Source: Columbia Pictures
We all love our classic films. We love to see a good story beautifully told through the vehicle of film. But every now and then, it’s alright to…indulge in something that’s a little less high brow and a little more ridiculous. That film is Booty Call. You probably haven’t seen it since it was released in 1997, so to refresh your memory, check out the trailer below.
http://www.youtube.com/v/RopRbjny-W0?version=3&hl=en_US
Now that you’ve been updated on the storyline, let’s get into the behind the scenes secrets.
Source: Columbia Pictures
Takashi Bufford Source: Black Film.com
The switch up
The director of the film, Jeff Pollack, showed up to direct the film at the last moment. It was supposed to be directed by screenwriter Takashi Bufford. But Bufford, who also wrote Set It Off and House Party 3, dropped out of the film at the last minute for personal reasons. Booty Call was the last feature film Bufford wrote.
Source: NBC
What does Bill Cosby have to do with it?
On the surface, it would seem that Bill Cosby wouldn’t even know about a movie named Booty Call. But he did and he had some strong opinions about the film before it ever came out. When an interviewer at Newsweek asked him what he thought of the movie, this is what Cosby had to say:
[He gives that stern Cosby look.] You talk to the guys putting that image out there today and they’ll say, “”Would you rather me be waiting in the alley for you or making “Booty Call’?” I say: “”Have you looked in the paper in the want ads? There is something else you can be doing.” There is a middle ground and there is no need for a “”Booty Call,” for the stuff that shows our young people only interested in the flesh and no other depth.
Source: Columbia Pictures
Jamie fights back
When Jamie Foxx heard about Cosby’s comments, he made sure to remind everyone that there were times Bill Cosby had always participated in quality projects. He told the TV Guide, “He’s had to do some stupid things.”
But Bill wasn’t the only one coming for the movie. The NAACP also had issues with the film. And Jamie made sure he didn’t leave them out when he was responding to the naysayers when he spoke to the Seattle Times:
“Who listens to the NAACP, anyway?” retorts Foxx, yawning into the phone from his Los Angeles home. “Nobody cares. . . . And Seinfeld can do Jewish jokes and it’s all right – stereotypes are funny. I’m not trying to save the world: I’m a comedian.”
Source: Columbia Pictures
The money
The film cost $7 million to make and didn’t fare too well when it went to theaters. It ended up bringing in $20 million which is just not enough in Hollywood. We’re sure the movie made a bit more when it was released on DVD.
Source: Columbia Pictures
Vivica on the film…
Years after the movie was released and the cast members went on to do bigger and better things, interviewers were quick to bring up the movie and see if the cast members were embarrassed or ashamed of taking part in the movie. In an interview with Fast Life Show, Vivica, whose character was named “Lysterine,” talked about how she felt about the film, fourteen years later.
“We were blessed to have such a funny film about safe sex [and] there was tons of laughs on “Booty Call” the entire movie … working with Tommy Davidson and Jamie Foxx… these guys were coming fresh off “In Living Color,” so working with them in between takes we would all just roll out and fall and mess up takes laughing at one another.”
Source: Columbia Pictures
Tamala Jones
In an interview with XXL Mag Tamala Jones, who played Nikki in the film, explained that though some wrote the film off as underdeveloped or juvenile, she was just happy to be a part.
I didn’t even think past Booty Call! I was so excited that I [was] working with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Davidson from my favorite show, In Living Color, and then my girl Vivica from Out All Night with Morris Chestnut and Duane Martin – Oh, my God! I was so excited, I broke out; I had, I’m just gonna say it, diarrhea. I wanted to do the best job I could possibly do. I had no idea what I was doing. I never thought that that movie would give me anything.
Source: Columbia Pictures
Tisha Campbell and Will Smith
In that same interview with XXL explained who the role was initially supposed to go to and how Will Smith encouraged her during the audition and how he helped her get the part.
I think Tisha Campbell was the original cast mate in Booty Call, and she dropped out. So they had open auditions, and I had just done a guest spot on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I’m walking on the Sony lot, and Will Smith is there shooting “Men In Black.” He goes, ‘Are you on your way up to see Jeff Pollack?’ And, I’m like, ‘Yeah! How did you know?!’ Well, Jeff Pollack, who I never met when I was on the set of Fresh Prince, was an executive producer. And, Will was like, ‘I’m going to go put in a good word for you. Don’t worry.’ He did, and it’s because of [him] that I even got that. And, when I did Fresh Prince, he told me at the end of the last day when we did the live audience taping, ‘You’re going to be a star. Just keep doing what you’re doing.’ I will always honor him. He’s an amazing man.
Source: Columbia Pictures
Would they do another Booty Call?
When XXL Mag asked Tamala if she would do another Booty Call now that she’s achieved more success here’s what she had to say.
Tamala: I sure would! Booty Call was like the first Hangover. It was that same, all this is happening in one night, these are the players and here’s the outcome. It was the first to me of the genre of movie, so I would love to do another Booty Call. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to really act goofy, and that’s really who I am. I would love it!
Jamie on the other hand feels a little bit differently about the situation. I’ve heard him reference Booty Call several times as one of his worst movies. At the Screen Actors Guild, Jamie Foxx joked about the film in relation to the trajectory of his career.
Jamie: “Fortunately now, I may not be doing `Booty Call 2. But if it does go bad, I will be the best Bunz I can be.”
Like Jamie told Oprah, he’s not pressed. He’s cool whether he stays on top or it’s all gone tomorrow.
Source: Columbia Pictures
What did Ebert have to say about it?
You might suspect with the quality films that the late critic Roger Ebert has seen over the years that he would brutalize Booty Call but that wasn’t the case. Instead, Ebert mentioned that while the film wouldn’t go down as a classic, he admitted that it was hilarious and entertaining. Check out his analysis from the Chicago Tribune.
This is the raunchiest sex comedy I can remember– sort of an “Animal House Grosses Out.” Did I laugh? Sure. Did I recount some of the more incredible episodes to friends? You bet. Is the movie any good? Does goodness have anything to do with it? I walk out of movies like this wishing my parents had sent me to more concerts instead of letting me read Mad magazine. I’m astonished at some of the things I laugh at. But laugh I do.
Booty Call” is being advertised as a raucous exercise in vulgarity. It is. I laughed. So I must, to be honest and consistent, rate it accordingly–three stars. In an era when so many movies have no taste at all, a movie in bad taste is at least sailing under its true colors.
