Main Cast: Gregory Hines, Peter Riegert, Kimberly Elise, Maria Ricossa, Savion Glover
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
Plot
Actor and dancer Gregory Hines served as both executive producer and star for this biographical drama that chronicles the life of legendary entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. In 1916, Robinson was a successful vaudeville performer and considered the finest tap dancer of his generation when he met Fannie (Kimberly Elise), a college student nearly two decades his junior. Even though Robinson was already married, he quickly fell in love with Fannie, and in time she was swept off her feet by the charismatic dancer and became his second wife. Fannie was one of the first people to encourage Robinson to stop performing in blackface (common for African-American vaudeville performers of the time), and in the 1930s, she and manager Marty Forkins (Peter Riegert) persuaded Bill to move to Hollywood and find work in the movies. While roles for black actors in Hollywood were severely limited at the time, Robinson managed to become a recognized film star, headlining the musical Stormy Weather and appearing in a number of pictures with child star Shirley Temple. But while Robinson's film work helped make him the best-known black performer in America, his frequent roles as domestic servants did little to earn him respect among his own people, and he was often seen as an "Uncle Tom" for his aggressively cheerful on-stage demeanor. And while Robinson was confronted with the less fortunate consequences of fame, he and Fannie had to deal with his growing addiction to gambling, which threatened to leave the highest-paid black man in America flat broke. Bojangles also features Savion Glover and Maria Ricossa; the film was produced for the Showtime premium cable network, where it first aired on February 4, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jackie Richardson; Aaron Meeks; Philip Akin; Martin Doyle
Credit
Pat McCorkle - Casting, Beth Klein - Casting, Diane Kerbel - Casting, Henry Le Tang - Choreography, Joseph Sargent - Director, B.J. Sears - Editor, Gregory Hines - Executive Producer, Richard Vane - Executive Producer, Laurie Mirsky - Line Producer, Terence Blanchard - Composer (Music Score), Franco DeCotiis - Production Designer, Donald M. Morgan - Cinematographer, Richard Wesley - Screenwriter, Robert Johnson - Screenwriter, Jim Haskins - Book Author, N.R. Mitgang - Book Author
Starting with Robinson's funeral, including what looks like archival footage of the event, the film then plays out the biography in a straightforward manner as a flashback, both in color and black-and-white.
In 1916, Robinson was a successful vaudeville performer and considered the finest tap dancer of his generation. At the peak of his career, he was the highest paid Black entertainer, but for all the joy he gave others, his life was anything but happy, there was a great deal of tragedy in himself. He died broke and penniless.
When the American Civil War was still a living memory, segregation in public facilities was the rule, rather than the exception, and all sorts of strange and arbitrary regulations were aimed at keeping people of color in a separate and inferior position. On the vaudeville circuits there was what was known as the "two-colored rule"—no solo performances for black entertainers; at least two had to be on the stage. But Robinson started in the black-face productions and shocked people when he worked as a solo act. He also starred on Broadway and was a headliner in Canada, which didn't have the same issues with racism as America, and while roles for black actors in Hollywood were severely limited at the time, Robinson managed to become a recognized screen star, headlining the musical Stormy Weather and appearing in a significant number of films with child star Shirley Temple.
Robinson was a great subject for a movie biography. He loved his native New York City and gained notoriety for his generosity, performing at more of 3000 benefits, but was also a compulsive gambler and a womanizer.
Hines, arguably the greatest tap dancer of his generation,[citation needed] displays his fascination with the history of the art, but instead of creating a glorified image of the man and his work, he shows a different side of the entertainer. The best scenes of Bojangles are the dance numbers, including a memorable duplication by Hines of a filmed dance by Robinson using an up-and-down set of stairs in which Hines' step dance is repeated with the film of Robinson's, side by side. An effective supporting cast helps to keep the energy levels from flagging. Kimberly Elise is charming as Robinson's wife of 27 years, and Peter Riegert adds dimension to Marty Forkins, Robinson's loyal agent who gave up other clients–the Marx Brothers, Will Rogers—to focus on building Robinson's career. Bojangles also features Savion Glover and Maria Ricossa. All of these characters speak directly to the camera/audience at one point or another, a device that also helps vary the mostly straight-line storyline.
Furthermore, because Johnson it's not glorified, it allows the opportunity for the audience to examine the difficulties of black entertainers back then against similar difficulties today. Bojangles was produced by Darrick Productions and MGM Television for the Showtime premium cable network.
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