Black and White came and went from theaters in 2000, but my chance to see it came and I took it without really knowing anything about it save for some of its actors (Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jared Leto, Claudia Schiffer) and that it was a drama set in the world of hip-hop and sports. Now, having seen more of James Toback's films, I can look back at this film a little more fondly or with more of a knowledge of Toback's other films in context, than I did before. There's some solid performances (mostly by Downey and a rather subdued Stiller as a drug agent), and some memorable scenes and characters. If there's one memory about the film that sticks out though it's that it's a little all-over-the-place, which is a common thing in Toback's films. The structure is like that of a sketch-book where we see a lot of Toback's ideas and passions on the world of hip-hop and (especially) on sports and gambling, but only some of the time sticks (I also remember not having much of an opinion at all about Schiffer except as being pretty and out of place even as a girlfriend character). But it does have some interesting things to say, and there are some entertaining moments and solid dramatic beats (and it has Tyson doing a choke on Downey Jr, which is worth the price of the DVD alone).
Review of Black & White
