This Reese Witherspoon-starrer (that doesn’t really star Reese) has just about left theaters, but I think this is more the kind of movie you watch at home anyway. That way there’s no judgment when you happen to cry during some of the more obvious tear-jerker moments.
The first third of this movie is about several Sudanese children fleeing their raided village as they experience the Darfur genocide firsthand, and they take a long trek to get to safety at a refugee camp in Kenya. The rest of the movie is about three of the grown boy’s adjustment to their adopted homeland of Kansas City, with occasional visits from Reese Witherspoon as the woman tasked with getting them jobs.
What Works: Most critics have said that the first section of the movie works best, but I found it a bit too naggingly-PG-13. It does help put a human face on Darfur, and give human depth to all those news stories many Americans have ignored over the years, but it also keeps the real horrors at arm’s length. It still works really well, but I was equally captivated with the film’s realistic depiction of America’s maddeningly byzantine immigration system and policies. The frustration the three boys go through to finally get out of that refugee camp and then just to get their own sister located in the same city as them is hair-pulling. It showcases the sad fact that no matter what land these characters are in, they are at the hands of a faceless government, deciding their fates by either decimating their homes in Sudan, keeping them in a decade-long limbo at the refugee center, or making arbitrary distinctions about where they live in America.
The very real ennui and dislocation the men feel when they get to America—and get shackled to low-paying work that either bores or dehumanizes them—is one of the most honest explorations of what it’s really like “Coming to America” I’ve ever seen…
What Doesn’t: …Which makes it all the more jarring when Reese Witherspoon’s nasally whine shows up, and there’s some cheesy fish-out-of-water jokes. She’s really more of a supporting actress, and I doubt she has twenty total minutes of screen-time in the entire film, but it can’t help sending the subconscious message “these guys aren’t worth caring about on their own, so here she is to get you to care about them.” It’s a distraction in a film that hits more truthful notes than bad ones.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Is the ending an obvious ploy at jerking your tears? Yes. Did it also work? Yes. Go see this film…alone, at home, with the shades drawn, and let its sentimental spell work you over.