Talk about dated: This limp 1976 comedy, based on a flop Broadway play, deals with a pair of middle-aged African-American parents (Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey), who are aghast to discover that their window-dresser son (Michael Warren) is gay and are ready to disown him for it. Though it's still a viable subject, it's treated here with a smirky sense that homosexuality is some kind of dirty joke. What's interesting is that, years later, the most sympathetic character is the son's stereotypically swishy boyfriend (Dennis Dugan). Shot on video and transferred to film, the movie is most noteworthy for the opportunity to see the late Pearl Bailey (if only in the final 20 minutes) and to watch the late Redd Foxx (in reality a hilariously filthy stand-up) in a sterilized PG setting. Foxx, at the height of his Sanford and Son fame when this was made, has an exquisite sense of timing and mock outrage; he actually puts some bite into the toothless jokes.--Marshall Fine
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Wheres the dvd? Comment: this is a movie i saw when i was very young.
maybe too young to fully understand it. but i still love this movie.
you have to see it it deals with so many issues that even today 31 years later most people have not seen it.
I fully hope that one day we can all get along and stop all the hate and violence. this is not a family movie by any means but it is one that should be watched if you have ever felt different. as a bonus unless you are old enough to remember Madame's place or Solid Gold this is one of the few places you can see Wayland Flowers at his best. I think this movie was very well done. It may not be a perfect movie. But again must see.the cast is great the story is real and even in the end is is all about family and love. Customer Rating: Summary: I DON'T KNOW WHAT PLANET SOME PEOPLE ARE ON! Comment: Norman Is That You is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE movies. I have no IDEA at all what planet the people who wrote the negative reviews are on! What makes a great movie are the expected things like its message, plot, comedy and other production values placed in context of society at the time it was made.
We are talking about a gay themed movie here. A mostly positive gay themed movie that does not have all the gay characters dying as the credits roll. I lived as a high school aged gay black kid in the 1970's and I remember how many black gay themed movies there were in the movies before Norman Is That You back then. There were NO GAY BLACK MALE themed movies with even a tepid positive spin on coming out as a gay man in the black community.
Even today 25 years later, the black community in general still has far too many hang ups about helping its gay members of all ages deal with issues of coming out and living openly as accepted valued parts of their culture. As a man today who was a gay youth when Norman Is That You was produced, I thank God for this funny, yet touching movie. While a little over the top Pearl Bailey and Redd Foxx were somewhat accurate depictions of the way a black family handles a gay son who is coming out. From personal experience coming out as gay in a black family was indeed part pain, part funny and part intense questioning and introspection on all sides.
Norman is that You honors black people and our culture while teaching lessons about coming to accept love and support gay family members in fun ways. Granted the ending of Norman Is That You wimps out by not really resolving the gay plot line in a believable or fulfilling way but you must remember the repressed times for gays the 1970's were. People who are so fast to trash Norman Is That You, must look at the fact that since its release, there has not been a subsequent DVD or movie that dealt this directly and intimately with gay coming out issues from a uniquely black perspective.
To have released a movie that spoke this directly to issues of gay black coming out at a time when the struggle for Gay Rights was in its infancy was a gutsy move few of these reviewers seem able to fully appriciate. Norman Is That You is NOT perfect, Norman Is That You confronts the black gay coming out issues in a very tepid way by todays standards but, back in the day when black gay kids coming out had no place to turn Norman Is That You was THE MOST AFFIRMING REFUGE A GAY BLACK 1970'S ERA KID COMING OUT HAD AND FOR THAT NORMAN IS THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS ROCK!
I pray Norman Is That You comes out on DVD! This is fine acting by a largely black cast which brings out the bigot in some lesser members of society. Forgive the haters and get yourself a copy of the VHS and hope AMAZON.com gets Norman Is That You on DVD because, I would buy the Norman Is That You DVD in a heartbeat! Customer Rating: Summary: A great movie for the time period Comment: I enjoyed so much Norman, is that you? The culture of 1976 - clothes, home furnishings, language, it brought back so many memories. I was delighted to see that even though the movie was made in 1976 the lingo they used and subject matter is totally relevant today. I was amazed. It was a movie ahead of its time, no doubt. It was tongue and cheek and great one liners. It was great to see the great Pearl Bailey with Redd Foxx. It was a cute movie that i show quite often now to friends who haven't seen it or even heard of it. I really wish it would come out on DVD. I don't know how much longer my VHS tape will hold out. I really do recommend it. Customer Rating: Summary: I would like to see this Movie on DVD Comment: Since this movie is not available on VHS any more, it would be nice to see it comes out on DVD. Customer Rating: Summary: a trip out film Comment: this film is a trip.Redd Foxx&Pearl Bailey are good together.this film deals with issues head on.it's a funny film.it was cool seeing Tamara Dobson in it.
