''The Inkwell'' is a 1994 romantic

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

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'', Anthony Curtis in ''Dead Presidents'', and as Councilman Rashad Tate in '' Power''. Tate's other fi ...

Joe Morton Joseph Thomas Morton Jr. (born October 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known as a character actor for his numerous roles on stage, television and film, he has received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award as well as a nomination for ...

, Suzzanne Douglass, Glynn Turman, Jada Pinkett and Vanessa Bell Calloway.

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 of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

, 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 U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

. Drew's parents, Kenny (

) 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 ( 23 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 ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''), 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 that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ( Vanessa Bell Calloway) and her husband, Spencer ( Glynn Turman), are

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

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 major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

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

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, 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 Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

, and Spencer argue furiously about racial issues. ''The Inkwell'' follows Drew's bumbling pursuit of the insufferably snooty Lauren ( Jada Pinkett). He also befriends Heather (

Adrienne-Joi Johnson Adrienne-Joi Johnson (born January 2, 1963), also known as A. J. Johnson, is an American actress, choreographer, Physical exercise, fitness trainer, and Coaching, life coach. Acting since 1987, Johnson has made many guest appearances on sitcoms, ...

), 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 such as ''G.I. Jane'', ''The Brothers (2001 film), The B ...

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

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

, 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 *

as Kenny Tate * Suzzanne Douglass as Brenda Tate * Glynn Turman as Spencer Phillips * Vanessa Bell Calloway as Frances Phillips *

as Heather Lee *

as Harold Lee * Jada Pinkett 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 an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or Ornament (art), ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in t ...

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 () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' 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 Laurenand 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 crime drama film directed by the Hughes Brothers in their directorial debut. Set in the Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the film follows the l ...

'' 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 aggregator, 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 ...

based on 9 reviews. It has since become a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

References

External links

* * *
The African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard
including the Inkwell Beach {{DEFAULTSORT:Inkwell, The 1994 films 1994 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 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Martha's Vineyard in fiction English-language romantic comedy-drama films