'Emergency': Deadly serious stuff wrapped inside frat-boy comedy
There’s a terrific scene in Carey Williams’ genre-bending comedy “Emergency” where a Princeton-bound biology student of color plays a game of Jenga. In keeping with his cerebral self, he observes intently, carefully sizing up the precarious structure before him. His every action must be carefully thought out and calibrated out of fear because one false move could instantly send the entire construct crashing.
I can’t think of a more astute metaphor for what it must be like to be a young, Black male in America, whether or not you’re Ivy League. It’s also illustrative of the level of deductive thinking applied to a movie that couldn’t be more attuned to the contagion of white supremacy invading every aspect of our society, including law enforcement. And to then wrap all that profundity inside a traditional comedy about three bros out for a crawl through seven “Animal House”-style frat parties … well, it’s mind-blowing.
Not only will you laugh, but you’ll be terrified by the movie’s depiction of a nation where a routine traffic stop can all too easily culminate in violence. That’s the solemn reality tempering the shenanigans of BFFs Sean (RJ Cyler) and Kunie (Donald Elise Watkins) when they and their doofus roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), attempt to do “the right thing” after stumbling upon a white high school student who passes out after wandering into the home of Sean’s brother. Her name is Emma (Maddie Nichols), they think, but she’s in no condition to verify, as they skittishly ponder what to do with her.
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Almost as soon as they load her into a car to dump her at the nearest emergency room, it dawns on Sean and Kunie how questionable the situation might look to cops, should they be pulled over en route. And that’s the launchpad Williams and writer KD Dávila use to propel a story in which benevolence can well get you locked up or killed. By expanding their 2018 short of the same name, the two unleash a frank, funny, race-based satire in which appearance carries significantly more weight than truth.
Slyly, they enable you to empathize with what it’s like to constantly be an object of suspicion. To deepen that awareness, they capitalize on the potent chemistry between Cyler (the best thing in “The Harder They Fall”) and newcomer Watkins, a pair of actors oozing charm and charisma. Together, they render Sean and Kunie as the kind of buddies who can be philosophical, particularly on race, one minute, and bumbling idiots the next. But what’s steadfast is their love for each other, in an opposites-attract sort of way.
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Kunie is brilliant and privileged; Sean is resourceful and lower on the social scale, as implied by his fresh-out-of-prison brother. Yet, they seek and find common ground, repeatedly proving they have each other’s backs, even when the movie sends them down the rabbit hole of escalating peril, a la Scorsese’s “After Hours.” What starts out seemingly innocuous (a debate over whether a white professor has the right to discuss the origins and meaning of the n-word) evolves into a very real scenario of life and death.
The tone and pace continuously waver – in a very good way – with the one constant being the value and necessity of friendship to support and encourage, even in the darkest times. It profoundly impacts you in unexpected ways. And that’s the gift Williams and Dávila share. They fully tap into the staples of genre, but deftly divert those tropes into refreshingly new directions. It’s as exciting as being privy to a host of fresh talent, from Watkins and Chacon to Nichols and Sabrina Carpenter as Emma’s tiger-mama sister, Maddie, who is convinced her inebriated sibling is being held against her will.
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Watching Maddie and her two dim-witted pals employ a motorized skateboard and bicycle in pursuit of the three men she believes to be kidnappers – or worse – is a hoot. As are the many jams our three Samaritans stumble into over the course of one very eventful night. What starts off as a trip to the ER could well end up in the county morgue. It’s hilarious, but there’s always an element of reality to the slapstick, and it’s that which haunts you. “Emergency” may be a drug- and alcohol-fueled romp. But what it conveys about an alarming growth of racial animus is deadly serious, if not just deadly.
'Emergency'
Rated: R for drug use, some sexual references, pervasive language.
Cast: RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter, Maddie Nichols
Director: Carey Williams
Writer: KD Dávila
Runtime: 105 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters and premiering May 27 on Amazon
Grade: B+
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Emergency is deadly serious stuff wrapped inside frat-boy comedy
