As of 2017, we have officially reached the 25th anniversary of the release of, by far and away, one of Eddie Murphy's greatest contributions to cinema, Boomerang.
Boomerang was released to theaters in 1992 and, at the ripe old age of 8, consequentially, changed how I view both men and women alike.
Upon this momentous occasion, I found it only necessary to provide a thorough assessment of how (and why) this film not only shaped me from a very early age, but has also had a palpable impression on black culture as a whole.
There are mini spoilers all up and through here. Take heed.
1. Men are total visual creatures.
Not exactly rocket science, but this point was driven home multiple times throughout this film. There may have been no greater moment that summarized this fact more than the time Marcus first sees Jacqueline standing by the elevators, halts, provides varying head tilts all accompanied with the thorough up down of her physique. This moment remained embedded in my brain for all eternity.
2. Women are hella powerful.
While this may not have been one of the more obvious overarching themes, on possibly the 100th viewing of this flick, it came to my attention that legitimately everything about Marcus Graham's life was for the sole purpose of attracting women. His job, his house, the way he dressed, probably even how he smelled was all for the ladies. For me, that equaled and translated to all of the power in the world.
3. Personal grooming means things.
It would be remiss of me to not take note of one of the more infamous scenes, where Marcus slides back those blue satin sheets to allow his full gaze to fall on what he was working with only to see those completely horrendous, chipped polish, never been pedicured feet of that beautiful lady. No, we shouldn't be doing it for the men, but for the love of the Lord, care enough about your own life to invest in a pumice stone and a bottle of polish.
via GIPHY
4. (Some) men don't deal too well with having their heart broken.
This man was so caught up in the rapture of this breakup that he was suspended from his job, y'all! He could not even moderately keep it together. Now, this point is debatable, but it led me to the conclusion that women are a bit more resilient in this regard. More often than not, we tend to cry it out, then move on.
5. That girl ain't always your friend, chile.
Now it was not exactly clear if Jacqueline and Angela were friends outside of work, but they were definitely kicking it enough for Jacqueline to relay a lot of details about her relationship with Marcus to Angela. It's difficult to directly point out the right and wrong here, but they both forgot about any parts of that "friendship" in their pursuit to get this man. Jacqueline, very specifically, gave zero cares about sliding back in when Angela had her guard down. In other words…watch yo back, girl!
6. Parents can and will embarrass you deeply into adulthood
This was evidenced most obviously by the Thanksgiving dinner scene at Marcus' house. Jerrod's parents refused to dull their shine simply because they were not at their own house for the holiday. From pops stepping in with the coordinating mushrooms to them "hitting it" in Marcus' bathroom, your parents will never have shame and their ability to give any of the cares diminishes significantly as their age increases.
7. Loving a man does NOT mean that you take his crap.
Angela loved that man in spite of knowing his track record and all of the word on the street in the office. She was never blindly in love. As soon as she saw his playboy antics pop up, she chucked that man the deuces.
8. The title of the movie is fitting.
Because what goes around comes around. You put good vibes out into the universe and you will be rewarded. However, if you're a douche, you will eventually get pissed on.
Why do you love Boomerang? Add on in the comments.
