Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me (2009)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Wanda Sykes is a four-time Emmy Award winning comedienne. She has done it all. She has appeared in sitcoms, movies, and my personal favorite is her HBO Comedy Specials. This one is her best to date. It's incredibly intelligent, witty, opinionated, edgy but especially honest. Filmed in Washington, D.C. this performance deals with the politics of today, the President and the first lady, but the funniest and most poignant parts of the show are about Wanda herself. She comes out of the closet and talks about aging, married life, her wife and children and the daily complications that her new life creates. I love stand-up comedy and Wanda Sykes is one of the best comedians of the new millennium. She always brings something fresh to each of her acts and this one ranks at the top. She is not afraid to be honest even if it is controversial. The title of I'MA BE ME is absolutely on the mark. She is proud of her life, her accomplishments and she isn't afraid to share that with her audience.

Wanda Sykes, one of the funniest women working in television and films, made a rare solo appearance for HBO. Taped in Washington in front of an adoring audience, Ms. Sykes proves she is at the top of her craft. She is a lady that has no problems taking a number of issues that interest her for a 90 minutes presentation with a lot of laughs.Among the topics Ms. Sykes chose for this one-woman show were the first Black-American president, someone she feels deserves her admiration while making fun of the way he changed a lot of rules that didn't come into being in previous administrations. She also talked about her own coming out as a lesbian and the bliss of married life to another woman with whom she has a solid relationship. Ms. Sykes made fun of her own coming out as a lesbian, just the opposite of coming out as a black person to her own parents!One of the highlights of the show had to be the all-gay cruise in which she was the entertainer. It's a riot watching her go through the motions of that experience among more than three thousand men, something that reminded us of the similar cruise that Rosie O'Donnell took and documented in a documentary.The last segment of the show is a hysterical account of celebrities' endorsement of product, like the case of Jamie Lee Curtis advertising a yogurt with magical properties that Ms. Sykes has successfully tried herself.Directed with precision by Beth McCarthy Miller, the show is a riot to watch. The pacing by Ms. Sykes is impeccable, something other comedians should study because she never lets the audience rest. Wanda Sykes keeps the jokes coming at a steady pace that leaves the crowd wanting more. Ms. Sykes curtain calls showed a grateful woman that loves to entertain her fans in her own, unique style.