Shaft (2019)

Very early into the new Shaft film a character throws out a transphobic joke. It's a throw away line and for many it might go unnoticed. I winced. It was ugly but perhaps that would be a blip in the film. I should have known better.

The gay jokes started coming fast and furious soon after. While some of the jokes were specifically about being gay, joke after joke focused on laughing at men whose masculinity is... well, less than this film deems worthy.

While perhaps I could have enjoyed this film, despite it's rather predictable plot and paper thin characterization, the rather constant attacks on queerness for the sake of humour ruined it for me.

At one point Regina Hall's character says "you had to fuck it up, didn't you?"

She took the words right out of my mouth.

Shaft
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Usher, Richard Roundtree, Alexandra Ship, Regina Hall, Avan Jogia, Method Man
Director: Tim Story
Writers: Kenya Barris, Alex Barnow