Battle of the Closets

Pros and Cons of the Chapters 13-22, as compared to the first 12
(This may be a little redundant if you’ve been reading Rachel’s blog, but so be it. I’ve been, in many circles, the sort of unofficial Trapped mascot, so I feel obligated to give my opinion.)

Cons:

1. One of the funniest elements of the first one was the part in the melody where Kells sings all the rhymes in falsetto. This is virtually absent from the second set– evidence of a larger problem. While I do enjoy the fact that Kells has taken liberties with the musical form of the first, I think in some instances he may have gone too far. The rhymes are often non-existent, and sometimes, so is the melody. At certain points, it begins to sound more like dialogue over music than a song. The first five chapters were made for the album (TP3, check it out, it rules) and for the radio. There was no video element to it whatsoever, but when applied to visual media, it worked. The later chapters become dependent on the video. I prefer the former. Bottom line: I liked being able to sing along with the first, and I fear that is impossible with the second.

2. R. Kelly has definitely had help on this installment. I am not so naive as to condemn creative collaboration. It often yields the most fruitful results. But in this case, I fear it has had adverse effects. The best part about the first one is that things are so non sequitor or loosely connected, or connected in the most absurd ways, that a logical mind could never even dream of emulating it. This is why R. Kelly’s mind is singular– he’s the only one who could produce the kind of connections that there are in the first. In this one, even as it is “outrageous,” it all seems to make sense. We have a clear sense for why things are happening, what people’s motivations are. I suspect it is the product of someone standing over R. Kelly and telling him, “no, this could never be” or asking him “well, why does this happen?” It was much richer, much more surreal when, in his innocence, he ignored these questions.

3. To elaborate on the question of the surreal: The first one was, on paper, not very “over-the-top.” To read a summary of it, it would have appeared nothing more than a racy soap opera. There are very few costumes, unless you count the policeman’s uniform. I cannot think of any sets besides the homes of the three couples, and nearly all of the action takes place inside one of three rooms. But it was just this distortion of the mundane setting that made the first one really insane, really surreal. The second one, with all of its very conventional narrative tools for inducing surreality: i.e. one person playing multiple characters, dream sequences, etc., feels more like something we’ve seen before.

Pros:

1. The acting. R. Kelly actually plays 5 characters in this one: Sylvester and the Narrator, who he played in the first one, as well as Pimp Lucius (the stuttering pimp, who is fucking awesome), the preacher, and Randolph, an old crotchety alcoholic. This is on top of creating more distinct voices for everyone else (as Kells sings everyone’s parts, for those that don’t know.) He does horribly wonderful accents for both the Southern, white Bridgette and the New-Yorkish Italian mob boss, and there are at least two scenes where he is very convincingly singing as someone who is crying. It’s pretty amazing.

2. The singing. While I wish, as I said before, that it was all singing, and not so much talking over music, there are some really impressive musical moments. I mean, let’s not forget, this is the man that brought us “I Believe I Can Fly!” There are some great nuggets in the regular exchanges, but there are also some bonus moments. R. Kelly tracked his voice something like 50 times to create the harmonizing gospel awesomeness of the Peace Within Choir. The very last scene, which Kells calls “the rumor,” has him singing as all the characters at once in a faint round. I find myself wanting to listen to these two scenes– the church scene, and the rumor scene– over and over again, which means they do hold up as songs.

3. It’s subtle, but if you pay attention to his trail of women, you will notice that Pimp Lucius has a blind ho, complete with a tapping stick and black sunglasses.

4. While I agree with Rachel that the intentional humor in the second is not as funny as the unintentional humor in the first, there is some witty dialogue, and much of it revolving around references to other hip-hop and R & B artists (a trend he started in the first one when he referenced Mack’s “Your Chick Chose Me.”) One great one from a telephone exchange: “Do I look like En Vogue?” “Why?” “Because of the way you got me Holdin’ On.” There is also a good fight about pigeon poop.

5. The fact that he’s making them…I mean, to close, while I do have my complaints about the second one, I think, all in all, it’s a pretty solid effort. The first will always be a classic, but the second is worthwhile. I like that Kells is developing. I like that he is trying new things. I am anxious to see how the third is going to be different, because it is sure to be. I have developed a healthy respect for R. Kelly as an artist. I am not so much concerned with whether or not it is “intentional.” Just the fact that people are able to talk about this series so extensively and in such high-brow circles testifies to its power and significance. As in any cult phenomenon, Kells tapped into something bigger than himself, a little piece of divinity, by the will of his belief– at least in the first one. Nick made a good comparison to folk artistry. I am just going to let him do his thing, without too much condemnation (unless that thing happens to be pedophilia). I think he has earned that.