Made in America (1993)

A young black woman discovers that her father was a sperm donor, and if that weren't bad enough, he's white.

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writers:

Marcia Brandwynne (story), Nadine Schiff (story)

Stars:

Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson, Will Smith

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Sarah Mathews
Ted Danson	...	Hal Jackson
Will Smith	...	Tea Cake Walters
Nia Long	...	Zora Mathews
Paul Rodriguez	...	Jose
Jennifer Tilly	...	Stacy
Peggy Rea	...	Alberta
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Bob Takashima
David Bowe	...	Teddy
Jeff Joseph	...	James
Rawley Valverde	...	Diego
Fred Mancuso	...	Bruce
Charlene Fernetz	...	Paula
Shawn Levy	...	Dwayne
Lu Leonard	...	Sperm Bank Nurse

Storyline

In the Bay Area, widowed Sarah Mathews and her high school senior daughter Zora Mathews are intellectuals who embrace their African roots, Sarah who owns and operates a store all things African called African Queen. Despite often fighting, they truly do love each other. That love is why Sarah would rather Zora attend Berkeley for her freshman year than science prodigy Zora's first choice of M.I.T. on the other side of the country. Caught in a lie, Sarah is forced to admit to Zora that her husband Charlie, who died before Zora was born and who was the love of her life, is not Zora's biological father as Zora has always believed, but that she was conceived via artificial insemination using anonymous sperm from a sperm bank. Determined to have a man in her life she can truly call a "Dad" all her own, Zora, with the help of her longtime best friend Tea Cake Walton, is able to break into the sperm bank's computerized records to find the donor's information, including his name: Hal Jackson....

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Plot Keywords:

reckless driving | monkey | hospital | beer | pizza | 

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Taglines:

At the sperm-bank she asked for a tall, intelligent, black man. One out of three ain't bad.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Will Smith's Tea Cake Walters got his name and personality from actor T.K. Carter.

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Goofs

Placement of fruit in bowl during the love scene. The fruit is kicked out by Sarah's foot, then is neatly back in place moments later.

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Quotes

Tea Cake Walters: There's a white man at the door!

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Connections

References The Cosby Show (1984)

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Soundtracks

M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word That Means the World to Me)
Written by Howard Johnson and Theodore Morse

User Reviews

Made In A Hurry

I'd just finished reading the User Comments, before writing my own, and I can't understand why everyone panned it!! Okay, so it's not exactly Oscar-worthy, but it's good for a few laughs.

I'm a huge Whoopi fan from way back, and while this will never match Jumpin' Jack Flash or Sister Act, it's still a pretty decent film. I think Goldberg's role was pretty funny, and my favorite scene is where she get's drunk and says: 'I know this is his office, I know that, I mean look at it! Cheesy wood, bowling trophies, Western motîf makes me ill... ooooh, it's the Titty Sisters - this is absolutely his office!'

Ted Danson's performance falls short compared to his other work (ie. Cheers). Will Smith's character is pretty funny, and Nia Long does a great job in the film. Newcomer Paul Rodriguez is okay, and Jennifer Tilly is cast again as the annoying little tart (it's what she does best). Step By Step's Peggy Rea is also good in her role as Alberta - the long-suffering receptionist at Hal's car place.

Okay, so it's not the greatest, but it's fine for a rainy day. On a scale of 1 to 10, it'd earn about 5.5.

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

28 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Genesis

Filming Locations:

Albany, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,821,326, 31 May 1993

Gross USA:

$44,942,695

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,942,695

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, New Regency Productions, Alcor Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1