Given that he’s one of the brothers behind the likes of White Chicks, Little Man and the more recent Dance Flick, we’d be forgiven for shuddering slightly at the idea of Keenen Ivory Wayans pitching a new comedy to CBS Films and Columbia Pictures.But from the sound of it, It Takes A Village could actually be a lot calmer and more mature than anything he’s done in years.
Admittedly, it still has a fairly high concept, but according to Deadline, it sounds like the writer – who also plans to direct the movie – is looking to focus on something a little more than body function jokes and pop culture gags. Unless you count referencing the trend for women who adopt babies from other countries as a pop culture gag…
“A woman who works for a company that mines natural resources like diamonds and copper heads to a South Pacific island to meet with the tribe in control and when she gets there, she comes across a child with no parents, who won’t leave her side," Wayans told the site. "When she asks who will be the baby’s mother, she’s told the village will take care of the baby until it chooses one. When the baby climbs into her lap and puts its head on her chest, she has an epiphany moment and decides she wants to be its mother.”
Cue a fish-out-of-water story as the seven tribal elders make the trip over to the posh gated community where the woman lives to stay with her and decide whether she’s actually the right parent for the child. “I’ve got a better view of what’s important, how you can get caught up in career and lost sight of what’s important,” explains Wayans. “The dance of this movie is, you think these people are simple, but there’s wisdom in their simplicity and the way they deconstruct things to their simplest form. The child they’ve come to raise isn’t the baby, but rather the woman, as she prepares for the journey of being a parent.”
We’ll just be happy if it means that White Chicks 2 is now indefinitely on hold. Wonder if Angelina Jolie will see the script?