Zebrahead

source: Zebrahead

"Zebrahead" is one of those solid little films which may be unfamiliar to a mass audience. Written and directed by Anthony Drazan, it's set in Detroit, in a mostly black neighborhood where white, Jewish high school student Zack (Michael Rapaport, "True Romance") and his black schoolmate Dee (DeShonn Castle, in his only film role) are best friends. Complicating matters further is the arrival on the scene of Dees' pretty cousin Nikki (N'Bushe Wright, "Blade"); Zack takes a quick interest in her and soon they are dating. Dee thinks nothing of it, but characters on both sides of the color line have plenty to say about the situation. "Zebrahead" does earn some marks for taking a measured, interesting look at race relations in America circa 1992. Drazan doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but he certainly raises good points and takes a realistic approach to his material. The characters do tend to be flawed, multi-dimensional, and believable. Although Drazan has his plot reach a pivotal and dark moment with a moment of horrible violence, he prevents things from getting too melodramatic. He also dares to keep things from being neatly resolved at the end. There are no big "names" in this cast, although the late, great Ray Sharkey ("The Idolmaker") is present as Zacks' colorful, womanizing father. Mostly, the cast is made up by promising newcomers and a handful of good character actors (Kevin Corrigan, Dan Ziskie, Martin Priest, Paul Butler). Rapaport and Wright, in their starring film debuts, are engaging as the couple at the core of the story. Running them some competition is the memorable Ron Johnson ("Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit") as a gangbanger who's also very interested in Nikki. Overall, "Zebrahead" is a good little picture worthy of more attention. Filmed on location in Detroit, it features a top score by Taj Mahal and a very good soundtrack. "Presented", and co-executive produced, by Oliver Stone. Seven out of 10.

The plot touched a new level of interracial dating for that time. The early nineties opened up a door of acceptance. Yet, it was slowly closing a door of hate towards interracial friendships and relationships. The plot has a seasoned flavor. You wanted to catch every detail of the movie. You admired the friendship between Zack and Dee. Dee loved Zack like a brother. However, Zack battled between friendships. Although he acted so-called black around Dee, he still remained to be in tune with his white friends. Zack was more confused than anything. The thought of dating a black girl was exciting. Yet, he was interested in her beauty, her style, and mind. The two played it safe for a while but no one really approved except for Dee. Trouble is always around. Yet, it's sad when it lives across the street. The infamous "Nut" had a crush on Nikki. He did not like Zack at all. He was an abandoned child that was clearly uneducated. He was not a gang member but he was full of hate due to his surroundings. What led to the tragic scene of Dee's killing was a stupid act of passion. Nikki was vulnerable during her break-up with Zack. Nut was caring for the moment and the two kissed. She regretted the mistake, yet she left Nut confused. So...to see Nikki and Zack rekindling there relationship made him mad. A huge confrontation between Nut and Zack was interrupted by Dee. Dee always came to Zack's rescue. He pushed Nut on the floor and Nut acted out. He shot and killed Dee. Nut had intentions of shooting Zack but Dee became the target. What a plot!!! Zack is hated because their friendship got Dee killed. Nikki is hated because she crossed the racial barriers. Everybody is blaming the two. Overall, this movie remains to be the best interracial love story. It teaches about racism, love, young adults, violence, hate, friendship, and family.

Just watched it last night. Had a real feel to it. It concentrated more on the day to day lives of these kids. It wasn't just about blowing guys away or drug use or dealing on the street corner. The movie was very low key but had its good up tempo parts also. Very realistic. Had no idea that Oliver Stone did this movie. A very underrated film. I also felt that more information on Rapaport's character's mother could have been shared. To go even deeper, more on why Nikki moved to Detroit would have been a plus. Those are minor suggestions though. Still a movie to see if you haven't. I have not seen "Save the Last Dance" so I can't compare. I did like it better than "Jungle Fever".

great casting and acting (aside - the Detroit industrial environmental pollution is the point of the fire scene.... The industrial plants in the background release their pollution to the surrounding area.)

'Zebrahead' is an excellent, little known movie that manages to realistically portray racial issues in a contemporary teen movie without being saccharine or too preachy. Michael Rapaport, best known for playing supporting roles of losers in movies like 'True Romance', 'Cop Land' and 'Kiss Of Death', is given a strong leading role here and does very well with it. Surprisingly it was his movie debut and he rarely been given a part as good as this since. N'Bushe Wright, best known for 'Blade', is also excellent as his love interest Nikki, and the late Ray Sharkey ('Who'll Stop The Rain?') is first rate as his womanizing father. The rest of the supporting cast, mostly all young and unknown, are all very good, and the strange cameo by Kevin Corrigan ('Bandwagon', 'Buffalo '66') is unexplained but fascinating. Writer/director Anthony Drazan went on to make the equally overlooked 'Imaginary Crimes' and 'Hurlyburly'. All three movies deserve a lot more attention.

I love this movie. Really, really love it. I went to a school like this with kids like these. I went home to a house like that. I was in the cafeteria the day a racially-charged situation almost went to critical mass, and I was part of a group discussion the following week, in which nothing was resolved. Which is what I like most about this movie. It doesn't end with everyone singing. Or dancing, or marching towards the camera, or anything like that. The goomba and the Spike Lee guy duke it out while the Asian girl despairs (as I did), and the white guy and black girl embrace each other hopelessly. That is life. Some differences will never be resolved, and the best you can hope for is that *some* people will reach each other. I was praying all along that this would not have some pat ending that could never have happened at my school, and I was rewarded. There are no resolutions, just moments.

I saw this movie when i was in highschool and it's been inbedded in my head ever since. It made me a huge fan of M. Rapaport. I was just thinking of buying the film on vhs but lo and behold it's coming to dvd June 18. Everyone should have it on their dvd or vhs shelf.

I love this movie!it's so real.I grew up in Detroit right down the street from where they film this movie and i was a kid when they film this movie there. I was so surprise to see that they film it in the high school i graduated from Frank Cody High School 18445 cathedral Detroit,MI.And the skating rink i grew up going to,Skate Land on the east side.That's crazy!What was film in this movie was really going on in Detroit then, it was bad.It was a lot of hate crimes like that,Detroit was well mixed, but every race pretty much stuck to them self.It wasn't a lot if interracial couple's in Detroit back then,so when there was one, it was a lot of hate crimes because of it.that was back then and even in some cases now it happens,but it's nowhere near as bad.Detroit is still a beautiful place to live,i love it!

Saw this for the first time because I come from the Detroit area. Granted, I am from the Detroit area circa 1956 so the culture may have changed by 1992 but I thought the issues were similar for a white guy growing up in a black dominated inner city. The issues rung true for any of the "rust belt" cities of Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. I thought Michael Rapaport was credible as were the largely black supporting cast. The school administrator who said "Stick with your tribe" reflected what most people would have said about multi-racial dating. The plot was somewhat predictable, BUT nonetheless believable and worthy of Oliver Stone's endorsement of the story by lending his name to the production. In short, it was definitely worth seeing.