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

References Sounder (1972)

User Reviews

i think that this was a very good movie

i really in enjoyed watching this movie. like most of the people that watched it. i wasn't sure that i was getting. Whoopi Goldberg is a very funny comedian and she has done a lot of funny movies; i.e. sister act.

however this was not really comedy. it is a drama with comedic moments. so if your looking for a laugh riot then keep looking.

this movie is about a black family moving up from a nice neighborhood in the city to an upper middle class neighborhood. i would say more but it think it would spoil the movie. this movie does not just deal with race relations between whites and blacks, but also about relations with in the black community. i do think that it is worth a chance. if your not really interested in see another movie about race relations then this movie isn't for you