Who Made the Potatoe Salad?

There are many difficult and trying things a man is expected to do; go to war, face a terrible boss and daily strain of earning a living. None of these compare to the time in his life when after working up the courage to propose marriage to the woman he loves he finally has to meet her family. The only way this could possible be worse is if that initial meeting happens to be at a major family holiday like Thanksgiving. The combination of family traditions, new faces and nervousness over asking your fiancée’s father for his daughter’s hand makes the battlefield seem like a playground. "Who Made the Potatoe Salad’ (the Dan Quayle style extra ‘e’ is intentional) looks at a young man who has to face this most arduous of rites of passage.

Michael (Jaleel White) is a police officer for the city of San Diego, California.When we first see him he is in foot pursuit of a criminal and while an apprehension is made Michael somehow winds up without his pants. Michael is a nice guy who takes a lot of kidding from his fellow officers over the little clumsy streak he occasionally displays. For example he may try to sit back in his chair and look cool but you just know that it will pull out from under him leaving Michael looking up and embarrassed at his laughing friends. After going out with his girlfriend Ashley Jenkins (Jennia Fredrique) for over a year he decides it is high time he pop the question and ask her to marry him. He takes her to a fine restaurant, proposes and the couple bask in the glow of the moment. One main difference between men and women comes out here. While Michael thinks of this as an accomplishment Ashley immediately becomes concerned over the planning that lies ahead. Michael is looking forward to meeting her family at the up coming Thanksgiving weekend but for some reason Ashley appears extremely worried even to the point of asking Michael if he will still love her if he doesn’t get along with her family. As it turns out there are a lot of reasons for Ashley’s concerns. Michael’s first clue is when Ashley’s father opens his trunk for the couple’s bags. Right there is a ominous looking shotgun. Her mother (Ella Joyce) seems nice enough but her father (Clifton Powell) is an ex Black Panther who served time in prison for killing a police officer. Finding the right time to tell Mr. Jenkins about the impending nuptials is difficult since Dad constantly refers to Michael as a sell out pig. Ashley’s brother June Bug (DeRay Davis) is a thug who speaks almost entirely in hip-hop slang. When Michael and June Bug are sent to the store Michael becomes very uneasy when June Bug lights up a join and points out the crack houses he used to supply. When some of June Bug’s ‘associates’ walk up June Bug takes out a gun to greet them. When Michael get to see his perspective father in law’s den he comes face to face with pictures of the man with the leaders of the Black Panthers and receives a talk about how he would never let his daughter be with a police officer. Mr. Jenkins would rather kill Michael than let that happen. Things go from bad to worse when family friend Monster (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister) comes over to make a play for Ashley. One arm of this man out weighs Michael and his disposition is far from friendly towards our lamentable hero. Mr. Jenkins has a little surprise for Ashley, a tape from Malik (Eddie Griffin) who is in jail for a robbing a bank and is now serving quadruple life. Finally on the morning of the big dinner Michael gets to meet Ashley’s maternal grandparents, the Browns (Reynaldo Rey, Bebe Drake). There is little love between them and Mr. Jenkins but the rest of the family loves them. June Bug tells Grandpa that he was sure to save some weed for him. They can’t wait for breakfast to be over before they retire to June Bug’s room. They may be elderly but the Browns are certainly a lusty couple. As they sit in the living room with the family they exchange some rather overly sexual glances. They go to the other room and soon Ashley and Michael are treated to passionate sounds from the kitchen. The one bright side for Michael is Mrs. Jenkins is on his side. She is happy that Ashley has found a good, decent man instead of winding up with a loser like Malik.

While the whole cast of this film is African-American it is not a ‘black’ film. It is a film about family, love and tying to fit in. These are universal topics and are well presented here. As a father of a daughter I can imagine the day when she comes to dinner with a young man. No man really wants to see his little girl go off to marriage with a strange man. While it is true that many of the characters are stereotypes there are moments in the film where some personality comes out. For the most part the women here come off as far more sensible then the men. In one scene in the kitchen Mrs. Jenkins explains to her daughter that her father hated Mr. Jenkins but they got married anyway. Mrs. Jenkins also tells her husband that the way he treats Michael is exactly like her father treats him. There are some humorous moments here but few laugh out loud moments. The flick does have some heart especially towards the end as the conflict comes to a resolution.

Jaleel White will forever be known as his television persona, Urkle. When ‘Family Matters’ started he was little more than a bit character but his sense of self deprecating comic timing overwhelmed the rest of the characters and basically people started to refer to the series as the Urkle show. White has matured as an actor. He allows his fellow cast mates to have their own time center stage. Clifton Powell steals the show as the over baring and overwhelming father. His revolution rhetoric is used to perfection as he tries to intimidate Michael. This is the freshmen directorial effort for Damon 'Coke' Daniels. Some of the techniques he uses are better suited for a sit-com but over all the pacing and structure of the picture is well done.

20^th Century Fox gives this direct to video release a bare bones but technically well done DVD release. The video is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 with natural color balance and except for a few scenes excellent contrast. The Dolby 5.1 audio is realistic but mostly in the front speakers. The rear speakers do give a nice ambience and for the most part the sub woofer is silent. This is a fun flick that is a bit too intense for the whole family. It is rated ‘R’ for the strong language.

Posted 10/31/06