Will Smith is so brilliant. I adore every moment of his onscreen performance(s). On The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. West Philadelphia born and raised!! That whole melody, and his rhythmic delivery is so engaging, it just seems apparent that individuals like him, that are so diversely talented would become famous sooner or later.
I mean seriously. But it is hardly just his television charisma which makes him great, his theatrical performances on film are also equally nothing short of legendary. Every role is catered to him, yes, and his character demonstrates just how to be cool, confident, and wise beyond his years in every film that he's in, yes, but don't take away from his lack of traditional acting background, and his unbelievable dedication to his craft. He's one of the best for a reason, hardly by chance. I would say, one of the biggest testaments to his enigmatic prowess are that fact that he also is a Grammy award winning artist on top of all of his theatrical accolades.
And yes, let's remember that he was the first person to ever win a Grammy in that category. But alas, I am not here to sit here and gawk about this man's countless achievements, no there are many other places and people to handle those tirades. But I specifically want to focus on the melodrama which constantly fueled the better parts of his tv show.
I mean the Fresh Prince was chalked full of amazing, deep, convincing moments. Many of these moments are shelved and often forgotten in our memories because they are so superbly arranged with bits of tasteful sitcom humor. Let's look at the numbers. It was one of the most timeless, and successful sitcoms of all time in the 90s, and they still frequently replay episodes today.
I really wanted to make a blog about this mainly because 1. Will Smith deserves a rant, point blank period, and 2. Carlton is your lord and savior....okay I overly jest you on the last part, but to me, he is a man who's talent transcends race, and stereotypes. His iconic performance of when his father ships out on him for the second time in his life got me, and I realized as I was watching this, and other moments of the tv show...that you don't find these gems elsewhere on television.
Yes, there's Wall-E, an instant classic which delivers us a message regarding human accordance, but we really need to take the time to decipher the beauty that is Wall-E, whereas the Fresh Prince is right there in your face for you to immediately acknowledge and reciprocate. Besides, Wall-E is a movie anyways, so that doesn't count. Sorry chibi kawaii robots.
I'm not. But I am very much enchanted by some of the emotion that Will displays during the moment where Carlton hands over the gun obtained for protection, and finds that it was loaded. The emotion that he empties on screen is so rapturing that the cameramen just sit there without budging, trying to capture every moment of brilliance which Will puts out.
Now, I will admit, there was obviously that 90s, anti-gun movement which plagued 90s televisions shows, and continually circulated throughout our childhoods. That is obvious, there was also a similar "anti-drug" message being delivered on the episode where Carlton gets the pills out of Will's locker. Yeah, we know that there was agendas afoot, but despite the propaganda, and the continual spews of indoctrination, we admire the fact that Will and co. were so convincing in their performances, so unlike many other conventional tv shows. Que 7th Heaven, cough cough yes, even the message of after school special programming was eclipsed by the bigger stars of the show. Like, how about when Uncle Phil, and Aunt Vivian found out that their son and nephew were entangled in a fit of entrapment with the police. That commanding bellow which James Avery gave to silence the police officers was astounding. If only more individuals could articulate assertive reasoning when dealing face to face with police officers, we would have so fewer accounts of when things go wrong.
But James Avery handled that situation like a man, and on top of that, he did it with passion!
So many great examples of how to be an extraordinary actor on this television show. But I think among them all, none quite compare to the iconic, highly recognized scene where Will's Dad takes off on him again.
This is such a heart wrenching moment. I remember the first time I watched this episode, and I fell over on to the bed when Will uttered those words. "How come he don't want me man???" So much pain being expressed here. And on screen moment aside, re-watching the scene becomes even more heart wrenching 💔🔧 when you realize that most of the scene was improvised on the spot, as Will's father had walked out on him in real life.
"TO HELL WITH HIM!!!" Will shouts at his father's left over trace, every move and piece of his tone is so organic when he shouts that you're left frozen, staring at your screen. I remember looking back when he finally broke down into his Uncle Phil's arms for consolidation, and falling over onto the bed in the room, with tears streaming down my cheek, and all I could think about was how my older brother must of felt about his father who walked out on him. I had no idea how painful that must be, my father was in my life, and stepped up to take care of my brother as well, so he was both of our father's, regardless of any role that his biological father and played with our mom, but I empathized with that feeling, and this scene brought that out in me. So at age 5, the first time that I ever cried while watching a television show, was from this beautiful episode. I think the first time I cried from a movie was during the Lion King scene where Simba prods the dead carcass that is his father's remains. THAT moment, was traumatizing for kids.
I mean, these two scenes are so iconically emotional, that even the legendary LeBron James cites these two pieces as "tearjerkers which gets him every time."
But after re-watching "emotional moments of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air on YouTube, I immediately recognized the passion, and allure which these actors demonstrated, and thought that I would write about it to express myself. Thank you for reading. Long live the late great James Avery, his performances were honestly quite underrated if you go back and watch the footage, and he should be remarked and remembered for his noteworthy theatrical talent.
