Detroit’s Soul Kitten’s Cabaret is a haven for battered women, women who are running from their pasts and frightened of the future. When newcomer Brandy (Sarallison Duke) makes her way to the Cabaret, she causes an uproar among the veteran women of the club. Brandy immediately grabs the attention of handsome Mike the bartender, who is drawn to her innocence. Soon, sassy Bianca (Chrystale Wilson) takes the young girl under her wing, teaching her how to strut her stuff and exploit her body for tips. She becomes just as jaded as the rest of the Cabaret girls, all of whom have lost themselves along the road to success. When rival club owner Frank threatens to bring an end to the Cabaret, the girls must band together under their director TaTa Burlesque to save the club. Along the way they rediscover the importance of self love, hope and sisterhood.
But wait, there’s also some fantasy sprinkled into the story. Looming over the women of the cabaret are the dueling Good Conscience (Fantasia) and Bad Conscience (Faith Evans), who wage a bet over who can manipulate the women more in the end. The two don’t appear often, but when they do, it’s as if we’ve entered a fantasy porno, with Faith Evans dressed in trashy witch-like costume, and Fantasia in an Angelic white dress.
Written and directed by R&B singer Nicci Gilbert, Soul Kitten’s Cabaret brings theater to the big screen, but not in the Chicago sense. The director literally staged a play for an audience, filmed it, and released it on DVD. The play may have been entertaining to a live audience, but it just doesn’t translate to the screen. Stock skyline shots of Detroit are intercut between scenes to establish location, but other than that, all we see are three stage sets: The Cabaret stage and floor, backstage, and the back alley. Soul Kitten’s Cabaret does do the job of bringing theater into the living room, making it more accessible to African American audiences. It comes across, however, as demeaning to the very people it’s trying to lift up. When filmmakers such as Tyler Perry achieve huge success, it’s because the writing and acting are strong enough to impress audiences. Without an intelligent script or entertaining actors Soul Kitten’s Cabaret is just painful to watch.
At the club, we meet seven women and watch them bicker for two and a half tiresome hours. It would be one thing if the women were in any way endearing, but they are so offputting, it’s hard to listen to their dialogue. There isn’t a single actress strong enough to stand out and make herself memorable to the audience. While Brandy may be the main diva in the story, her character is so unlikable that you never feel for her. Actress Sarallison Duke may give the worst performance of the cast members, overacting worse than a high school theater kid. There are so many tangents to the story that it’s hard to follow the plot or empathize with any of the characters.
Soul Kitten’s Cabaret is intended as a social commentary on African American culture, and Gilbert uses every urban cliché in the book. We see gang rivalry, romance, drug addiction, weight issues, rape, marital dysfunction, single motherhood, and even a bit reminding us to support our troops. Perhaps if Gilbert had honed in on one or two main issues, the story would have flowed better and made more of an impact. But even the strongest writing can’t be saved by poor acting.
I would have liked to have seen more song and dance numbers and heard some more singing in this musical. Too much time was spent on arguments and drama, when really, all audiences need in a musical is great music. The cast members were undoubtedly talented singers, with the hunky Mike (Terrell Carter) being my favorite of the bunch. In the end, the sisters band together to learn that, as Good Conscience reminds us, "Not every woman that sings the blues lives the blues, baby."
BONUS FEATURES
Bonus Features include a photo gallery, four minutes of behind the scenes action, and the official movie trailer.
"Soul Kitten's Cabaret" is on sale January 11, 2011 and is not rated. Drama, Musical. Written and directed by Nicci Gilbert. Starring Chrystale Wilson, Faith Evans, Fantasia Barrino, Sarallison Duke, Terrell Carter.
