crooklyn

Director: spike lee

Actor: alfre woodard,delroy lindo,david patrick kelly,zelda harris

Data Published: Fri May 13 1994

Genres: Comedy,Drama

Key Words: semi autobiographical,bully,argument,birthday,visit

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109504/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crooklyn

Description: Crooklyn is a movie starring Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, and David Patrick Kelly. Spike Lee's vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in...

Plot: In 1973, nine-year-old Troy Carmichael and her brothers Clinton, Wendell, Nate, and Joseph live in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The children live with their parents, Woody, a struggling musician, and Carolyn, a schoolteacher. The neighborhood is filled with colorful characters. The Carmichaels' next-door neighbor, Tony Eyes, continuously sings. Snuffy and Right Hand Man are glue sniffers. Vic Powell is a war vet who lives upstairs from the Carmichaels. One day, the Carmichael children get into a dispute with Tony who alleges that they are always throwing trash into his area. The argument escalates when Carolyn and several neighborhood children get involved. Tony is still yelling when Vic comes downstairs. Vic then punches Tony in the face. Troy, who has sneaked out to the corner store, sees Vic getting arrested as she leaves the store. One night, Woody and Carolyn argue about money; Carolyn resents Woody because he is not appreciating their financial situation and uses their money carelessly to fund his solo career. The argument escalates as Carolyn yells for the children to turn off the television. Carolyn later turns off the TV. Clinton turns it back on. Carolyn grabs him for disobeying her and Woody grabs her and carries her out of the room. Woody carries Carolyn out of the room and down the stairs and Nate jumps on Woody's back. The other children hold Carolyn and Carolyn hurts her ankle in the struggle. Carolyn kicks Woody out of the house. Woody brings flowers to Carolyn and the two reconcile. The family then decides to go on a trip. As they are leaving, a worker from Con Ed comes by to shut off the electricity due to an unpaid bill. The trip is postponed and the family has to use candles for light. A few days later, Nate and Troy travel to the South to stay with relatives. Troy stays with her cousin, Viola (Patriece Nelson), who was adopted by Uncle Clem and Aunt Song. Troy has fun with Viola despite a dislike of her snobby Aunt Song and her dog, Queenie. On Troy's tenth birthday, she gets a letter from Carolyn. After reading the letter, Troy decides she wants to go home. When Troy returns to New York, she is picked up at the airport by Aunt Maxine and Uncle Brown. Troy later learns her mother is in the hospital and is taken to see her. Later that evening, Woody tells the kids that their mother has cancer and must stay in the hospital. The boys cry, but Troy remains stoic. In the next scene, one of Troy's brothers wonder if they have to dress up for their mother's funeral. The day of the funeral, Troy is approached by her Aunt Maxine who tries to coax her into trying on the new clothes she's brought telling her it would make Carolyn proud. Troy calmly explains that her mother hates polyester and would never let her wear it then announces to Woody that she is not going to the funeral. Woody explains that Carolyn would want them all together at church. At the house gathering after the funeral, Troy is withdrawn. Joseph comes inside crying, saying that Snuffy and Right Hand Man robbed him. Following her mother's wishes to protect her younger brother, Troy goes outside with a baseball bat and hits Snuffy, telling him to go sniff glue on his own block. Early the next morning, Troy dreams she's hearing her mother's voice. She goes downstairs to see her father trying to kill a rat in the kitchen. Woody then tells her that its all right to cry, saying that even Clinton has cried. Troy concludes that its good that her mother is no longer suffering. In the epilogue, the Carmichael family and their friends carry on with their lives as the summer draws to a close. Troy assumes the matriarch role that Carolyn left behind. Carolyn's spirit praises Troy for taking on such responsibilities.