DVD Carbon Copy

This was sort of a lost-gem-in-the-rough. The script isn't sure whether to make Walter and Roger rivals (in which each would at least subconsciously be out to prove who's better at living his way) or a true father&son team. The flick starts out with a running gag that Walter is actually a descent guy whose achievements have incidentally led him to be surrounded by incredibly bigoted people (they haven't affected him, but they haven't revealed their own darker side...yet). Once Walter is cast out from Brentwood, that joke disappears, and Segal is trapped in a fish-out-of-water story - consigned to a car without breaks, and a wreck of an apartment. (Other jokes include Walter's disgust when he realizes that his black son can't play basketball). Though weak, it's still fun. If Segal and Washington don't work well with each other, they still bring some fun to the table - especially Denzel Washington's disarmingly cheery outlook, now against the grain of his more recognizable seriousness. "You can teach me to build a model airplane", he suggests, "I can teach you how to pick a lock." Jokes like that should cater to the worst in you, but Washington's delivery reminds you it's all in good fun.

Carbon Copy", tells the story of a very successful white business executive (George Segal) who appears to have it all, the great house, top job, beautiful wife and all the luxuries that money can buy who one day comes face to face with the son he never knew he had (Denzel Washington in a terrific movie debut). The major problem here is however that the son is not only the result of a previous love affair but black as well which would not sit well with his upwardly mobile lifestyle and snobby family. The resulting situation once his son is introduced to his family has both funny and sad repurcussions as Segal sees his whole world crumble before his eyes and he finds himself out of a job, homeless, with no money, sharing a rundown apartment in a "bad neighbourhood" with his son and being reduced in a very comical scene to shovelling horse manure to earn a few bucks for food. Along the way much soul searching is done by both father and son as they realise the other is not naturally the enemy and that colour should not be something that necessarily should keep them apart.

The chemistry between the two leads, the more experienced George Segal and a young Denzel Washington is terrific and they are in turn very funny together as seen in the scenes when driving in Washington's beat up old car and in the scene when they are booking into the cheap motel for the night, and touchingly dramatic as they slowly discover more about each other and decide to try at a life together as father and son. The rapport between them is terrific and both play off each other to great effect.It is easy to see that Denzel Washington, one of today's finest actors was destined for great things even at this early stage in his career. He is perfectly natural and delivers a refreshingly honest performance as th eyoung black man trying to find his roots. His performance is a mixture of frustration, curiosity and comic ability. He has you alternately laughing and crying which is the sign of true talent indeed. While definately a light comedy "Carbon Copy",does however deliver an important message about race relations and perceptions while not deliberatly pointing the finger at either racial group for being distrustful of the other. Many significant points on how we should view people are delivered in among the great comedy moments in the film.

Being a big George Segal fan there is much to like in "Carbon Copy". While not his greatest film he still displays that wonderful comedy delivery that charmed audiences in the 1970's and 80's. It's only a pity that he didn't continue in films at a later period rather than moving fulltime into television. I highly recommend "Carbon Copy", for an enjoyable hour and a half that will also get you thinking in a subtle way about how people do actually relate to each other. Enjoy the highjinks of white father and black son as cultures collide in "Carbon Copy".