Good Fences (TV 2003)

Good Fences is about an upwardly mobile black family for whom the American dream becomes a nightmare. Set in the 1970s, Tom Spader is an attorney who is determined to end what he has dubbed... See full summary »

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writers:

Erika Ellis (novel), Trey Ellis (teleplay)

Stars:

Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Zachary Simmons Glover

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Danny Glover	...	Tom Spader
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Mabel Spader
Zachary Simmons Glover	...	Tommy-Two (age 17)
Mo'Nique	...	Ruth Crisp
Ryan Michelle Bathe	...	Stormy (age 17)
Ashley Archer	...	Stormy (age 13)
Marie V. Cruz	...	Mrs. Suziharo (as Marie Cruz)
Vincent McCurdy-Clark	...	Tommy-Two (age 12)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexandra Amini	...	Governor's Wife (as Alex Amini)
Barbara Barnes-Hopkins	...	Mabel's Mother
Marlyne Barrett	...	Tina (as Marlyne Afflack)
Matthew G. Brown	...	Tom Spader (as Matthew Brown)
Sandra Caldwell	...	Sylvia Falcon
Dustin Cass	...	Tom - age 10
Munro Chambers	...	Billy

Storyline

Good Fences is about an upwardly mobile black family for whom the American dream becomes a nightmare. Set in the 1970s, Tom Spader is an attorney who is determined to end what he has dubbed "the colored man's losing streak." When his winning of a high-profile case thrusts him into the limelight, he decides to moves his wife and their two kids out of their mixed lower-middle-class town and into the posh enclave of Greenwich, Connecticut.

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Plot Keywords:

black american | father daughter relationship | african american | fish out of water | family relationships | 

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Taglines:

In Greenwich, no one can hear you scream.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, some language and violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Au-delà des barrières

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

In one of the scenes where the family is gathered in front of the TV, the daughter, Stormy, is seen reading a magazine. On both the cover and the back cover of the magazine there is a clearly recognizable picture of supermodel Claudia Schiffer (active from 1988 on). The scene was supposed to be taking place around the time of the first airing of the TV series "Roots" - 1977.

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Connections

Features Roots (1977)

User Reviews

Not bad

A black family moves from middle-class, racilly-mixed Hamden to uppity, all-white Greenwich as the husband's legal career takes off. Obvious results ensue. Is this a comedy or a drama? The first half suggests the former, the second half the latter. It's really Goldberg's film, and she is pretty good although I could have done without endless scenes of her vegging out as a bored housewife. It feels at times like a stage play, with no other sets than their houses in Hamden and Greenwich, although it is based on a book. Interesting how Glover seems to be attracted to bad-guy roles (and he is definitely a bad guy in this) when he's not making LETHAL WEAPON flicks. If you're looking for a white-versus-black film, this is not really it, although it has all the trappings of one. (The other SHOWTIME feature for February, which I have forgotten the name of, is much more racially motivated as a group of blacks led by Forrest Whittaker struggle with the KKK in the Deep South of yesteryear.) GOOD FENCES is racially motivated, but overall it appears to be more about America's perennial class struggle.