• Reviews
    • Watch This
    • VODepths
  • Humor
  • On the Marquee
  • Looking Back
    • Classic Corner
    • Anniversary
  • Film Fests
Crooked Marquee
  • Reviews
    • Watch This
    • VODepths
  • Humor
  • On the Marquee
  • Looking Back
    • Classic Corner
    • Anniversary
  • Film Fests
Home
Reviews

Review: John Lewis: Good Trouble

Jul 2nd, 2020 Craig Lindsey
Review: John Lewis: Good Trouble

John Lewis, the distinguished Democratic Congressman from Georgia, moves throughout his own documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble, like one of those elder townspeople you see in Westerns, someone who both walks and talks very quietly, has stories for days, and, despite his solemn demeanor, has probably seen and been through a whole lotta hell. He might have even set some hell off himself on a few occasions.

Good Trouble — Lewis’s trademark mantra— serves as a sterling chronicle of the work Lewis (who turned 80 last February) did as a civil-rights activist back in the ‘60s, as well as the work he continues to do as a spokesperson for the Democratic Party, where his generally chill steelo turns into a mighty, preacher-style bravado whenever he hits the mic.

The scenes of Lewis on the road in 2018, showing support for various Democratic candidates around the country during the midterm elections, are the most amusing. Despite looking like the sort of senior gent who runs a barber shop out of his garage, the man is treated like a rock star. People both young and old are honored to be in his presence, swarming him for autographs, selfies, or just plain ol’ wisdom. (The funniest interaction is when a guy stops Lewis in the airport so the congressman can meet his “old lady.”)

As Trapped (2016) and Gideon’s Army (2013) director Dawn Porter immediately establishes in the CNN-produced doc, Lewis has lived an awe-inspiring life. After all, this is a man who grew up with his sharecropping family in Troy, Alabama. But instead of picking cotton with the rest of them, he literally snuck away to school everyday. By age 17, he wrote a letter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who would eventually take the young Lewis under his wing. (He often referred to Lewis as “the boy from Troy.”)

Lewis became a very visible member of the Civil Rights Movement, adopting MLK’s nonviolent stance on protesting and organizing, and joining such influential groups as the Freedom Riders and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). There are scenes where archival footage from his early activist years are projected all around him on a soundstage, his life literally flashing in front of his eyes. 

As Lewis revisits his past, filled with historic moments (his fiery speech at the March of Washington) and moments of brutal injustice (we see him and many others steamrolled by Alabama state troopers during the Selma to Montgomery marches), you may find yourself unnerved at how much things really haven’t changed. Seeing a young-but-determined Lewis take his lumps from those authority-abusing officers isn’t that different from the onslaught of disturbing videos we’ve seen of cops brutalizing protestors who want cops to, you know, stop brutalizing people — especially African-Americans. 

Lewis never got angry, even when more militant activists began carrying the revolutionary load (when he was ousted as chairman of SNCC, he was replaced by the aggressive-but-charismatic Stokely Carmichael). But he did get crafty, opting to go into politics — first working in government and eventually running for Congress — in order to get more things done from the inside. He also got a little dirty, coming with a smear campaign against his old activist buddy Julian Bond when both were pursuing a congressional seat.

Apart from that bit of unfortunate nastiness, Trouble is all about love and praise for Lewis and his efforts. Of course, many current and former politicians show up to give Lewis his flowers: the late Elijah Cummings (who admits to taking pictures with people who thought he was Lewis), Bill and Hillary Clinton, a particularly glowing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (was she recorded with the same soft-focus lens Cybill Shepherd demanded when she used to be on Moonlighting?). We also get the usual friends, family, and coworkers, including longtime chief of staff Michael Collins. (I wonder if Lewis hired him because he shares the same name with an Irish revolutionary.) Nearly all of them echo the same sentiment: if it wasn’t for John Lewis fighting the good fight back in the day, they wouldn’t have gotten into politics themselves. 

But now, as our country has been wrecked by everything from a pandemic to police brutality-fueled protests to blatant voter suppression to a shitty-ass president, we definitely need Lewis to stick around and inspire more future activists and leaders so they can — actually, finally, fo’ real — Make America Great Again.

B+

“John Lewis: Good Trouble” is out Friday on VOD.

  • Tags
  • movie review
  • Movies
Facebook Twitter Google+
Craig Lindsey

Craig Lindsey

Related Posts
Review: <i>Shotgun Wedding</i>
Kimber Myers

Review: Shotgun Wedding

Jan 26th, 2023
Review: <i>One Fine Morning</i>
Jason Bailey

Review: One Fine Morning

Jan 26th, 2023
The Chaotic B-Movie Retro Charm of Gerard Butler
Kayleigh Donaldson

The Chaotic B-Movie Retro Charm of Gerard Butler

Jan 24th, 2023
Trending
Jan 26th 9:00 AM
Reviews

Review: One Fine Morning

Jan 23rd 9:00 AM
Looking Back

The Refugees and Displaced Actors of Casablanca

Sep 28th 9:00 AM
Looking Back

Scotching the Snake: Polanski, Python, and Playboy Productions

Jan 27th 9:00 AM
Looking Back

Classic Corner: Play Misty for Me

May 10th 5:00 AM
Looking Back

Doctor Detroit: Dan Aykroyd’s Strangely Bland First Solo Act

Jul 3rd 9:27 PM
Movies

Taylor Sheridan Is the Worst: A Woman’s Perspective

Jan 24th 9:00 AM
Movies

The Chaotic B-Movie Retro Charm of Gerard Butler

Mar 30th 9:00 AM
Looking Back

All of Kevin Costner’s Sports Movies: A Beginner’s Guide

Nov 17th 9:00 AM
Movies

The Strange, Sordid Tale of Charles Bronson Lookalike Robert Bronzi

Jan 12th 9:00 AM
Movies

The Curious Case of Roderick Jaynes

cmpopcorn_white3.svg
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Writers Guidelines
  • Members
    • Login
    • SignUp
    • Forums
telephone icon [email protected]
envelope icon [email protected]
© 2014-2022 Crooked™ Publishing
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}