It’s 2021, and Lifetime is back with their infamous biopics. Over the last few years, it has become somewhat of a pastime to pick these movies apart as a family on Black Twitter. They’re either really good or horribly bad, with no grey area in between. The film was directed by Mario Van Peebles, Executive Produced by Cheryl ‘Salt’ James and Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, and Produced by Shakim Compere, and Queen Latifah. I went into this movie truly hopeful that it would be good since both Salt & Pepa were actively involved in its making. I did get a little apprehensive once Spinderella; the group's longtime DJ, an integral part and 3rd member of the group publicly stated that the movie “wrongfully excluded me from every aspect of the development and production…”. If you’re an 80’s baby such as myself, you’re familiar with their story as you grew up on their music. For instance, I remember vividly being at my mother’s best friend's apt and running from my mother and imminent ass whooping as she heard me singing “Push It”. If you weren’t blessed to be around during that golden era, all of this may be new to you and you probably learned a lot. Here are my thoughts on the movie:
The early twitter dragging of the wigs in the movie was warranted
G.G. Townson as Cheryl ‘Salt’ James was wonderful casting. She looked like her and did a great job acting
I think I confused Salt with Coko from SWV in that I thought she found Christ later on in life, but it looks like she was always actively involved in the church
I too I would have jumped on a car if I heard my song on the radio for the first time
Ignoring Herby “Luv Bug’s” player persona, I wonder how he feels about his portrayal as a grimy ass person and manager
The Spinderella shade was purposely and meticulously done. It wasn’t surprising knowing that they’ve been at odds for quite some time now, but it was disheartening
The square mirror wall was everyone’s mother in the ’80s, at least in New York
They let their creative flags fly with the cinematography, especially the transitions into Pepa’s sex scenes. This was cringeworthy
Time always seems to be an issue with Lifetime biopics, so of course, they sped through a lot of the story
I asked out loud; “Is Salt bulimic”? She spent a lot of time vomiting, and I couldn’t tell if it was because she was pregnant or not. Cheryl clarified on the after-show that she did struggle with bulimia and that she’s been very open about it
The set-up for Treach was crazy. Him stalking her at the party like an animal was creepy. Treach is now trending
Why are Salt-N-Pepa sharing a hotel room in Russia? I know they had a shit deal, but they couldn’t get separate rooms?
I was personally victimized by the wig they put on (Essence Editor) Susan L. Taylor’s character
The “Come to Jesus” montage of Cheryl in church reminds me of a church stage play with a high budget
I want my Nokia 3310 back, leave me alone
For nostalgia’s sake, I enjoyed the movie. I guess I wasn’t disappointed because I came in with reasonable expectations. I will forever wonder why Lifetime is determined to rush through stories to make a movie instead of making a mini-series. Is it because people now have the attention span of fruit flies? What did you guys think of the movie? Do you think anything important (besides Spinderella) was left out? Have you been personally victimized by the wigs in this movie? Let’s talk!