Good Fences Explained

Image Upright:	1.0
Genre:	Comedy-drama
Director:	Ernest R. Dickerson
Music:	George Duke
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Editor:	Stephen Lovejoy
Cinematography:	Jonathan Freeman
Runtime:	119 minutes
Company:	40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Network:	Showtime

Good Fences is a 2003 American comedy-drama television film directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by Trey Ellis, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by his wife Erika Ellis. The film is about the stresses of prejudice on an upwardly mobile black family in 1970s Greenwich, Connecticut. Danny Glover plays the overworked, stressed husband and Whoopi Goldberg plays his steadfast wife.

Good Fences was produced by Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. It premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on Showtime on February 2, 2003. Goldberg won an Image Award for her role.^[1]

Cast

• Whoopi Goldberg as Mabel Spader
• Danny Glover as Tom Spader
• Mo'Nique as Ruth Crisp
• Ashley Archer as Stormy (age 13)
• Ryan Michelle Bathe as Stormy (age 17)
• Vincent McCurdy-Clark as Tommy-Two (age 12)
• Zachary Simmons Glover as Tommy-Two (age 17)

Reception

The New York Times reviewed the film positively,^[2] as did Dove.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gondo. Nancy. 2003-06-13. Good Fences. 2022-02-15. Variety. en-US.
2. News: Gates. Anita. 2003-01-31. TELEVISION REVIEW; Turning Everything White but the Skin. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-15. 0362-4331.
3. Web site: Good Fences. 2022-02-15. Dove Family Friendly Movie Reviews. en-US.