV movies...what are your thoughts about those and what could/should have been.

[sup_fan]

i thought Double Platinum was a pretty weak concept and more like a Hallmark Channel movie for the holidays. it's almost like the reverse of I'm Living In Shame lol

now what about that!! lol people have talked about how Shame was a rip off of the movie Imitation of Life. so what if DR did a remake of that movie! imagine the easter eggs they could have included!

[Ollie9]

How about the TV movies...what are your thoughts about those and what could/should have been.

Although Diana's acting is extremely good throughout, Out Of Darkness is a film i rarely watch being not exactly uplifting.
Double Platinum is rather weak, with Diana and Brandy in tearful or angry mode for most of their screen time. I really only enjoy the scenes where Diana is singing.
It would have been interesting to see how well the duet “Love Is All That Matters” might have done had Brandy’s mother not got in the way.

[sup_fan]

Although Diana's acting is extremely good throughout, Out Of Darkness is a film i rarely watch being not exactly uplifting.
Double Platinum is rather weak, with Diana and Brandy in tearful or angry mode for most of their screen time. I really only enjoy the scenes where Diana is singing.
It would have been interesting to see how well the duet “Love Is All That Matters” might have done had Brandy’s mother not got in the way.

i think their duet was too mushy and saccharine. it's too much of the sloppy sugary ballads diana was doing in the 90s. the idea of pairing up with a hot young artist is great but they needed a much more contemporary song for it to be a big hit

[marybrewster]

You have to remember though, Brandy was on a hit streak in 1998/1999 with ballads: HAVE YOU EVER and ALMOST DOESN'T COUNT. Her album NEVER SAY NEVER also had a cover of EVERYTHING I DO I DO FOR YOU. Maybe LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS would have worked?

I don't recall what happened with Brandy's Mom? Did it have to do with billing? Brandy had had a huge duet with Monica in 1998, which I believe was credited to Monica, as her album was also called THE BOY IS MINE. Maybe something went down?

[reese]

You have to remember though, Brandy was on a hit streak in 1998/1999 with ballads: HAVE YOU EVER and ALMOST DOESN'T COUNT. Her album NEVER SAY NEVER also had a cover of EVERYTHING I DO I DO FOR YOU. Maybe LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS would have worked?

I don't recall what happened with Brandy's Mom? Did it have to do with billing? Brandy had had a huge duet with Monica in 1998, which I believe was credited to Monica, as her album was also called THE BOY IS MINE. Maybe something went down?

I don't think it was ever revealed exactly what Brandy's mother's problem was with the release of the duet.

But thinking about it, I could see where it would be seen as more of a benefit to Diana instead of Brandy. The duet would have gotten exposure from the tv movie and probably would have been included on Diana's new EVERYDAY IS A NEW DAY album. Whereas Brandy's latest album HAVE YOU EVER was almost a year old by that point so besides catalog sales, she wouldn't have benefited as much.

[sup_fan]

just read that, ironically, Brandy has recently signed with motown. also another source of irony is that Brandy's break-through was the duet with Monica on The Boy Is Mine. so that piggy backing helped launch her career

i haven't heard anything about her mom, if she was difficult or if she was like other celebrity parents. or maybe she just didn't like Diana

[reese]

just read that, ironically, Brandy has recently signed with motown. also another source of irony is that Brandy's break-through was the duet with Monica on The Boy Is Mine. so that piggy backing helped launch her career

i haven't heard anything about her mom, if she was difficult or if she was like other celebrity parents. or maybe she just didn't like Diana

In one post, Bluerock suggested that Brandy was difficult and her mom was worse.

THE BOY IS MINE is certainly her biggest hit. But Brandy had quite a few hits on both the pop and soul charts before her duet with Monica, including four gold and two platinum singles. And of course, she had her own series MOESHA as well.

[sup_fan]

How about the TV movies...what are your thoughts about those and what could/should have been.

it's a shame diana isn't more willing to do ensemble things. like the cinderella movie in the 90s. or the Wiz Live more recently.

this is a bit off the topic but i always wished someone like Jack in the tv show Will & Grace had idolized Diana instead of Cher. i know that cher was really perfect but always wish there were more references to Diana out there

[Ollie9]

i think their duet was too mushy and saccharine. it's too much of the sloppy sugary ballads diana was doing in the 90s. the idea of pairing up with a hot young artist is great but they needed a much more contemporary song for it to be a big hit

The way the duet was performed in the film was for me the more tooth rotting element lol. Given Brandy's popularity at the time it just might have caught the public’s imagination.
I consider the film far more cheesy then the actual song. Diana is weepy with Brandy perpetually bratty. It all vey sudsy and a little tiresome.

[mowsville]

So what would you change in Double Platinum to make it better?...if thats possible lol

[Ollie9]

So what would you change in Double Platinum to make it better?...if thats possible lol

Make Kayla an actress as opposed to a singer. Add lots more Diana/Olivia numbers.
Include a huge confrontational scene in the mode of Mildred Pierce.
”Get out Kayla. Get your things out of this house right now before i throw you into the street with them. Get out before I kill you”.
Get the idea.

[sansradio]

Make Kayla an actress as opposed to a singer. Add lots more Diana/Olivia numbers.
Include a huge confrontational scene in the mode of Mildred Pierce.
”Get out Kayla. Get your things out of this house right now before i throw you into the street with them. Get out before I kill you”.
Get the idea.

Yes! Olivia was such a punk with Kayla, it was nauseating! She should have jacked her up Clair Huxtable/Florida Evans-style!

[sup_fan]

Yes! Olivia was such a punk with Kayla, it was nauseating! She should have jacked her up Clair Huxtable/Florida Evans-style!

exactly! while Kayla was living with Olivia, she could sneak off to Baltimore to try and see her favorite band, The Wretched! when they get home, the first words out of Olivia's mouth are "Kayla - you march your fresh self out in the back yard and pick yourself a switch!"

and as kayla lurks towards the back door, Olivia calls out from the front of the house "and you know better than to get some dried out crusty old twig or a wispy little baby branch!"

[marybrewster]

To me, Diana just didn't come off as believable in DOUBLE PLATINUM. We all know how much she dotes on her kids, so to think that Olivia would just up and leave her daughter for a singing career is too much of a stretch, at least in my opinion.

[JLoveLamar]

Make Kayla an actress as opposed to a singer. Add lots more Diana/Olivia numbers.
Include a huge confrontational scene in the mode of Mildred Pierce.
”Get out Kayla. Get your things out of this house right now before i throw you into the street with them. Get out before I kill you”.
Get the idea.

Bit we'd have to see Brandy slap her and Miss Ross would have to fall a bit on the stairs

[sup_fan]

maybe turn Double Platinum into a remake of Mildred Pierce! lol