Starring Queen Latifa, Michael K. Williams, Mo'Nique, and Khandi Alexander
Directed by Dee Rees
Music and Lyrics by various
I enjoyed the two biographies of black female singers I watched last year as a transition from Black History Month to Women's History Month so much, I decided to do it again. This time, instead of rock and R&B singers, we're covering the lives of seminal blues and jazz singers. We start with "The Empress of the Blues" Smith, in this HBO original movie that was the most popular film ever made for the network. How does the story of how the blues singer went from rags to riches to rags again...and rediscovered love in the process...look today? Let's start onstage with Bessie (Queen Latifa) as she recalls her life and her recent troubles during a performance and find out...
The Story: Smith started out working for pennies on the black vaudeville circuit, but what she really wants is to appear in a big stage show. At the time, even black stage managers refused to hire darker-skinned women for their shows. She befriends "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey (Mo'Nique) after sneaking onto her private train. Ma helps her develop her style, but when Bessie becomes more popular, they have a falling-out and Bessie leaves with her brother Clarence (Tory Kittles) to start her own act. One of the people she hires starting out is Jack Gee (Williams), a security guard who becomes her manager, and later marries her.
Jack tries to get Bessie a contract with the newly formed African-American record label Black Swan. When they turn her down, he gets her one with Columbia. Bessie's now one of the most popular black recording artists in the US, but her success does come with major drawbacks. She's stabbed after a performance in her home town and has to drive the Klu Klux Klan off from another show. Wealthy whites treat her condescendingly. Despite buying a huge mansion for her and her family and adopting a son she names Jack Jr. (Sylvester Ambrose James II), Bessie continues her affairs with both Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and bootlegger Richard Morgan (Mike Epps).
She eventually turns to alcohol, which proves to be a problem as the 20's roll into the 30's. Jack finally gets fed up with her affairs after they have a huge fight and not only leaves her, but kidnaps their son as well. The Depression destroys her savings, and she and Morgan move into a small apartment. Bessie does reconcile with Ma Rainey, and with her encouragement and the inspiration of a racy record by blues singer Lucille Bogan, she finally gets back on her feet and reminds audiences that she still has what it takes to be the "Empress of the Blues."
The Song and Dance: Wow. No wonder this is the most-watched HBO original film to date and won an Emmy for best TV movie in 2015. Powerhouse performances bring Smith's tumultuous story to searing life, with Queen Latifa and Williams the stand-outs as the big loving, big feeling Bessie and her hot-headed husband. Mo'Nique steals the few scenes she appears in as Smith's mentor and predecessor as queen of the blues. The costumes and sets detailing Smith's up-and-down descent from struggling singer to lavishly living celebrity and back again are historically accurate and absolutely gorgeous.
Favorite Number: Singer Pat Bass dubs Mo'Nique, performing Ma Rainey's own "Weepin' Woman Blues" when Bessie watches her perform for the first time. Carmen Twille performs her "Prove It On Me." Bessie tries to audition with "I Got What It Takes, But It Breaks My Heart to Give It Away," but the producers turn her down. She and Bass duet on "Weepin' Woman Blues"...which is when Rainey realizes that her protege is outshining her.
Bessie's first song on her own - and her first hit - is "Lost Your Head Blues." She gets her biggest hit, "Downhearted Blues," literally as she's walking from the hospital after her stabbing onto the stage. "Preachin' the Blues" is the number that gets cut off when the Klu Klux Klan tries to burn the tent where she's performing...with her, her band, and the entire audience in it. "Till the Cows Come Home" is the real recording by Lucille Bogan that inspires Bessie to start performing again. She sings about that "Long Old Road" to an appreciative crowd.
Trivia: Sadly, Bessie's comeback proved to be short-lived. She died in a tragic and controversial car crash in 1937.
Mo'Nique was originally offered Viola, but asked for Ma Rainey instead, since she'd played types like Viola before.
Was in development for 20 years, including originally being planned for a theatrical release, before it finally went to HBO.
What I Don't Like: While the raw subject matter makes this more interesting and honest than most biographies, it still hits all the standard beats of the genre. For all the gorgeous details and terrific performances, I wish the movie had gone a little more outside the box and had explored other parts of Bessie's colorful life, like her connection with audiences or her lesbian lovers, even further. Not to mention, some characters have been fudged or combined. Lucille, for instance, is a combination of Smith's many female lovers. Bessie also met Ma Rainey as a teenager, and they never had a falling out. They also gloss over a lot of Bessie's life in the early Depression, including how she lost her money. There's too many characters, and not enough time to deepen them all.
The Big Finale: If you love the blues, Smith, Queen Latifa, or the music of the early 20th century, you'll want to learn more about Bessie Smith and her world of gin and sin, too.
Home Media: As a fairly recent and very popular movie, it's easily found on disc and streaming.
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