There’s a distinct difference between an important story and a good movie. An important story is essential history that should be a part of everyone’s education or social consciousness. Alternatively, a good movie nails at least some of the fundamentals of filmmaking. Both can exist in the same space, but an important story and a good movie are not synonymous.
Tyler Perry walks headfirst into that conundrum as he brings the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, aka the Six Triple Eight, in his new film, The Six Triple Eight. The film follows the only all-black woman army corps unit to serve in World War II as they grapple with racism and sexism to fulfill their wishes to serve their country. The Six Triple Eight is clearly an important story for American history, but how does it fare in film under Perry’s watch? It’s a tale of two halves that ultimately doesn’t hit the mark.
The thing that kills The Six Triple Eight off-rip is the first hour and some change. The plot gets lost early because Perry also puts in many of his own tropes and typical war movie ones. In the first hour alone, you have a coming-of-age subplot, a forbidden love/interracial relationship subplot, and an underdog subplot. Then, that’s combined with the standard war movie fare of a core group complete with the uncouth comic relief, the refined elitist unprepared for the grit of the military, the previously mentioned underdog, and the voice of reason who all need to be led by the tough commanding officer. Oh, and last but certainly not least, the white savior in the form of a ghost (no, I didn’t make that up). Again, it’s all over the place and mostly not paramount to the Six Triple Eight story.
Yet, if you get past that chunk of time, the second half of The Six Triple Eight becomes what the entire film should have been from the beginning - Kerry Washington’s movie. Her portrayal of real-life Six Triple Eight Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams is the hallmark of the film.
The southern drawl sounds more like Foghorn Leghorn than a real Southern person, but Washington is pitch-perfect aside from that. The key to it is Washington’s ability to give you strength and vulnerability without compromising one or the other. With her tools and talent leading the way, you have everything you need to make a film that encompasses the intelligence, perseverance, and sisterhood the Six Triple Eight used to overcome everything put in their way to proudly serve as an essential piece to the country’s victory in World War II.
Perry’s effort to bring the under-told story of the Six Triple Eight to the masses deserves many flowers, far more than he usually gets. At the same time, the fact that their is such an important story also means it deserves the utmost care when told, and that’s lacking in this case. It’s not a complete bomb, but Six Triple Eight is an example of how two things can be true at once – important story but not a good movie.
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