Emergency (2022, D: Williams) S: Cyler, Watkins
05-16-22 | 08:12 AM
#1
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Emergency (2022, D: Williams) S: Cyler, Watkins
Straight-A college student Kunle and his laid-back best friend, Sean, are about to have the most epic night of their lives. Determined to be the first Black students to complete their school’s frat party legendary tour, the friends strap in for their ultimate assignment, Solo cups in hand. But a quick pit stop at home alters their plans when they find a white girl passed out on the living room floor. Faced with the risks of calling the police under life-threatening optics, Kunle, Sean, and their Latino roommate, Carlos, must find a way to de-escalate the situation before it’s too late.
08-19-22 | 11:25 AM
#2
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Emergency (2022, D: Williams) S: Cyler, Watkins
What starts as a typical college story turns into a night-from-Hell movie. Donald Elise Watkins and RJ Cyler have solid chemistry as the academic wiz kid Kunle and the party-loving Sean, respectively. The movie very clearly has racial politics at the top of mind, which it states openly with an early scene where a white professor holds a discussion with her class about the impact of the N-word. How blacks and Latinos are perceived is a theme running throughout the film and also serves as the catalyst for how the best friends wind up stuck in a predicament involving a passed out white girl.
Despite the topical subject matter, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. It mines its characters for laughs, such Sean repeatedly taking exception to Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), their other roommate who frequently offers people granola from the fanny pack he's always wearing. The blacks-mustn't-be-caught-with-an-unconscious-white-girl scenario is the source of several gags, not the least of which involves a bunch of friends of Sean's brother who react hilariously to the pickle Kunle and Sean have gotten into.
Emergency is surprising in that doesn't end with the resolution to the passed out girl problem. Its final act is more of an extended epilogue that has the characters deal with the fallout of their actions and what they went through, allowing them to open up about how they're feeling. The emotional climax of the film is a real showcase for the two leads and is a sobering moment of self-realization, regret, and forgiveness.
This coming-of-age story has more on its mind than many movies with a similar setup. It's definitely worth checking out for its fresh take on college movies.
Despite the topical subject matter, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. It mines its characters for laughs, such Sean repeatedly taking exception to Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), their other roommate who frequently offers people granola from the fanny pack he's always wearing. The blacks-mustn't-be-caught-with-an-unconscious-white-girl scenario is the source of several gags, not the least of which involves a bunch of friends of Sean's brother who react hilariously to the pickle Kunle and Sean have gotten into.
Emergency is surprising in that doesn't end with the resolution to the passed out girl problem. Its final act is more of an extended epilogue that has the characters deal with the fallout of their actions and what they went through, allowing them to open up about how they're feeling. The emotional climax of the film is a real showcase for the two leads and is a sobering moment of self-realization, regret, and forgiveness.
This coming-of-age story has more on its mind than many movies with a similar setup. It's definitely worth checking out for its fresh take on college movies.
