Italian
A heartfelt journey: ‘The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat’
A rare gem in cinema
When the script for “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” landed on Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor’s desk, she knew it was a unique opportunity. Despite her three-decade-long career, it’s not often that Ellis-Taylor finds herself in projects that pass the Bechdel test. This film, which premiered at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAFF), is based on the best-selling novel by Edward Kelsey Moore and directed by Tina Mabry. It offered Ellis-Taylor and her co-stars, Sanaa Lathan and Uzo Aduba, a chance to participate in something rarely seen on screen.
“There is a lack of curiosity about Black women, about the lives of Black women. A lack of interest, and a lack of care,” Ellis-Taylor reflects. “[The Supremes] is a rebellion against that.”
A story of friendship and resilience
Set in a small southern town, the film follows lifelong friends Odette (Ellis-Taylor), Clarice (Aduba), and Barbara Jean (Lathan) as they navigate the joys and sorrows of life. Their friendship is tested by a series of tragedies during their middle-age years, threatening to tear them apart.
When director Tina Mabry first learned about the film, she was immediately intrigued. “Gina Prince-Bythewood had done the first adaptation, and she reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, there’s a movie. You’ve got to read the book,'” Mabry recalls. “Upon reading the book, I saw my family and all the women I know — my friends. It was just very familiar and authentic in a way. We don’t get a chance to showcase what women look like in this age group and a love story between friends. There’s a very big gap and a yearning and a want for that.”
Overcoming production challenges
Bringing “The Supremes” to the big screen was no small feat, especially given the tight production schedule. “With 30 days to shoot a 121-page script, 35 actors, four time periods, and one of your top five getting COVID on day two, it presents very much a hiccup in the schedule,” Mabry notes.
Despite these challenges, Mabry was determined to create an efficient and supportive environment for her cast and crew. “I’m only as good as the crew that I work with. I hope they feel safe enough in the environment that I can provide for them to be vulnerable,” she adds. “You can’t fail on my set. That’s not possible. I’ve got three thespians sitting here — how can I not let them do their job and bring that to the table? I will guide them, but I want them to always feel safe enough to try. You don’t get that everywhere.”
Bridging generations
Since the story spans from the characters’ youth to their middle age, the veteran actors worked closely with their younger counterparts, Kyanna Simone (Odette), Tati Gabrielle (Barbara Jean), and Abigail Achiri (Clarice), to ensure a cohesive portrayal across the film.
“That was wonderful,” Lathan says. “It was so funny because you do realize that whatever age you are, you still feel the same age. But then we showed up on set — it was almost like two different movies.” The film was shot chronologically, so the younger actors did their part first. “There’s just so much energy. They’re all so talented, and they just were sponges and so curious, and they really looked to us for gestures, and we all broke down the characters together. We spent time with them separately, and we keep in touch. To this day, it’s like we’ve made new friends.”
Authenticity in character portrayal
Allowing the characters to stand in their missteps and flaws added to the film’s authenticity. In portraying Clarice, who sacrifices her career as a classical pianist to raise a family with her unfaithful husband, Richmond (Russell Hornsby), Aduba learned a valuable lesson.
“When you lose yourself, even if it’s just a piece of you, the idea that you would sacrifice — and I’m not saying you need to be wholly selfish — but to leave yourself behind comes at devastating costs,” she says. “And I think it happens more frequently than we know. [Clarice] taught me to do those things that make you happy. We’re watching a woman who left her life behind in service of others.”
A nuanced narrative
More than just a story about the ups and downs of life and friendship, “The Supremes” has the same texture and nuance that made films like “Waiting to Exhale” and “Fried Green Tomatoes” so beloved. Lathan’s Barbara Jean, for example, is a tender woman devastated by life’s hardships. However, showcasing her character’s softness alongside her pain was paramount.
“I just feel they’re not mutually exclusive,” Lathan explains. “You can go through a lot of pain and still laugh. Black women are known for that, right? [Barbara Jean] found joy in aspects of her life, her son, and her family. What I love about this script is that these are whole human beings. It’s not stereotypical. So she’s a mess at times, but she’s so much more. She’s struggling with addiction and pain, and yet she still can provide and be a good wife to her husband.”
Lathan continues: “It’s so funny. ‘Women of a certain age,’ that sounds like we’re 80, right? But we’re still vibrant. We still live, and we’re still learning. We still have experiences, and we need to see that reflected. We’re not all good. We’re not all bad. I love that.”
The importance of representation
As beautiful as the story is, it’s still a rarity for women — especially Black women — to see themselves portrayed this way on screen. That’s why pushing for these roles and representation in an industry that doesn’t often see Black women is a part of Ellis-Taylor’s larger objective.
“It can tear you apart. It can rip you at the seams because you see what’s valued and what’s not valued. And we are not valued,” she explains, growing more passionate as she speaks. “I’m from the state of Mississippi, where the legislature is trying to redact figures in our history from curriculums. I know the power of cinema and television. If it’s not going to happen in the classroom, we’ve got to do it in other places.”
Ellis-Taylor concludes: “It is hard to stay on track when you feel assaulted by that, when you feel the lie of that. [That’s] why I am so grateful to Tina and Gina Prince-Bythewood. This is a rebellion against that.”
Discover more
For those interested in diving deeper into this heartfelt journey, you can watch the trailer for The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat and explore more about the film.
