Made in America (1993)

Thanks for the memories!

Fresh and Exciting

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

As another example of an average premise and equal execution "Made In America" doesn't disappoint. Whoopie Goldberg and Ted Danson star as one-time customers of a sperm donor bank that has mistakenly given them a very curious daughter. Entering her mid-teens, their daughter Zora (played affably by Nia Long) discovers she is the product of their unintentional love. While Sarah (Goldberg) wanted a strong, tall black man, she would have settled at least for the last part. Instead, she is introduced to Danson by her intuitive daughter after she uses her friend (played by Will Smith) to steal sperm donor records.The rest of the film is pretty much by-the-book. Father and Mother fight, get along, date, daughter gets weirded-out, parents save daughter from bad decision and hug....fade to credits and cliché song.In between:The movie IS worth watching. I give it crap because it's fairly by-the-book but it's not awful. When I first saw this film I was a fan of Danson from "Cheers" and Goldberg from her one-woman show and guest spots on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember being pleasantly surprised by both. Danson is an accomplished actor, best in "Pontiac Moon", and stretches his comedic skills here. Goldberg, on the other hand is best here in dramatic moments. She is warm and vibrant with splashes of real brilliance but it's not enough. It's not that she can't do the comedy at all, she is an incredible comedian, the script just doesn't give her enough to do besides be shrill and clumsy with a smattering of nice. Her few scenes with Danson are worth the time spent watching and make up for their tabloid headlines at the time. As for Smith's performance, this early role wasn't much different than most. Every minute on screen he is a joy, still in his "Fresh Prince" mode here he certainly doesn't disappoint. Nia Long is the real find here. If one person from this film should have been given a better shake than anyone it is her. She is vibrant, funny and worthy of the people she shares the screen with. That says a lot.

This was so funny. It was fabulous. You laugh straight through, except for the part in every movie when the going gets tough. Really, Whoopi is a crazy-in-traffic mother with an attitude. After her husbands death she went to a sperm bank. But oh, how could this happen, they mix it up. She asked for a tall, intelligent black man. Now she's clashed together with "Hal" ('s your pal), the actual sperm donor. But he's not black and he's a car salesman. He is tall, and we withhold judgment on the intelligence scale. The only match is their traffic skills (or lack thereof, depending on how you look at it) and their sensible daughter. Her pal, T-cake (Will Smith), is a gem. You should watch the movie just to see him swing his butt pretending to be an angry girl.

The movie seems to work better than the premise might suggest. The three leads - Goldberg, Danson and Nia Long, have a nice chemistry between them. Nia Long being particularly lovable as 'their' daughter. There are some good gags in it, although the movie is not overstuffed with them. The decent, heartwarming plot (just the right amount of twists) handles the race aspects with an exemplary ease.Jennifer Tilly's bit-part was funnier and more successful than Will Smith's. Made in America is hardly a classic but is worth watching if you like a little maturity in your comedy.

I'd just finished reading the User Comments, before writing my own, and I can't understand why everyone panned it!! Okay, so it's not exactly Oscar-worthy, but it's good for a few laughs.I'm a huge Whoopi fan from way back, and while this will never match Jumpin' Jack Flash or Sister Act, it's still a pretty decent film. I think Goldberg's role was pretty funny, and my favorite scene is where she get's drunk and says: 'I know this is his office, I know that, I mean look at it! Cheesy wood, bowling trophies, Western motîf makes me ill... ooooh, it's the Titty Sisters - this is absolutely his office!'Ted Danson's performance falls short compared to his other work (ie. Cheers). Will Smith's character is pretty funny, and Nia Long does a great job in the film. Newcomer Paul Rodriguez is okay, and Jennifer Tilly is cast again as the annoying little tart (it's what she does best). Step By Step's Peggy Rea is also good in her role as Alberta - the long-suffering receptionist at Hal's car place.Okay, so it's not the greatest, but it's fine for a rainy day. On a scale of 1 to 10, it'd earn about 5.5.