Ebony & Ivory has a foundation that could make for a compelling comedy, and two actors who could pull it off. Unfortunately, the script and direction send the story into freefall. The film draws clear parallels to Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s 1982 hit song of the same name. However, nothing about the movie evokes anything about the song, the artists, or comedy.
Two musical legends are drawn together through mysterious circumstances, and they spend some time discussing music, their status as legends, vegetarian food, and their surroundings in the Mull of Kintyre, a remote location in southwest Scotland. However, despite this seemingly straightforward plot, the film goes in numerous directions as though in a fever dream state.
Ebony & Ivory Lacks Any Substance Whatsoever
There is absurdist comedy, and then there’s this. Ebony & Ivory has the quirks to match, but it misses the mark. While the type of humor on display is already extremely niche, the film digs its heels in, turning it into a grating and uncomfortable watch.
It feels kind of like watching a David Lynch movie, but without any meaning or symbolism to glean from the unpredictable narrative.
With the clear á´€ssociations it promotes about itself and legendary artists, it could be viewed as a satire poking fun at these musicians. But the film ultimately pulls these characters so far away from any sort of reality that it just feels hollow.
One bright spot in the madness is some of the recurring gags, which lead to some light chuckles. But there is an endless onslaught of increasingly baffling choices. The two leading men are profoundly unlikable, and the story doesn’t have any shape or sensibility for a foundation to build upon. Ultimately, it feels kind of like watching a David Lynch movie, but without any meaning or symbolism to glean from the unpredictable narrative.
Ebony & Ivory Is Completely & Unabashedly Itself
That said, Ebony & Ivory is aware of what it is, and it leans into it. I’m certain there’s a fanbase for it, but it’s too niche to become a cult classic, and too ridiculous to be the rare so-bad-it’s-good movie. The setting is nice, the actors perform their roles with enthusiasm and total commitment, but the bad jokes force themselves in repeatedly.
It just feels like a slower-paced brainrot, with a complete lack of charm.
Writer-director Jim Hosking has narrowed his focus, creating a new parody story that’s only somewhat akin to his 2016 movie The Greasy Strangler, but Ebony & Ivory fails to inspire the same sense of ingenuity, or creativity that Hosking’s previous film possessed.
It’s just a slower-paced film with a complete lack of charm. Ebony & Ivory doesn’t even break new ground in being weird, unsettling, or absurd. It leans hard into that, but Ebony & Ivory‘s spark fails to ignite from the start, and it continues to fall further away from any degree of fun, excitement, or entertainment.
Ebony & Ivory will receive a limited release on August 8.
