Movie Review - Passing Strange (2009)

Passing Strange (2009)

Starring Stew, Daniel Breaker, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Eisa Davis

A Spike Lee Joint
***Currently streaming on Netflix*** 

So I was reading an article about concert films awhile ago and it mentioned this Spike Lee joint about this artist known as Stew.  I'd never heard of the guy before, but the premise of the film sounded moderately interesting, so I added it to my Netflix instant queue and figured if it ever became available, I may watch it.  The other day it popped up there so I figured why not give it a shot.  It was well worth watching and a surprisingly enjoyable experience.


Passing Strange was a musical/concert on Broadway in 2008 that tells the life story of a musician named Stew through acting and song.  What makes this different that your typical Broadway song and dance, however, is that Stew himself is actually onstage along with his four-piece band, acting as the singing narrator while a troupe of six actors and actresses depict the story of his life that shaped him into the artist he is today.  Although it's never specifically mentioned that we're watching Stew's life story, it's plain to see that the youth onstage who leaves Los Angeles as a teenager and travels to Amsterdam and East Berlin to hone his craft is Stew.  It's an emotional journey that causes the youth to question what is important to him in life, what it means to be a rebellious black kid from a middle-class family (which it does in a very comedic fashion), and ponder what exactly is "art."

Yes, that sounds self-important and reeks of a been-there-done-that tone, but songwriters Stew and Heidi Rodewald (formerly of the band The Negro Problem) have crafted some incredibly catchy pop-rock tunes that I'm still humming three hours later. These tunes, along with a brilliant performance from Stew himself, make this something really worth watching.

Spike Lee filmed the last three performances of this stage show in July of 2009 and there's an electricity present that can only be found watching something unfold live.  Obviously, with this being filmed on a stage in a Broadway theater, there are certain restraints to which Lee had to adhere.  With some clever camera placements, Lee allows us to get closer to the actors than we ever would in the audience of the show.  Yes, there are some gimmicky things that Lee does that had me rolling my eyes, but there were also some shots that were beautifully staged.

I don't know who Stew is, but his pop-rock sensibilities were absolutely aurally appealing.  Sometimes the lyrics may be a tad corny or the musings on art may be a bit pretentious (which is ultimately one of the points Stew is attempting to make), but I was absolutely into this thing for two-and-a-half hours despite the fact that I was simply watching people walk around on a stage.

Seriously, give this one a chance...

The RyMickey Rating:  B+