What Is the Story About?
They Cloned Tyrone follows an unlikely trio that comprises of Fontaine, a regular drug dealer, Slick Charles and Yo-Yo a sex-worker that joins forces to expose a nefarious government conspiracy that conducts experiments on the black community.
Performances?
They Cloned Tyrone is a fantastic social comedy and most of it is because of its exceptionally charming star-cast comprising of John Boyega, Jammie Fox and Teyonah Parris. The trio share a charming chemistry with each other and are a laughter riot through and through.
Specifically, the film is a Jammie Fox show. The man gets hilarious one-liners and his dead-pan dialogue delivery makes them land hard. Teyonah Parris is also amazing each time she appears on the screen and John Boyega gets a relatively more serious role.
Analysis
They Cloned Tyrone is a 2023 American sci-fi fantasy comedy directed by Juel Taylor in his feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier. The film follows a funny and unlikely trio uncovering a government cloning conspiracy in what is supposed to be a cackling directorial debut from Jeul Taylor.
Reminiscent of movies like Sorry to Bother you, Groundhog Day and a lot more meta references to The Hollow Man, They Cloned Tyrone is a futuristic fantasy comedy with a strong social commentary as well. It follows Fontaine, a drug dealer, Slick, a pimp and Yo-Yo one of Slick’s sex-workers, forming an unlikely alliance to discover and expose a cloning conspiracy of the American Government on the black community.
After the passing away of his younger brother (murder, in fact), Fontaine is broody, depressed and almost like a person who just lives because he’s alive. He is a drug dealer and his mother never sees him face-to-face because she’s always locked up in her room reading stories. He hits up Slick one day for money and ends up being shot. Both slick and his vivacious and spunky worker Yo-Yo witnesses the *murder*. However, the very next day Fontaine lands on Slick’s house again, for money. A bewildered Slick joins Fontaine and meets Yo-Yo who also happened to witness Fontaine being shot.
This is when Fontaine, Yo-Yo and Slick forms an unlikely alliance to discover what exactly is wrong with the turn of events once they happen to land up on a mysterious underground laboratory where they stumble across Fontaine’s dead-body. Clueless and confused, the trio decodes the roots of these unfortunate yet planned happenings and what follows is a roller-coster ride.
The best thing about They Cloned Tyrone is its clever and audacious writing. The interwoven social commentary makes it all the more delicious. The dialogue writing is clever and Jammie Fox’s dead-pan delivery is the cherry on the cake. In short, the only quip with They Cloned Tyrone would be its haphazard climax. The film ends up being good but could’ve been really great if they was a bit more work done in its third act.
Nevertheless, They Cloned Tyrone is a riot. Its eerie, politically sound and super entertaining. The star-cast being one of its strongest pullers. They Cloned Tyrone definitely would make a good weekend watch and its movie-references generate bigger gags.
Music and Other Departments?
Desmond Murray & Pierre Charles’s music aligns perfectly with the retrofuturistic setting, Taylor goes for. Ken Seng’s camera work also works well for the film. The biggest strength of They Cloned Tyrone however is Tony Rettenmaier & Juel Taylor’s writing.
Highlights?
Concept
Dialogues
Star-Cast
Screenplay
Social Commentary
Drawbacks?
Haphazard ending
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. Absolutely.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. Its too much fun.
They Cloned Tyrone Movie Review by Binged Bureau