QftWo 12/30-1/5: Imposters #26 - Black Nativity

Two Imposters in a row? Sorry - DJ and I are still prepping our 2013 recaps. Those'll both go up tomorrow - mine first, and DJ's soon after. Today's super-cool You Shoulda Been a Movie entry will post next week, and a new Gem is coming in just 31 minutes. I want to cure your hangovers with laughter (and Patrick Stewart)!

On to what's wrong and/or right about the marketing graphic below: This is a very odd use of collage, the bland background of the image broken up by little promo vignettes for six of its characters.

So what's odd? Well, it's a freaking experiment in multiple perspectives! I know Forrest Whitaker well enough to say that oftentimes he cracks that great big smile of his, then looks downwards. It's one of his many endearing traits. To the unfamiliar, the angle is all weird... Especially since this photographic montage doesn't let you see what's in front of or below him.

So, basically, it looks like he's receiving an incredibly cheerful blowjob during the holidays.

And, hey, who wouldn't want that? But for his smile to be so big, this has got to be one damn festive bj. Is she wearing clown makeup? Is she dressed like Santa or a supremely sexy elf? Maybe while she's doing it, she's twirling a noise-maker in each hand...

Scratch that last one - it's a terrible idea. Meanwhile, Angela Bassett is giving a warm smile off to the right side for reasons no one can determine. It's not quite "elated by the dual magic of X-mas and oral pleasure," but who knows? Hey, it's Christmas time! Oral for everyone!

...Sorry, I got distracted.

Tyrese Gibson is the standout of a smaller cluster of torso & head shots, arranged in a 4-leaf clover pattern. The head at the top is some kid, so, who cares about that? And the dude on the bottom is giving me this big early 90's, post-Cosby show vibe. But Tyrese seems stoic - stoicism, that classic Xmas emotion - and is gazing off at an angle different from the rest of the supporting cast. This... was a confusing choice.

I do appreciate the overall sense of balance in this image. Even the second, non-Bassett woman on the cover? Yeah, she's placed in a complimentary position to Angela's larger shot. The clapping hands (which look silly, to me) play off of Ms. Bassett's arms, which are also in sight.

It's just odd to create a neatly-balanced little section of an already visually-balanced ad, then make it all askew by having one figure looking at stage right while the other three are staring straight ahead at whoever's viewing the poster.

I would feel a touch more positive about the whole affair if the sides of the graphic don't make a city street look as if it's suffering through a rain of fire. And the snowy-white angel at the top-center just adds a touch of the psychedelic to all this.

I guess I like this ad because it made me laugh, but I really don't think that was the intended effect... Oh, well, better luck next time, ya'll.