Everybody and anybody
Review: Somebodies

By Michael D Friedman
Reviews Editor & Online Producer

Chris Burns (right) helps Hadjii see the light.

So, let's get one thing right about Somebodies, the comedy from Athens filmmaker Hadjii that made its debut at Sundance: you either like it or you don't. I heard very mixed reviews from the crowds in Park City—good or bad, with very little in-between. So, it may not be for everyone, but the film is for some of us, making the title very apropos.

It's obviously for people who enjoy character more than plot, dialogue more than action and just flat-out funny moments. That includes me. I couldn't stop chuckling—or even all-out guffawing—during the screening that I attended in Salt Lake City during the Sundance Film Festival.

Somebodies is a slice-of-life tale about Scottie (Hadjii), an African-American college student (apparently at UGA), and how he grows from a party animal to something else.

Scottie is the kind of young man who injects oranges with vodka via syringe, so he can continue the party unnoticed in class. The carefree college life never stops for him, but when he encounters and falls for a young woman named Diva (Kaira Whitehead), his priorities begin to change and everybody has an opinion on the new love in his life. Everybody is ready to give Scottie their advice, and amidst the chaos, Scottie learns that he just has to do his own thing.

The really is no plot to speak of, just examining how Scottie's friends, family and acquaintances play on a young man trying to find out where his life is going. The fact that he doesn't discover the answers isn't as important as the realization that things are changing.

For students of the Syd Field or Robert McKee schools of screenwriting, this basically goes against all the rules. Where's the well-defined character arc? Where's plot point A and B? They aren't here, so stop looking. Films can work when they break the rules, just see Noah Baumbach's Kicking & Screaming (not to be confused with the Will Farrell movie of the same name), which is the best comparison I can come up with.

Life, like this film, sometimes just meanders. You have to just enjoy the ride and you will be amused at where it takes you.

What makes the Somebodies trip so interesting is the characters that inhabit Scottie's life. Whether it is the crazy preacher (Tyler Craig, undeniably hilarious) at his small church, spouting nonsense one second and deep truths the next; or his well-meaning manchild Uncle Skeeter (Carlos Davis) and his frustrated wife Aunt Agnes (Patt Brown, in a terrific comedic performance); or his buddy Marlo (Nard Holston), the butt of mama jokes who works as an elevator camera monitor; they all want to help Scottie, but they make his life more complicated.

When Scottie's relationship with Diva is taken to the next level, he finds himself getting advice from even stranger places, like the whiter-than-white ultra-Christian Brad (Chris Burns, who brings a fierce energy to the supporting role). Brad attempts to recruit Scottie into a group called the CCC, or College Christians for Christ. One of the funniest moments is when Brad meets Scottie's roommates, who want to know if the CCC isn't just a cleverly disguised new name for the KKK.

What gives Somebodies a unique perspective is that it is a film featuring African-Americans that doesn't play into the clichés that normally drive a "black" film. Hadjii specifically said that he wanted to focus on characters that are just regular people, instead of the thug life common to black films.

What he produces is an enjoyable and very funny look at what it means to be young—a movie that can be appreciated by anybody...or at least somebodies.

Michael D Friedman is an Atlanta screenwriter and filmmaker. He is a founder and co-president of the Atlanta Screenwriters Group.

Somebodies
Rating: (3 out of 4)

Directed by: Hadjii
Written by: Hadjii
Starring: Hadjii, Kaira Whitehead, Tyler Craig, Carlos Davis, Patt Brown, David "Nick" Lewis, IronE Singleton, Nard Holston, Chris Burns

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