Passing Strange (2008)

100% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(591 ratings)

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee turns his camera toward the stage for this filmed performance of the acclaimed Broadway musical by singer/songwriter Stew and his creative partner Heidi Rodewald. Developed at the Sundance Theater Lab, the story follows a young black man from Los Angeles as he… More Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee turns his camera toward the stage for this filmed performance of the acclaimed Broadway musical by singer/songwriter Stew and his creative partner Heidi Rodewald. Developed at the Sundance Theater Lab, the story follows a young black man from Los Angeles as he attempts to make sense of the conflicted cultural signals constantly bombarding him from all sides. Raised in a religious household somewhere south of Interstate 10, the frustrated adolescent feels suffocated by his mother's fixation on family ties, her unwavering devotion to the church, and her unapologetically bourgeois aspirations in life. He longs to experience something "real" in life, ultimately making the decision to follow in the footsteps of James Baldwin and Josephine Baker by traveling to Europe and exploring the world. From outrageous Amsterdam to ultra-militant Berlin, the impressionable wanderer experiences misadventures with sex, drugs, politics, and art as his eyes are opened ever wider to the world around him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Play Trailer

Directed By: Spike Lee
Genres: Documentary, Television, Musical & Performing Arts

In Theaters: Jan 16, 2009 Wide
Studio: PBS

Critic Reviews

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
You'll probably have to resist the urge to stand up and cheer with the onscreen audience during the emotional curtain call.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Spike Lee's Passing Strange: The Movie is basically canned musical theater, but this is one Tony-winning Broadway show that's well worth preserving and seeing.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
The invigorating result, zestily edited by Lee's own inside iron man, Barry Brown, is in every way a knockout.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Moving, thrilling and new.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I can't single out a performance. This is a superb ensemble, conveying that joy actors feel when hey know they're good in good material.
Christy Lemire, Associated Press
Like Lee, the artist formerly known as Mark Stewart possesses a powerful and singular voice, one he uses to express vividly his own unique experience of growing up as a black man in America.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
It's a joyous production; the music is alive and dynamic, the skits are clever and funny and self-effacing and the show crackles with energy...
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Interesting that one of the best movies of the year is a filming of a play. That's a sad commentary on Hollywood but sufficient reason to see this uplifting and very witty movie.
Noel Murray, AV Club
Lee doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to filming live theater, but he moves the camera artfully and edits with an energy that matches the music. And he makes good use of close-ups, capturing the sweaty faces of a troupe of remarkable performers.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
Although more of a stage play than a film this performance has great acting and great music combined with a heart felt message.
Richard Knight, Windy City Times
A rousing, emotional roller coaster that's a must see not just for fans of rock musicals but those with an eye (and an ear) for something unusual - compellingly so.
Ethan Alter, Giant Magazine
If you passed up the opportunity to catch this Tony-award winning rock musical during its Broadway run, don't make the same mistake with Spike Lee's vibrant film adaptation.
Clay Cane, BET.com
Passing Strange adds to Spike Lee's visionary resume and his eye for fresh talent.
Ray Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
Tender, sexy , funny, moving and profound, Passing Strange bears comparison not just to the great works of the American musical theatre but to literary landmarks like James Baldwin's Another Country and (especially) Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
There's much to admire, like the energy and Swiss-watch timing of the players, though this remains a photographed play and not a movie.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Film version of a fresh and spunky Broadway musical about a young black man's quest for self-understanding and creative expression.
Jesse Hassenger, Filmcritic.com
a cross between a PBS-style special and a concert movie.
Jeremiah Kipp, Slant Magazine
A worthy public record of a show most people nationwide didn't get the chance to see.
Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net
If you didn't have a chance to see it on stage, Spike Lee's movie really is the next best thing to being there.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Mark H

Flashy filmed performance of a Broadway stage play. Set in the late 1970s, a young black musician rebels against his church-going, middle-class, South Central roots by traveling the world in an effort to experience something "real" in life. Los Angeles performance artist… More
Flashy filmed performance of a Broadway stage play. Set in the late 1970s, a young black musician rebels against his church-going, middle-class, South Central roots by traveling the world in an effort to experience something "real" in life. Los Angeles performance artist Stew narrates what is essentially a concert trip through a dizzying number of musical styles that touch upon gospel, punk, blues, jazz, and rock. The ubiquitous score is excellent, but it's surrounded by an incredibly stagy artifice with a noticeable lack of sets, that feels overly avant-garde. We're constantly reminded that this is a filmed play. Even the acting is affected and unnatural. The passion felt by those who were in attendance in that theater is not the same emotion felt as a viewer watching it on a screen. Brilliantly catchy songs include: "Love Like That", "Amsterdam" and "We Just Had Sex".
Julie B

Now this was most excellent. Very entertaining musical with great performances and interesting format. Stew is highly entertaining, and Spike Lee does a great job of capturing the live performance vibe with a good blend of camera angles and shots.
Walter M

In 1976, a young man(Daniel Breaker) is sleeping in on a Sunday morning in South Central Los Angeles. His mother(Eisa Davis) has other plans for him including church to which she drags him. While there, he has a religious experience but not the one she was hoping for. The message… More
In 1976, a young man(Daniel Breaker) is sleeping in on a Sunday morning in South Central Los Angeles. His mother(Eisa Davis) has other plans for him including church to which she drags him. While there, he has a religious experience but not the one she was hoping for. The message is musical, as the young man falls under the spell of Mr. Franklin(Colman Domingo), the son of the pastor. That leads to him being in a punk rock band with Sherry(Rebecca Naomi Jones) and Terry(Chad Goodridge). This is a film of the last performance of the musical "Passing Strange" at the Belasco Theatre on July 20, 2008. As such, one could argue its cinematic merits and its Broadway origins and cliches.(So many poseurs, so little time.) But what is undeniable is how entertaining the movie is, mixing genres and types of music freely. What resonated with me the most is something the narrator(Stew, who also wrote the book and co-wrote the music) said while speaking from either a podium(read into whatever symbolism you like) or sitting at a desk in that we make the biggest decisions of our life while we are teenagers, which could involve college, work or to leave home for the first time. Like the young man in the play, I thought it an easy decision but only deceptively so since I had no idea of what kind of person I would turn out to be.
Jeff T

Your enjoyment of this film will probably be in some sort of equal proportion to your enjoyment of the show (if you saw it). What is great about Spike Lee's document of a performance of this not-like-anything-else musical is his remarkable eye for where you should be looking,… More
Your enjoyment of this film will probably be in some sort of equal proportion to your enjoyment of the show (if you saw it). What is great about Spike Lee's document of a performance of this not-like-anything-else musical is his remarkable eye for where you should be looking, and as he cuts from vantage point to vantage point he is unerring in focusing the work; if the close-ups sometimes rob the larger picture of its glory, they also have the benefit of making the non-linear more explicable... My appreciation of the piece remains a little distanced, but the parts that I love I out and out love. And there were more of those than I remembered, that's for sure.

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Cast

Stew
as Narrator
Daniel Breaker
as Youth
De'Adre Aziza
as Edwina, Marianna, Sudabey
Eisa Davis
as Mother
Colman Domingo
as Joop, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Venus
Chad Goodridge
as Christophe, Hugo, Terry
Rebecca Jones
as Desi, Renata, Sherry

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Passing Strange (2008)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Mark H

Julie B

Walter M

Jeff T

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