The Tuskegee Airmen

"Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis: How do I feel about my country? And how does my country...feel about me? Are we only to be Americans when the mood suits you? A fair and impartial opportunity is all we ask. Nothing that you yourselves wouldn't demand."

Has it been so long that we've forgotten the original PBS version of The Tuskegee Airmen? Whatever its reason for the made-for-tv status, the 1995 film turned out to be the African American equivalent of A Few Good Men vis-a-vis casting and overall quality. So it pains me to see a preview for a big screen remake of what looks to be the Drumline/Pearl Harbor bastard remake of the original with a George Lucas stamp on it, Red Tails. We aren't talking the American Graffiti George Lucas, rather the Jar Jar Binks swimming in a pool of gold George Lucas.


Movies of the original Tuskegee Airmen caliber should remind us of films like Glory, not about how cool it was when Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnet played chicken in a Michael Bay fireworks spectacular. There's a quiet dignity about the 332nd Fighter Group, best represented by their first night in barracks. And so it provides us all with an outline of how to conduct yourself when thrown into a new group of alpha males: be proud, be confident, be succinct, and let your accomplishments speak for themselves.

Ok, which distinguished PJ-clad cadet was your favorite? If you picked Theo Huxtable lighting a pipe, proudly declaring his Art History major, then you were correct. But more to the point - pretty much anything you say, if you say it with unfaltering conviction, will be taken seriously.

Which brings us to a more serious note. Andre Braugher's Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis delivers a performance far greater than just an Emmy nomination. With the rank and file pecking order of African American leading men in Hollywood, it is hard to imagine Laurence Fishburne as that of a cadet and career TV journeyman Courtney B. Vance as his superior. But the ultimate C.O. of this outfit is truly believable as Braugher transcends the traditional Hollywood pecking order here as a the face of the Tuskegee pilot program.

Here Braugher lights into John Lithgow as though he were Sly Stallone hurling his foe from a helicopter on the side of a mountain. Figuratively, of course. But this scene reminds us of why exactly we all voted for Barack Obama. Partisan or not, PC or not, we love those who are cool under pressure and in the face of total adversity. Try to use this at least once in your life when you're put in a situation wherein you're expected to fail: "You invite us to a poker game, hand us a fixed deck and then wonder why we can't win?" And try to remember these lasting words: "I was brought up to believe that...beneath it all...Americans are a decent people...with an abiding sense of integrity and fair play."

So George, next time let's try to do what you do best lately. Re-release some stuff from decades ago in Blu-ray or 3D in lieu of making new projects. Because, quite frankly, they're better and the nerds over in James Cameron's garage are better than you at making stuff look cool.