The Great White Hype

A history lesson first. For those who are unfamiliar the story of Mike Tyson let us recall first that be the end of the '80's he was considered the most feared man on the planet. Than he showed up out of shape and got beat by Buster Douglass. Then he went to jail for a few years on rape charges. Upon his release his promoters asked the world to buy into the idea of a white kid named Peter McNeely having a chance to beat the once feared champion at the most vulnerable point in his career. Millions dropped $50 a piece to watch on pay-per-view as Tyson KO'd his challenger in less than one minute. Needless to say those who dropped $50 to watch this charade certainly felt cheated.
I mention all of this because part of appreciating the humor in the film "The Great White Hype" is being able to laugh at ourselves for buying into such hype. The film stars Sam Jackson as the Sultan, a boxing promoter who is disturbed by the decline in money he is making off the champ played by Damon Wayans. Jackson believes the remedy to his growing finicial troubles is to find a white man to sell as a legitimate contender to the champ. And those the wheels begin to turn as the Sultan prepares to sell the world a fight between James "The Grim Reaper" Rooper and "Irish" Terry Conklin (for added effect the fight was scheduled for St. Patrick's Day and of course, Terry is not Irish).
The film is fueled by acknowledging and exploiting the racial overtones that not only exist in boxing but in society as a hole. Which is why we don't feel bad for anyone who feels cheated when Conklin gets beat in 27 seconds. The Sultan is right, Americans don't want to pay good money to watch brothers beat up brothers.
The film was originally released in 1996 and did not achieve much box office or home video success. Personally, I believe the film failed to be successful because it essentially made fun of it's target audience. Still, the film features a great cast including Jeff Goldblum, Jaime Foxx, Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, Corbin Bernson and Peter Berg and all of them seem to have a keen grasp on who the character is and how to bring the humor in their character out. The film is more vulgar than I would like but it is still entertaining and it remains one of the most underrated comedies I have ever seen.