'The Good Lie' Is Outdated

The Good Lie, starring Reese Witherspoon, is an inspired-by-real-events movie telling the story of a white lady helping Sudanese refugees. No, not the experience of the refugees, but the experience of Witherspoon's Carrie Davis. At least that's what The Good Lie trailer, which was released on Thursday, suggests. Notably, the trailer for Dear White People, which explicitly criticizes films like The Good Lie, was also released on that day.

In the Dear White People trailer, Tessa Thompson's character asks, "Can we have a movie with, you know, characters in them rather than stereotypes wrapped in Christian dogma?" This is a spot on criticism of The Good Lie, which seems to be using the refugees as a way to tell Carrie Davis' story. It's good that Hollywood is taking on such problems as the Sudanese refugee crisis, but can we stop using these important issues as a way to highlight the compassion of white people?

The Dear White People trailer calls out The Help, The Butler, and The Blind Side for just that, and The Good Lie could easily make the list. It's actually made by the executive producer of The Blind Side, and it could easily be Blind Side 2. Davis is a fierce, compassionate lady who says things like "who do I have to screw?" and "thanks cupcake." She's clearly the protagonist and this is her story.

The other problematic element of the trailer is all the humor at the refugees' expense. They think there are lions in America! They hardly have any luggage! They assume that all women are married! This kind of "let's laugh at the simple foreigner" humor is not funny, and it shouldn't be happening anymore. The fact that the majority of the refugees' lines int the trailer are meant to be comedic is hugely troublesome. It doesn't bode well for the movie as a whole.

The Good Lie comes out Oct. 3, and we can only hope that it's better than its trailer.

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures