Movie Review

New Spike Lee film Highest 2 Lowest is good for New York sightseeing

Denzel Washington in Highest 2 Lowest.

Photo courtesy of A24 and Apple TV+

For most of his career, moviegoers could count on a new Spike Lee film every 1-2 years. But somehow it’s been five years since his last joint, Da 5 Bloods in 2020, which arrived when his take on racial politics and injustices collided with real world events. Now he’s back for a fifth go-around with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest, a reimagining of the 1963 Akira Kurosawa film, High and Low.

Washington stars as music executive David King, who’s looking to save the record label he started from a corporate takeover. His leveraging of his assets to buy out a partner gets upended when Kyle (Elijah Wright), the son of his friend and chauffeur, Paul Christopher (Jeffrey Wright), is mistakenly kidnapped by someone who thought he was King’s son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph).

King is forced to wrestle with his conscience over whether to use ransom money for Kyle, money that was supposed to rescue Trey before the mistake is discovered. The pressure from the police, Paul, and his family is one thing, but the fact that he would also potentially be giving away the money that would save his company makes the decision all that much more difficult.

Lee, working from a script by first-time screenwriter Alan Fox, once again showcases New York City for all it’s worth. King and his family live in a lavish high-rise apartment with a balcony that faces Manhattan, allowing for views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Financial District, and more. The story takes the action all over the city, with Lee making sure to include scenes set in the Bronx to feature boisterous Yankees fans.

Unfortunately, the sightseeing winds up being the best part of the movie. Lee and Fox deliver some clunky storytelling, with the flow from scene to scene rarely feeling natural. The drama of certain situations never reaches its potential because Lee seems to be focused on things like showing small moments from different angles instead of getting to the heart of the matter.

It’s also never clear what kind of story Lee is trying to tell. The most obvious topic would seem to be the current state of the music business and the place of Black artists within it, but the kidnapping plot mostly pushes that to the side. The push-and-pull of the ransom drama, as well as the perpetrator of the kidnapping, tries to be a commentary on the corrosive influence of wealth, but it fails to hit home.

And then we get to the acting. Washington and Wright are each Oscar nominees who usually garner respect just with their presence, but both give subpar performances that are indicative of the poor acting from many other cast members. Stilted line deliveries abound throughout the film, almost as if Lee was limited to just one take with every scene and just decided to leave them as is. The more bad lines pile up, the more baffling it becomes that they were allowed to show up in the final product.

Lee is responsible for some truly great films over the past 30-40 years, but Highest 2 Lowest will not be joining that list. It has flashes of the director’s trademark stylish moves, but the storytelling and acting blunt any deeper meaning that Lee might have been trying to impart.

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Highest 2 Lowest opens in theaters on August 15.

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Show business

Texas’ ban on certain drag shows ruled unconstitutional — again

Photo by Dave Soto on Unsplash

Prominent Mexican drag queen Mikaela La Brava.

Texas once again cannot enforce its restrictions on some public drag shows after a federal judge declared a 2023 law unconstitutional for the second time.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner initially declared Senate Bill 12 unconstitutional in September 2023 only a few months after it was passed by the Texas Legislature, citing First Amendment violations. More than two years later in November, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unblocked the law and returned the case to Hittner with specific instructions on how to reassess it.

Hittner reaffirmed his ruling Tuesday, August 25, stating in his order that besides removing several plaintiffs and defendants from the lawsuit, the appellate court’s decision “did not disturb” his prior decision declaring SB 12 unconstitutional. The ruling again pauses the law, which had gone into effect in March after the 5th Circuit’s decision.

The ruling described SB 12 as overly broad in its definitions of performance and nudity, stating that provocative cosplay at conventions, swimming athletes, or Dolly Parton and Elvis impersonators could potentially be penalized under the law.

“The vast majority of the law’s numerous applications violate the First Amendment because all the performances that it has an actual impact on are constitutionally protected and are targeted for prohibition based on content and viewpoint,” Hittner wrote.

The suit was originally filed against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, two counties three district attorneys, and one county attorney by two community pride groups, two entertainment groups, and Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and longtime Texas LGBTQ+ rights activist. After the 5th Circuit’s ruling, the two pride groups were removed as plaintiffs and Paxton was left as the sole defendant, which Hittner said satisfied the higher court’s instructions.

Tiffany Epiphany and Brigitte Bandit Tiffany Epiphany with local celeb and activist Brigitte Bandit at an Austin Pride parade. Photo by Natalie Grigson

“We use our performances to assert liberation, power, and joy with our community,” Bandit said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which represented the plaintiffs. “As a lifelong Texan, I’m sick of this state trying to censor art and stoke hatred and violence against drag artists and the LGBTQIA+ community.”

SB 12 as adopted in law contains no language explicitly referencing drag performances, however a previous version while in the Legislature specifically included references to drag. Hittner noted in Tuesday's ruling that opponents of drag performances are not obligated to attend them.

“Finally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple … just don’t go,” he wrote.

Hittner also denied a request from Paxton for a supplemental trial and new discovery in the case. Paxton, in a social media post Tuesday, said his office would seek an appeal to the ruling to protect Texas kids.

“This is a profoundly flawed decision that endangers our children and is an affront to Texas values,” he said.

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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