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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is a classic--a thinking person's comedy, March 20, 2005
This review is from: Carbon Copy (DVD)
This movie is a hilarious social satire. George Segal, Denzel Washington, and Susan St. James play their parts to a tee. The movie just becomes funnier and funnier as the story evolves. My favorite part is the school yard basketball game, where Segal's character discovers that his son is terrible at basketball and loses the bet he made with another father/son duo. A key part of the film is when "Mr. Charley" finds work cleaning out horse stables and then his son finds an apartment for both of them in LA's Watts neighborhood. It is the pivotal moment in the movie. Sure, the film is at times silly, but it makes you think about the social divisions and prejudices that unfortunately still persist to this day in our country.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun movie with great chemistry between the two leads, May 13, 2003
I've always enjoyed the great comic talents of George Segal however what is not commonly known is the fine dramatic skills that he also possesses as seen in such fine dramatic roles as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". "Carbon Copy" came late in Segal's incredibly successful run of comedies through the 1970's and early 80's that included hits such as "The Duchess and the Dirty Water Fox, "A Touch of Class","Who is killing the Great Chefs of Europe", and "Fun with Dick and Jane". This film fittingly involves a comic story with many serious undertones and is an early very fine effort in depicting white and black relations in film. Carbon Copy", tells the story of a very successful white business executive (George Segal) who appears to have it all, the great house, top job, beautiful wife and all the luxuries that money can buy who one day comes face to face with the son he never knew he had (Denzel Washington in a terrific movie debut). The major problem here is however that the son is not only the result of a previous love affair but black as well which would not sit well with his upwardly mobile lifestyle and snobby family. The resulting situation once his son is introduced to his family has both funny and sad repurcussions as Segal sees his whole world crumble before his eyes and he finds himself out of a job, homeless, with no money, sharing a rundown apartment in a "bad neighbourhood" with his son and being reduced in a very comical scene to shovelling horse manure to earn a few bucks for food. Along the way much soul searching is done by both father and son as they realise the other is not naturally the enemy and that colour should not be something that necessarily should keep them apart. The chemistry between the two leads, the more experienced George Segal and a young Denzel Washington is terrific and they are in turn very funny together as seen in the scenes when driving in Washington's beat up old car and in the scene when they are booking into the cheap motel for the night, and touchingly dramatic as they slowly discover more about each other and decide to try at a life together as father and son. The rapport between them is terrific and both play off each other to great effect.It is easy to see that Denzel Washington, one of today's finest actors was destined for great things even at this early stage in his career. He is perfectly natural and delivers a refreshingly honest performance as th eyoung black man trying to find his roots. His performance is a mixture of frustration, curiosity and comic ability. He has you alternately laughing and crying which is the sign of true talent indeed. While definately a light comedy "Carbon Copy",does however deliver an important message about race relations and perceptions while not deliberatly pointing the finger at either racial group for being distrustful of the other. Many significant points on how we should view people are delivered in among the great comedy moments in the film. Being a big George Segal fan there is much to like in "Carbon Copy". While not his greatest film he still displays that wonderful comedy delivery that charmed audiences in the 1970's and 80's. It's only a pity that he didn't continue in films at a later period rather than moving fulltime into television. I highly recommend "Carbon Copy", for an enjoyable hour and a half that will also get you thinking in a subtle way about how people do actually relate to each other. Enjoy the highjinks of white father and black son as cultures collide in "Carbon Copy".
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's cheesy, but Denzel saves the day, January 24, 2005
This review is from: Carbon Copy (DVD)
Picture this. A midwestern early '60s college kid, white, develops an intense relationship with a beautiful black lady. Society's pressures (and those of his family and future) cause him to eventually leave for whiter (er, greener) pastures. The young man becomes very successful, with all the trappings, in southern California.
Years pass. As his business success is nearly complete, although his home life is a joke, a young black man shows up and introduces himself as the progeny of that college relationship. And he can prove it.
In 1981 this was cause for a somewhat uncomfortable comedy called "Carbon Copy." The story would usually be played as more of a drama, but the script, for all its faults, works. And the reason it works can be stated in one word: CHEMISTRY. George Segal is no great shakes as an actor, but he and the young, then-unknown Denzel Washington were almost magic together. Their timing and delivery was either a phenomenal case of serendipity or the result of much rehearsal, perhaps a bunch of each.
I saw this film when it first came out. At the time I wasn't much older than the character portrayed here by Washington, yet even I could see this was a world-class talent making a significant arrival. He's always been superb at choosing his vehicles, even this, his first feature role (not counting a couple of TV movies). In the hands of a lesser talent, one without the deft touch required to balance this potentially explosive relationship with the lightness required to make the humor work, well, it could have easily been a disaster.
As it is this otherwise slight comedy became something quite memorable. (Viewing it today, it's amazing how overwhelmingly cheesy the music and titles are.) It's not a classic for all times, but at its core is an overlooked gem that shows Washington arrived in Hollywood fully formed and ripe for stardom.
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