180. On the Other Foot; movie review

 

ON THE OTHER FOOT

Cert 15

94 mins

BBFC advice: Contains racism

There is no doubt that On the Other Foot has its heart in entirely the right place in showing the contradictions of racists.

However, I wonder at whom it is aimed. 

The plain truth is that it is not going to turn the heads of the bigots because they are so entrenched they wont be watching. Thus, it will merely preach to the converted.

Then we come to the question of whether, regardless of the fiercely smashed home moral message, it is a good movie.

I have to say no because, while its publicity claims it is 'funny' and inspires 'belly laughs', it isn't and it doesn't.

Tim Faraday plays Billy Pitcher, an out-and-out racist who is a central figure of a white supremacist organisation.

This is particularly insulting to his daughter (Lily Smith) who, unknown to him, has been seeing a black guy (Chidi Ajufo) for a year or so.

Inevitably, when Billy finds out, in very awkward circumstances, he is beside himself.

Frankly, I wouldn't have been remotely concerned by the skin colour of any potential beau of my daughter but I would have raised an eyebrow over his age.

Ajufo is 40 in real life and looks it while Smith is in her early 20s and is playing a teen.

I digress.

Through an extremely convoluted scenario, the racist turns into a black man and has to experience the dreadful daily discrimination faced by people of colour.

Fredi Nwaka tries hard to highlight the injustice of modern life for people of colour but it is far too blatant in its approach.

Its characters are stilted, lack nuance and, consequently, fail to resonate.

To lift the profile of On the Other Foot, there has been much publicity over the appearance of Peter Andre.

I was looking forward to seeing him act but I can pass no judgment because he is on screen for barely 30 seconds in which he speaks about three sentences.

In other words, his contribution is wildly overblown as is the film as a whole.

Reasons to watch: Its heart is in the right place

Reasons to avoid: Too stilted

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 5/10

Did you know? Racially motivated hate crimes are the highest reported type of hate crime in the UK. A total of 85,268 racially aggravated offences were recorded in 2020/2021 – up 12% on the 76,158 in 2019/2020. According to Victim Support, race and nationality hate crimes rose by a shocking 73% in 2021. 

The final word. Fredi Nwaka said: “I wanted to do something that would last after people stopped marching, to keep the conversation going.” SW Londoner

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