Loqueesha

Loqueesha is a 2019 independent American comedy film produced, written, and directed by lead actor Jeremy Saville. Saville plays Joe, a middle-aged, divorced, white bartender who becomes a nationally syndicated radio host by impersonating a black woman.

Loqueesha
Promotional poster
Directed byJeremy Saville
Produced byJeremy Saville
Written byJeremy Saville
Starring
Music byBrian Salter
CinematographyDaniel Clarke
Production
companies
The Best Movie
Distributed byIndie Rights
(Prime Video)
Release date
  • May 21, 2019 (2019-05-21)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film was lambasted by critics, particularly for its dated plot, and poor attempts at handling racism.

Summary

After giving advice to a woman struggling with relationship problems, Joe is encouraged to audition for a local radio time slot. Joe hesitates to apply, but auditions in order to afford to send his son to a private gifted school. After getting rejected by the station, he resubmits an audition recording as Loqueesha, a no-nonsense sassy black woman, and becomes a national success.

The film attempts to cover many topics including racism, unemployment, income inequality, suicide, and African American tropes.[1] The film's trailer was released on YouTube on May 11, 2019, prompting a backlash on social media for the film's perceived racism. Other reviewers considered the trailer to simply be a form of shock humor, used as a form of viral marketing. The film had a limited release in theaters on July 12, 2019.

Cast
  • Jeremy Saville as Joe
  • Susan Diol as Cindy
  • Tiara Parker as Rachel
  • Albie Selznick as George
  • Mara Hall as Renee
  • Dwayne Perkins as Mason
  • Savannah Williams as Crystal
  • Thaddeaus Ek as Jason
  • Michael Madison as Ken
  • Richard Milanesi as Bob
  • Herb Mendelsohn as Fred
  • Shaw Purnell as Joe's Mom
  • Brad Banacka as Don
  • Jay Costelo as Sean
  • Alveraz Ricardez as Richard

Controversy

The film's trailer was released on YouTube on May 11, 2019, prompting a backlash on social media for the film's overt racism, sexism, stereotyping and cultural appropriation. In response, Saville tweeted a photograph of himself with Marlon Wayans, referencing the latter's film White Chicks;[2] Wayans said, in return, that he "hated when people tag me in their bullshit. It is as annoying as fuck".[3] Dwayne Perkins, one of the black actors in the film, defended the film: "This is a comedy about a guy who does the wrong thing for the right reasons, and the movie really gets into all of it more than the trailer does... I think you have to withhold judgment until you see the movie, but again, making a mockery wasn't my intention".[4]

Film festival and laurels

Promotional material for Loqueesha stated that the film was an "official selection" of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF). A February 19 press release by SLOIFF listed Loqueesha in the festival lineup, but SLOIFF later tweeted that the film was never "selected, screened, or given an award at our festival."[5] The film was originally submitted to the George Sidney Independent Film Competition but was rejected. Saville, a resident of Carmel, then submitted it to the "Central Coast Filmmakers Showcase", which is open to residents of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. After Loqueesha was accepted in this category and the festival guides had been printed, the film was pulled by its producers before the screening. The festival apologized that the film did not receive an adequate vetting process and committed to "installing appropriate measures to see that this unfortunate circumstance does not occur in the future.”[6]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 0% approval rating, based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 2.33/10.[7] Writing for The Guardian, reviewer Joel Golby criticized the quality of the cinematography, audio editing, casting, special effects, and plot of the film, concluding that Loqueesha was "the worst film ever made".[8] Entertainment.ie found the concept of the film difficult to believe and based on the trailer called it "the worst movie of this decade".[9] Cracked called it "Probably The Worst Movie of 2019".[10] It was also on numerous "Worst Movies of the Last Decade" lists.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "Best of the Worst of 2019: Birth of a Soul Sister Case File #127/My Year of Flops II #24 Loqueesha". Nathan Rabin's Happy Place.
  2. Daniels, Karu F. "'Loqueesha' director uses 'White Chicks' to compare his controversial film about a white man pretending to be a black woman". nydailynews.com.
  3. Boone, Keyaira (May 13, 2019). "'Loqueesha' Director Responds After New Film About A White Man Pretending To Be A Black Woman Is Dragged". Essence. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  4. Meara, Paul (May 14, 2019). "Here's What The Black Comedian In 'Loqueesha' Thinks About Backlash Over The Film". BET. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  5. @SloFilmFest (May 11, 2019). "In regards to the trailer for the film "Loqueesha", this film was never selected, screened, or given an award at our festival" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. Linn, Sarah (May 13, 2019). "SLO Film Festival dragged into Twitter storm over 'racist' 'Loqueesha' movie". The Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  7. Loqueesha at Rotten Tomatoes
  8. Golby, Joel (June 8, 2019). "Is Loqueesha the worst film ever made?". The Guardian. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  9. Lloyd, Brian. "Here's the trailer for 'Loqueesha', the worst movie of this decade". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  10. By (2019-07-02). "This Is Probably The Worst Movie of 2019, And It's Only July". Cracked.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  11. Top 10 Worst Movies of The Last Decade–CBS Atlanta
  12. Top 10 Worst Comedy Movies of the Last Decade - One News Page
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