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‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’ dubbed ‘worst’ movie: Why are fans slamming Chadwick Boseman's film that deserves Oscar?

While one section feels it deserves an Academy Award, others couldn't help but dub it the worst movie

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’ has captivated hearts. Celebrating the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth, the movie was directed by George C Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Viola Davis, who brings the vibrant Ma Rainey to life on-screen alongside Chadwick Boseman’s ambitious and fast-talking Levee, reflects on how timely the play feels to her. “We are absolutely now waking up to the truth of how different America was for Black people, as opposed to White people.”

She notes that Ma Rainey is set in 1927 and compares it with today's time. “When you look at Ma Rainey as a narrative, you see that those hopes, dreams and what America promised us, were mixed with the trauma of our past, what we were running from, mixed with the lack of opportunities that were still very prevalent with us. You see how it affected us, especially in characters like Levee and Ma. These characters had big visions, big dreams and the past became a huge obstacle in achieving that. But what you also saw is the talent, humor and the life force. That’s the tragedy of it. The promise of what we could be was still there.”

Will the Netflix movie get an Oscar?

The movie sparked diverse reactions on social media. While one section feels it deserves an Academy Award, others couldn't help but dub it “the worst” movie. Let's look at the positive reactions first.

“Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is compelling from the first, and the cast, topped in all senses by Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, are superb. Hard to fathom how it's only the third film, for any medium, of an August Wilson play. Bravo,” one said and another posted, “All I'm saying is that if Chadwick Boseman doesn't win an oscar for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom then the whole institution needs to die.”

A third wrote, “Tonight I watched Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. I hope Chadwick Boseman wins an Oscar for it.” And a fourth added, “@violadavis and @chadwickboseman are definitely winning the Oscar this year for their performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. My expectations were exceeded. What an outstanding and mind-blowing performance. This movie is the epitome of what true artistry is.” Another said, “For what it's worth, I haven't seen a bad Boseman performance. He was great even in conventional stuff. Liked him a lot in Get On Up and I am on board with the Ma Rainey Oscar crowd. I'm partial to August Wilson to begin with, so I had a great time with the story.”

Why are fans slamming the movie? 

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched... IDK what the big hype about it was... they made a lot of the actors look bad in this movie,” one shocking comment read on Twitter. Not just that tweet, there were many such comments floating around online. Another said, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the worst movie I’ve ever seen in my life. The script is terrible.” Amid all the praise, why are fans bashing the film? Here's looking at what the harsh critics have to say. 

“The Ma Rainey movie was not what I was expecting :/,” one user said and another posted, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was such a disappointing mess. Like I’m really shattered by how bad that was.” 

Breaking down why the movie was such a mess, one fan third posted, “I think Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom suffers from pretty bad direction and an overbearing score, but Chadwick is giving one of the best performances of the year, one that stands out even further knowing that it’s the last one we’re going to get from him. miss that man so much.”

The user then added, “Think it would be a lot better if Denzel had directed it. Fences wasn’t perfect but it has more confident visual language and effective use of montage than the man who directed Nights of Rodanthe is capable of. plus you’ve got their history together to make it even more special.”

 Another stated: "I think Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom suffers from pretty bad direction and an overbearing score, but Chadwick is giving one of the best performances of the year, one that stands out even further knowing that it’s the last one we’re going to get from him. miss that man so much. if everything around him was as good as he is, it would be something special. it’s got some weird pacing and I don’t think it really gets to the core of Davis’ character or performance the way it does with Chadwick, but all faults don’t matter once he gets going. made me cry."

‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’ premiered on Friday, December 18, 2020, and is currently streaming on Netflix. 

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