Crash (DVD, 2005, Widescreen)

Before going into this movie I was expecting the same ol' racial stereotypical crap. You know, the black actor befriending a white/Asian actor, where the comedy is supposed to start somewhere between making the white/Asian actor(s) look as lame and awkward as possible by comparison. Typical and stupid beyond words. A big FU to all the Jamie Fox's, Will Smith's and Wayan's brothers of the World! Congrats on selling out to further the stereotypes.

It's Hollywoods signature application, the formula, one constantly peddled to us with that typical shock value to make a quick buck, it's no secret. It's not unheard of after all and to this day I'm still amazed to see people paying for tickets to go see Something like Hitch or Rush Hour(2) with a straight face. Tools. Crash is a bit misleading on the surface. In a Steel Magnolia esque way of story telling, it proved to be much more than what TV spots and Trailers lead it to be. The core of this movie is about racial stereotypes sure, but it's also much more. I don't mean to sound wishy washy, but this movie really teaches a lesson. It's screaming: "Look at yourselves people! Look at what you reduced yourselves to! Look how rediculous we are!. But it doesn't have to be that way!"

Crash isn't just a movie, it's an ironic and implicit lesson for all Americans. Sure it shows the worst sides of people, all people, all races, all creeds (the exact "book cover" of what I first saw and hated in the TV spots, but thats the easy part). But like the cartoon southpark, it takes no sides. It shows the potential of how stupid we ALL are, as different races, be it Black, White, Asian, Arabian or as the movie specifies...Persian. But at the same time it shows that no matter how awful we can be to each other, that we can at the same time...have the potential for compassion, the potential for good with those that we didn't once trust. We all make mistakes and sometimes have the wrong feelings because we don't fully understand. Unfortunately todays media preys upon that negativity and uses it to get ratings. Thus fanning the flames. As much evil there is in the world, there is good. It's up to the individual to decide where they belong. This movie did what it set out to do.