''Wah Do Dem'' is a 2009 American independent comedy drama film written, produced, edited, and directed by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner. The major roles are played by Kevin Bewersdorf, Sean "Bones" Sullivan (of Brooklyn band Sam Champion), and Carl Bradshaw, who played Jose in the 1972 film ''

The Harder They Come ''The Harder They Come'' is a 1972 Jamaican crime film directed by Perry Henzell and co-written by Trevor D. Rhone, and starring Jimmy Cliff. The film is most famous for its reggae soundtrack that is said to have "brought reggae to the world ...

''.

Plot

Brooklyn slacker Max wins two tickets for a Caribbean cruise, but ends up travelling alone after being dropped by his girlfriend, Willow. The trip coincides with the 2008 US election, which is won by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. After docking in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, a series of misfortunes sees him travelling across the country where he meets several characters, including musicians and a mystic Rastaman.

Cast

*Sean Bones as Max *

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

as Willow * Carl Bradshaw as 'Mystic Man' *Kevin Bewersdorf as 'the creepy guy on the cruise ship' *Mark Gibbs as Juvi *Christopher Palmer (also known by Mr. Lexx/Lexxus, singer/rapper/artist) *Ira-Wolf Tuton *Patrick Morrison *Sheena Irons *

The Congos The Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica which formed as the duo "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) (b. Roydel Johnson, 1947, Hanover, Jamaica) and Cedric Myton (falsetto) (b. 1947, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica), later becoming a tri ...

as themselves

Production

The film was directed and written by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner, and contains a cameo by

and a live performance by

.Catsoulis, Jeannette (2010)
Wah Do Dem (What They Do) (2009): Seeking Excitement in Jamaica
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 17, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 ''Wah Do Dem'' was made after Chace won two cruise tickets in real life and bought more for Bones and Bewersdorf in order to make the film.Bitel, Anton
Wah Do Dem
,

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat ...

. Retrieved 11 August 2013 He arranged for co-producer Katina Faye Hubbard to meet them in Jamaica, where the film was completed. Filming lasted three weeks in total. The film features music by

MGMT MGMT () is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, Ben Goldwasser. Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent ...

Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, '' Santogold'' (2008), was released by Atlantic Records and met with widespread critica ...

, Suckers,

Mykal Rose Michael Rose (born 11 July 1957) is a Jamaican reggae singer. He is most widely known for a successful tenure as the lead singer for Black Uhuru from 1977 to 1984, followed by a lengthy solo career. He has been praised as "one of Jamaica's most d ...

, Mr. Lexx and The Congos. Ira Wolf Tuton of Yeasayer and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT also appear in the film.Breihan, Tom (2010)
MGMT, Yeasayer, Suckers Members Appear in New Movie Wah Do Dem
,

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

, May 12, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013

Reception

'' called it a "shaggy road movie about relinquishing your comforts to find your bliss", while the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' described it as "slight but satisfying". Sheri Linden of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' described the film as "a misadventure narrative, told via verite-style guerrilla filmmaking", and called it a "dynamic portrait of Jamaica".Linden Sheri (2009)
"Wah Do Dem" a dynamic portrait of Jamaica
, ''

'' (via

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

), June 24, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Slant magazine gave it three stars out of four, calling it "a brief, peripatetic love letter to Jamaican tropes scrawled on hemp ".Lanthier, Joseph Jon (2010)
Film Review: Wah Do Dem
, Slant magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' was a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly with a summer issue added, between the July and August issues, every year since issue 91, 2004) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and of ...

'' gave it three stars out of five, with Kevin Harley describing it as "stylish, observant, fitfully funny and laced with promise".Harley, Kevin (2010)
Reviews: Wah Do Dem
, ''

'', September 14, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Rob Nelson, reviewing the film for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', described it as "slight but winning and often funny".Nelson, Rob (2009)
Review: “Wah Do Dem”
, ''

'', November 11, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Derek Malcolm, writing for the ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'', viewed the film as "impossible not to like".Malcolm, Derek (2010)
Wah Do Dem is a happy holiday in Jamaica
, ''

'', August 27, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' reviewer

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

gave it two stars out of five, calling it "a pretty self-indulgent personal project, sketchily conceived and not particularly well acted".Bradshaw, Peter (2010)
Wah Do Dem
, ''

'', 26 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013

Aaron Hillis Aaron Hillis is an American writer, film critic, director, film festival programmer, and curator. Career Hillis has been active in independent film, especially within the fields of indie festivals, exhibitions, indie film distribution and progra ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' called it a "glorified vacation video".Hillis, Aaron (2010)
Norah Jones, MGMT, and Yeasayer Walk Into a Movie -- Why, Wah Do Dem, Why?
, ''

'', June 15, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' writer Wesley Morris gave the film one star out of five, opining that the directors "don't open any dramatic or emotional door".Morris, Wesley (2010)
Movie Review: Wah Do Dem
, ''

'', June 26, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 ''Wah Do Dem'' won the Jury Award for 'Best Narrative Feature' at the 2009

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodi ...

.LA-Film-Festival-Website, as seen on Jan 11,2011
" It has been described as a "

mumblecore Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent film characterized by naturalistic acting and (sometimes improvised) dialogue, low budgets, an emphasis on dialogue over plot, and a focus on the personal relationships of young adults. Filmmakers associ ...

" film.

DVD release

The film was released on DVD by Factory 25 in October 2010.

References

External links

* *{{rottentomatoes, wah-do-dem 2009 films 2000s English-language films American comedy-drama films