Amazon.com

A beleaguered family feverishly tries to get out intact from New York's notorious Red Hook projects in this micro-budget debut film from writer-director-star Matty Rich. The director deserves attention for simply getting this unrelentingly bleak movie created and then released (as has been well documented, the then-19-year-old Rich had to gather the thinnest of shoestring budgets from friends and various grants); but the genuine passion behind this gangland drama can't disguise the fact that what's being presented here isn't particularly new or innovative. (A much more facile treatment of a similar subject can be found in Boaz Yakin's stunning Fresh.) Despite the impressively gritty locations, honestly pessimistic worldview, and George T. Odom's raw performance as a haplessly abusive patriarch, one can't quite shake the unfortunate feeling that this is a film more notable for its backstory than what actually made it up onto the screen. Rich would later go on to make the considerably more polished, Disney-funded coming-of-age story The Inkwell. --Andrew Wright ... Read more

Reviews (2)

life in the projects ain't no game, kid
This is the movie that started it all for me. As a suburban white kid in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, I could still relate to these characters and this setting. From the opening moments of a busted up appartment (at the hands of 'Ray', the drunk-up pops) I was 'hooked on Redhook'. I have now seen it 13 times--more than any other movie. Matty Rich directed, wrote--done everything in this movie!
But you know? The show belongs to Dennis (Larry Gillard, Jr.) and Ray (George T. Odom--watch for him as the bartender in "The Hurricane"). When Ray's talkin' to the mirror... i'm feelin it.
I liked this movie so much, me and my boy was gonna do a remake of it, but it never happened... maybe one day...
Highlights of the movie include the scene where Dennis and Ray chat about life, forgotten dreams, and gettin OUT... also watch for the love scene with Sherley (which is sure to steam up your goggles) and the dance sequence where Dennis shows his moves with those crazy nut-caeshe friends of his.
You can't step to this movie. Now turn the lights down low, the volume full blast, and hit that owl like it was a party horn.

Ghetto Oscars
Forget ALL ghetto movies made to date... there is sooo much love in this one you will be shocked! This one is my life time favorite movie... NEVER you could feal the passion and the sweat of a filmmaker... wow! ... Read more

Amazon.com

This sophomore effort by Matty Rich seems surprisingly run-of-the-mill, considering his first film was the low-budget success story Straight Out of Brooklyn.

Set in Martha's Vineyard during the summer of '76, this feels very much like an updated, African American version ofSummer of '42. Larenz Tate is the shy teen from New York who, along with his politically radical parents, vacations with wealthy Republican relatives. When not confiding in his wooden doll, he learns a little about life and even more about sex. Inkwell, by the way, is the name of the beach where the African American population of Martha's Vineyard owns homes.

Clumsily written and executed, this is sweet enough on the surface, but too slick to feel genuine. Also released as No Ordinary Summer.--Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Good Movie
This is a good movie. I never even heard of Matty Rich, and was unaware of the movie altogether until stumbled across it this year. I was thoroughly impressed with the performances of Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett Smith.

As an aspiring writer myself, I look forward to hearing a lot more from Mr. Rich in the nearing future. I thought the film was well developed, with a believable plot, and excellent development of character. I also enjoyed the fact that the character in which Mr. Tate was sheltered about a lot of things that in today's society is considered the norm for some minorities. I appreciated that because in a society of where today's youth are so bombarded with so many different things, and it is progressively getting worse as of this writing, it is good to have African Americans portrayed in roles that are less than the norm.

I applaud Mr.Rich for his creativity and for gleaning on events that somehow magnificently pulled this incredible movie together.

Summer of '76
The comparisions to "Summer of '42" are inevitable. But aside from the coming of age story of both films, they are completely different. The "Inkwell" is essentially a Shaggy Dog tale that flows nicely from beginning to end. Give credit for Matty Rich's abililty to create an authentic '70's atmoshphere with the use of very little of that era's well known music ("Dancing Machine" and "Let's Get It On" are the only two). ...

