''The Inkwell'' is a 1994 romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Matty Rich. The film stars

Larenz Tate Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in ''Menace II Society'' and as Councilman Rashad Tate in ''Power''. Tate's other films and television series include the fil ...

, Joe Morton, Suzzanne Douglass,

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

Jada Pinkett Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

and

Vanessa Bell Calloway Vanessa Bell Calloway ( Bell; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy ''Coming to America'', as well as for her roles ...

Plot

Set in the summer of 1976, the film follows the adventures of Drew Tate (

), a 16-year-old from

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

, when he and his family spend two weeks with affluent relatives on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...

. Drew's parents, Kenny ( Joe Morton) and Brenda ( Suzzanne Douglass), worry that their son is emotionally disturbed. His favorite companion is a doll, in which he names Iago (after the character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

''), with which he engages in animated conversations. They also fear that a fire he accidentally set in the family garage foreshadows a future as an arsonist. On Martha's Vineyard, Drew is thrown into an affluent, party-loving

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

society that congregates on a beach known as the Inkwell. The visit is also the occasion of some bitter family strife. Drew's Aunt Frances (

) and her husband, Spencer (

), are

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

s whose walls are plastered with pictures of Republican dignitaries such as

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

(who they keep saying will become president someday). Kenny, a former

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

, and Spencer argue furiously about racial issues. ''The Inkwell'' follows Drew's bumbling pursuit of the insufferably snooty Lauren (

). He also befriends Heather (

Adrienne-Joi Johnson Adrienne-Joi Johnson (born January 2, 1963) is an American actress, choreographer, fitness trainer, and life coach. Acting since 1987, Johnson has made many guest appearances on sitcoms, television dramas and music videos; she also has numerous ...

), a young woman whose husband, Harold (

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films and on television series, including the starring role of ...

), is a faithless louse. The movie comes to an end on the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

, when the

Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

fireworks end up symbolizing not just America's 200th birthday but Drew finally having sex with Heather.

Cast

as Drew Tate * Joe Morton as Kenny Tate * Suzzanne Douglass as Brenda Tate *

as Spencer Phillips *

as Francis Phillips *

as Heather Lee *

as Harold Lee *

as Lauren Kelly * Duane Martin as Junior Phillips * Mary Alice as Evelyn *Phyllis Yvonne Stickney as Dr. Wade * Markus Redmond as Darryl *Perry Moore as Moe *Akia Victor as Charlene *

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...

as The New York Dream Machine

Production

For the 20th anniversary of the film, the cast reunited with writer/filmmaker Lathleen Ade-Brown for ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' where Larenz Tate spoke about the casting process. He told the magazine "Matty Rich was holding auditions in L.A. Jada inkett Smithwas already cast in the role

s Lauren S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

and I remember her calling me, saying, ‘You got to do this movie!’ In fact, she was saying, ‘Listen, let’s meet up and rehearse because they are going to want me to read with you, so let’s rehearse, so you totally land it!’ I told her, ‘I’m going to rip that role! No need to rehearse, you just keep up with me and we just play off each other.’ She says. ‘I got you, let’s do it!’ I go in the audition and we really just lit up the room, then I had to audition solo. They didn't know what to expect considering I just did ''

Menace II Society ''Menace II Society'' (pronounced ''Menace to Society'') is a 1993 American teen drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. The film is set in Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, and follows the life of ...

'' playing O-Dawg, a completely street person. So that impressed them and they offered me the part."

Reception

''The Inkwell'' was poorly received by critics. It holds a rating of 22% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 9 reviews. It has since become a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

References

External links

* * *
The African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard
including the Inkwell Beach {{DEFAULTSORT:Inkwell, The 1994 films 1990s romantic comedy-drama films 1990s coming-of-age comedy-drama films African-American films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films Films scored by Terence Blanchard Films about virginity Films shot in North Carolina Films set in Martha's Vineyard Films set in the 1970s Films set in 1976 Touchstone Pictures films 1994 comedy films 1994 drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films