This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Netflix found some a cool niche in the sci-fi category. With films like Tyrone and See You Yesterday, the streamer has taken a tired sci-fi premise and enlivened it with a heavy undercurrent of societal allegory. Cloning gets the update here, thanks to Juel Taylor’s wonderful script and a trio of great performances to really drive home “They” screwed up, big time, when they cross John Boyega.
Fontaine (Boyega) is your run of the mill low level drug dealer. He lives in the Glen, a desolate place for the African-American citizens stuck living there, with no real options for bettering their living situation. One night, a deal goes bad at Slick Charles’s (Jamie Foxx) place, and Charles and his ho Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) witness Fontaine getting murdered, sadly not surprising. Things become surprising quickly for Slick Charles and Yo-Yo, when Fontaine walks through their door the next day, leading the group on a journey to figure out what the hell is going on in the Glen.
Bold move by Juel Taylor to give away a piece of the plot with the title. You have to be pretty sure your story is gonna work if you’re gonna give up a wrinkle in 3 words. Thankfully, the foundation for They Cloned Tyrone is rock solid. For centuries, black people in the US have been witnesses to institutional failures and betrayals constantly, as the people in power rig the system at the expense of African-Americans. They Cloned Tyrone hammers the Glen from multiple fronts. Something horribly sinister happening on a grand scale that no one really cares about except Glen residents, that’s clear from the get go. What Taylor’s script smartly points out is how that level of corruption applies even to institutions held dear by the community. Safe places like a fried chicken restaurant, church, or even strip clubs are a part of this exploitation, turning the entire Glen into a communal abyss for its poor residents who just want to be happy or get out. To be constantly beat down day to day with no hope of anything better? They Cloned Tyrone hits sneaky hard as the movie goes on, as the grind of constant fight for survival numbs and depresses the cast into submission through cruel force of will.
John Boyega carries hurt and anger better than almost any actor working today. His smoldering intensity grounds the serious side of They Cloned Tyrone, as his Fontaine is beset on all sides by issues he’s trying to overcome. His opposite is Jamie Foxx, balancing out the somber tones with some much needed levity. Foxx has a ball donning a pimp’s persona, going full 70’s blaxsploitation with his outfits and mannerisms, causing a smile everytime he opens his mouth. Strutting between them is the perpetually underutilized Teyonah Parris. Despite Yo-Yo’s less then stellar introduction, Parris imbues the character with the ability to be both extremely intense and seriously funny (the Nancy Drew running bit works everytime), shifting as the story requires her to do so, with natural ease.
Don’t worry all, Tyrone does show up eventually to find out he was cloned. But at that point, Fontaine, Slick Charles, and Yo-Yo in the Glen will have won you over you’ll almost forget what the title of the movie was. You’ll definitely forget the title because of a killer cameo in the middle of the movie, a nice choice for an actor you’ll be delighted to see pop up again. I wish they cloned that guy.