I'm a little late in the game with this. So forgive me. But according to THE Tyler Perry he's been inspired to write a love story about Barack and Michelle Obama. That's right. The possible future president and his first lady may find themselves on the silver screen—courtesy of Hollywood's new powerhouse. Allegedly after having dinner with the Obamas Perry was struck with inspiration: a movie about a man's love for his woman with a political twist tentatively titled For the Love of You.
Now I'm not sharing any criticism here. I know I've been blasting Perry for his, in my opinion, subpar depictions of black life, but I promised I wouldn't do that anymore. And I won't. Whatever I feel about Perry's narratives I will forever be in awe of his ability to carve out a niche in the ego-heavy, thin-skinned, and at times, adolescent psychology of Hollywood. And, no, my editor didn't force me to write that.
But the question remains: are we ready for a romantic Barack? I certainly understand Perry's impulse to create a leading man type out of the Democratic Hopeful. During the Primaries, Barack's been called a rock star and a messiah. And he certainly fits the physical bill of Perry's inclination toward the tall, knight-in-shining armors of his films. You know, Shemar Moore, Boris Kodjoe, Rick Fox. The only difference is that Barack isn't acting.
Then there's Perry's continuous meditation on the damaged albeit no-nonsense damsel in distress who, as you know, must always learn at the end of the day not to throw every black man into the "useless crap" pile. Now Michelle certainly appears non-nonsense much like Perry's favorites Angela Bassett, Gabrielle Union and Kimberly Elise. But there's nothing about the Ivy-educated, self-made wife of a politician that appears to be in distress. In fact, during yesterday's GMA interview Michelle was sticking to her guns about a promise she and Barack made to their daughters about getting a dog. Barack was skeptical; Michelle doused the skepticism without a blink. Yeh, Perry may need to dumb-down his Michelle character to convince us she needs any type of life-raft.
I wasn't able to confirm with Perry's publicist if For the Love of You was officially a based-upon project or an Obama-approved venture, but it does appear Perry's quite serious. According to Black Enterprise, he wants to cast Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett as his leads and be in production later this year.
For me, I'd like to see the Obamas get down and dirty with our economy, demand American citizens to pay closer attention to the world, and stress personal activism in order to create political change for all. You know, before I see any likes of them smooching and loving on the silver screen. But that's just me. Romantic flicks have never tickled my interest.