What Hostile Reviews!
How often dow we see movies about a teenage brother's coming of age that aren't violent or gang-related? Matty Rich(whatever he's doing now) did a superb job directing this film about an awkward teen vacationing with his parents in Martha's Vineyard visiting his well-to-do relatives.
He falls for the snot-nose Lauren who uses him to get back at her boyfriend who dropped her. Meanwhile he is also looking out for a married woman whose husband is cheating on her with other women.
It's a movie about growing up and what it means to be a person. Do all black movies have to be based on gang warfare and lewed sexual conduct?

I liked it
This was an interesting little flick about a troubled teen who escapes with his feuding parents to Martha's vineyard for a
mini-vacation after he nearly burns down the house. "The Inkwell" is the Black section of Martha's Vineyard. Set in the '70s,
this is a retro film that evokes a real sense of the period.

Granted, this movie does have its weak points, but I thought the overall product was not bad. Larenz Tate has proven himself
to be a chameleon morphing from a psychopath killer in "Menace to Society" to this odd character and then later becomes a
suave wordsmith in 1997's "Love Jones." He does well in this coming-of-age flick that explores a little shown facet of black life -- the upper middle class. Though the relatives who owned the house on the Vineyard seemed a little pretentious at first (Glynn Turman and Vanessa Bell Calloway), we see that they honestly love their family. Even the brother-in-laws with the conflicting political views (Republican Vs Black Panther) manage to make peace with each other in the end.

Drew (Larenz Tate) really was a weird character, but at least the role was a departure from the black male stereotype of the
cool thug. At least Matty Rich was not afraid to take a chance here with a different type of lead character. Jada Pinkett was
very good here as the spoiled rich girl who wraps the poor, socially-inept Drew around her little finger. And although his role was minor, Morris Chestnut was a convincing (and foine!) philanderer.

My one major complaint is with the mother daughter conflict. Although the two make up in the end, you never really knew what
they were beefing about. That could have been fleshed out a little more, but I liked that this movie was about a family trying to reconnect with each other. And I also liked that the characters were not total stereotypes. If only more Black filmmakers would take risks instead of giving us the same tired story again and again.

Not bad period flavor, but YECHHH!
Being that I was 12 during the Summer of 1976 when this film took place, I'll agree that they got some of the period flavor of the era correct (outrageously fake afros aside), but this movie stinks to high heaven as a whole. Not only for the atrocious acting and meandering story, but for the ending with the father (Glynn Turman)congratulating his young teenaged son for bedding down a GROWN MARRIED WOMAN!? What kind of MESS is that to show in this day and age? This one needs to be outta here like "London After Midnight!" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

life in the projects ain't no game, kid
This is the movie that started it all for me. As a suburban white kid in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, I could still relate to these characters and this setting. From the opening moments of a busted up appartment (at the hands of 'Ray', the drunk-up pops) I was 'hooked on Redhook'. I have now seen it 13 times--more than any other movie. Matty Rich directed, wrote--done everything in this movie!
But you know? The show belongs to Dennis (Larry Gillard, Jr.) and Ray (George T. Odom--watch for him as the bartender in "The Hurricane"). When Ray's talkin' to the mirror... i'm feelin it.
I liked this movie so much, me and my boy was gonna do a remake of it, but it never happened... maybe one day...
Highlights of the movie include the scene where Dennis and Ray chat about life, forgotten dreams, and gettin OUT... also watch for the love scene with Sherley (which is sure to steam up your goggles) and the dance sequence where Dennis shows his moves with those crazy nut-caeshe friends of his.
You can't step to this movie. Now turn the lights down low, the volume full blast, and hit that owl like it was a party horn.

Ghetto Oscars
Forget ALL ghetto movies made to date... there is sooo much love in this one you will be shocked! This one is my life time favorite movie... NEVER you could feal the passion and the sweat of a filmmaker... wow! ... Read more