Greetings again from the darkness. While in protective mode attempting to avoid being trampled during Black Friday shopping, you may wonder how the frenzy all started. Well, documentarian Andrew Jenks is happy to inform you that it dates back to 1983 when the first battles in the retail aisles were over an odd-looking doll (only don’t call them dolls) called Cabbage Patch Kids. To get us in the mood for shopping combat, the film opens by blasting Alice Cooper’s 1973 hit, “Billion Dollar Babies”.
Neil Patrick Harris narrates as the history of the Cabbage Patch Kids is tracked. I’ll admit to expecting a ‘cute documentary’ on the popular toys-babies-kids (anything but dolls), and while the cuteness is discussed, what we really get is yet another lesson in cut-throat business practices. Xavier Roberts is the one who manufactured the CPK and signed the licensing rights to Roger Schlaifer, who in turn sold the marketing rights to Coleco’s executive, Al Kahn. To understand the era, one must know that this was the front end of the 1980’s consumerism spike, as well as new advertising rules from the FCC, which permitted direct-to-kids ads. All of these fell into place to create the demand for the one-of-a-kind CPK.
But were they really one-of-a-kind? The second half of the film details the multi-year legal battle of Martha Nelson Thomas, who had been selling her ‘doll babies’ in the craft shop managed by Xavier Roberts. Her handmade babies looked almost identical to his, and even came with adoption papers that became so vital to the CPK marketing efforts. We hear from her attorney and her two adult kids, as Ms. Thomas has since passed away. The lawyer explains the case and how they attempted to have Xavier Roberts held accountable for his ‘theft’.
To his credit, Mr. Roberts gives his first interview in 20+ years, and is joined by Della Tolhurst, the former President of his company. Roberts explains how he was inspired by Walt Disney, and we tour his Babyland in Georgia, which provided an all-encompassing background story for the Cabbage Patch Kids and an experience for his customers. Whether you fall on the side of Xavier Roberts or the side of Martha Nelson Thomas, the courts affirmed his rights to the CPK empire.
Journalist Connie Chung offers her recollection of the frenzy, and we hear from the Proseys, a couple of collectors who once owned more than 6000 Cabbage Patch Kids. They explain how the re-sell market for the kids was bonkers, and parents just had to have these for their kid’s Christmas. So, beyond the shady business practice, there is the whole Black Friday frenzy. Sure it started with Cabbage Patch Kids and rude people yanking packages right from the hands of kids, but did we learn our lesson? Evidence suggests it’s only gotten worse over the years thanks to items like Beanie Babies, Tickle Me Elmo, American Girls dolls, and others. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder for CPK, but our society tends to wash, rinse, repeat.
Coming to theaters beginning November 24, 2023
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Emerald Fennell won an Oscar for her original screenplay of her dark and divisive debut feature film, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020). She’s back as writer-director of her second feature film, and it’s every bit as dark, and even more scathing in its takedown of the rich and entitled. We are also treated to yet another awkwardly disturbed character for the growing resume of Barry Keoghan.
Greetings again from the darkness. Ridley Scott long ago etched his name on the list of filmmakers whose projects are nearly always interesting and deserving of a watch. After all, he has helmed such beloved classics as ALIEN (1979), BLADE RUNNER (1982), THELMA AND LOUISE (1991), and Best Picture winner GLADIATOR (2009). Returning to the historical epic genre and working from a script by his ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD writer, David Scarpa, Scott takes on the life and legend of Napoleon Bonaparte. Of course, that legend is a bit conflicted since Napoleon and his bicorne hat remains a hero to France, yet something less to England.
Greetings again from the darkness. For those who have scoffed at the “Madea” movies, or the periodic screen appearances of Tyler Perry in supporting roles, this documentary from Gelila Bekele (she and Perry share a child) and Armani Ortiz will open your eyes to the money-making machine and unstoppable force that is Tyler Perry. Clearly more of a tribute to his accomplishments than a deep dive into the man, his business, and his life, the film leaves us with full respect for what he has accomplished, as well as an understanding of an industry mogul who maintains complete control of his projects.
Greetings again from the darkness. For the third film in the ‘Trolls’ franchise, much of the creative team is back at it. This includes co-directors Walt Dohrn and Tim Heitz, as well as screenwriter Elizabeth Tippet, who penned this story based on the original characters of Thomas Dam. It seems obvious that this has been developed for kids, yet it’s always interesting to see how much effort the animation films put into entertaining the adults as well. And being the third film, expectations are naturally somewhat muted.
Greetings again from the darkness. It might seem that a team goal of merely scoring a goal is setting the sights a bit low, but then again, we are talking about the American Samoa soccer team that lost to Australia by the incredible score of 31-0 (not a typo) in a World Cup qualifier. Brought to you by the comedic genius of writer-director Taika Waititi and his co-writer Iain Morris (“The Inbetweeners”), it was filmed in Hawaii a few years ago and easily slides into the category of feel-good entertainment, despite the near-certainty that some will accuse Waititi of cultural insensitivity. Much of it is based on a true story.
Greetings again from the darkness. Contentedly, most us live our lives in a manner that would never be worthy of tabloid headlines. Not so for Gracie in this psychologically complex new film from expert director Todd Haynes (FAR FROM HEAVEN, 2002) and writers Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik. Early on, Haynes shows us those tabloids featuring Gracie’s scandal following her seduction of 7th grader Joe in the stock room of the local pet store. She was 36 years old, and he was 13. Soon after, Gracie went to prison, where she bore their first child.
Greetings again from the darkness. Nick Broomfield has been making documentaries for nearly 50 years. The list of subjects is quite diverse, yet his interest in musicians seems to recur periodically, but even in these, his focus is mainly on the person rather than the notes on the scale or the performances on stage. A perfect example is his 2019 doc, MARIANNE & LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE. His latest on Brian Jones again fits the description.
Greetings again from the darkness. Little bits of movie trivia are always fun to learn, and this documentary throws out a doozy. I must be late to the party because I had no idea Shere Hite was the model for the Bond girls on the poster for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971), the James Bond film starring James Bond and Jill St. John. More people surely know Shere Hite as the writer of the groundbreaking best-selling book, “The Hite Report on Female Sexuality”, the 600-page tome first published in 1976 that inspired much discussion and debate.
Greetings again from the darkness. You know how an overachiever can make you feel like a worthless slug? Well, that’s nothing compared to how you’ll likely view yourself once you learn the story of Stan Brock. If you recognize the name, it’s likely due to the 31 episodes of “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” he co-hosted with the legendary Marlin Perkins. His matinee idol good looks were right at home whether he was exploring in the desert or wrestling an Anaconda in the Amazon. Documentarian Paul Michael Angell gives us Brock’s backstory, but the focus here is on the amazing things he accomplished after his animal corralling days.
