A white prospective grad student's affluent family won't pay his way through law school, so he takes tanning pills to darken his skin in order to qualify for an African-American scholarship at Harvard. He soon gets more than he bargained for, as he begins to learn what life is really like for blacks in America.
Acting
Rae Dawn Chong somehow brings dignity to this nonsense.
Direction
Steve Miner commits fully to the bit, for better or worse.
Costume
The gradual 'transformation' makeup is... a choice.
Director
Steve Miner
C. Thomas Howell
Mark Watson
Rae Dawn Chong
Sarah Walker
Arye Gross
Gordon Bloomfeld
James Earl Jones
Professor Banks
Melora Hardin
Whitney Dunbar
Leslie Nielsen
Mr. Dunbar
Ann Walker
Mrs. Dunbar
James B. Sikking
Bill Watson
Max Wright
Dr. Aronson
Jeff Altman
Ray McGrady
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Lisa Stimson
Maree Cheatham
Dorothy Watson
Wallace Langham
Barky Brewer
Ron Reagan
Frank
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released the same year as Spike Lee's 'She's Gotta Have It,' this film represents Hollywood's parallel universe of well-intentioned but deeply misguided racial commentary.
C. Thomas Howell later defended the film in 2013, claiming it 'was about a rich white guy learning to be compassionate.' The internet disagreed.
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