They Cloned Tyrone
July 21st, 2023
MOVIE: THEY CLONED TYRONE
STARRING: JOHN BOYEGA, JAMIE FOXX, TEYONAH PARRIS, KIEFER SUTHERLAND
DIRECTED BY: JUEL TAYLOR
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
They Cloned Tyrone lands on the same weekend as Barbie and Oppenheimer so audiences will have to wade through the pink mushroom clouds to see it. The directorial debut from Juel Taylor is an amalgam of various genres, from Blaxploitation to screwball comedy, science fiction, and social commentary. All of those parts pop but what it amounts to is a smart and incredibly funny new film. They Cloned Tyrone was filmed over two years ago, has been sat on till now, with little publicity, and is finally getting a small release in select theaters and dumped on Netflix. It’s sad really, because here is a movie that deserves an audience and has a narrative worthy of long discussion. They Cloned Tyrone has a trio of cool performances, an ingenious premise, and gives us all a lot to think over.
The setting is a fictional neighborhood known as The Glen, which could be any major city, with a predominantly Black community, which feels like a mixture of the 1970s and the current state of the world. We meet Fontaine (John Boyega) after he walks out of a liquor store, he’s a drug dealer, who keeps to himself, but uses kids in his neighborhood to gather his monthly payments. One of those people that owe him money is Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx with a great performance), a pimp who loves to remind people that he was the king of the players’ ball back in the day, and berates his women to “keep them in line”. One of his ladies is Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), a sharp-talking sex worker, who won’t let Slick walk over her, nor will she not defend herself against others. When Fontaine goes to collect money from Slick he pushes him around, takes what is his, but is soon shot six times in the car by another person that he had a previous argument with. Fontaine is dead. Or so we think.
When Fontaine wakes back up in his bed it’s a Groundhog Day situation at first, where he thinks he might be living life over again, but actually, it’s the next day. For some reason, some way, he has come back to life, but the body that he was shot up in, that’s still laying in the city morgue. So where did this other Fontaine come from? The trio of characters find themselves working together, as they discover an underground laboratory, where the people of the Black community are being manipulated, through stereotypical products such as a fried chicken joint and a hair straightening product that makes all the women loopy. What They Cloned Tyrone becomes is a mystery, with all three characters seeking answers. How many of them are there? How long have they all been manipulated and how do they bring this underground society down?
Much like Jordan Peele’s Get Out, They Cloned Tyrone is a fantastic slice of social commentary, about Black communities being kept in their place, underfunded, underappreciated, and dismantled. The screenplay by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier is razor sharp, not just with the sci-fi ingenuity but with the comedic timing. It’s a bit of fun and fierce, as the performance from Boyega elevates the narrative through his body language and mental anguish. The comedic timing of Foxx and Parris is possibly the film’s best part, as the two don’t miss a beat of witty banter, while equally providing a release from Boyega’s tense energy.
My only quarrels with They Cloned Tyrone is that the ending feels weak with an ending that is both too much slapstick and too much charm. Taylor introduces deep themes and conversation starters for both white and Black communities. Topics on the complexities of a person’s Blackness, the conversation around Passing, interracial marriage, and the very way white communities want to replace Black existence. It’s important and incredibly complex, yet it becomes summed up easily. My guess is that Taylor wants the conversation to continue outside instead. They Cloned Tyrone is at least a great conversation starter, hopefully, an Oscar-Nomination for Jamie Foxx, and a true science fiction film that can go beyond what is on the surface. They Cloned Tyrone is one of a kind.
THEY CLONED TYRONE IS PLAYING IN SELECT THEATERS AND AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX FRIDAY JULY 21ST, 2023.
3 STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
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