Surprisingly lively and entertaining.
White Man's Burden (1995)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:8
Rotten:23
Average Rating:4.5/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: In this acclaimed story of role reversal, John Travolta plays a blue collar man from the white minority who fights against the odds and the system when he loses his job, taking on the owner of his... In this acclaimed story of role reversal, John Travolta plays a blue collar man from the white minority who fights against the odds and the system when he loses his job, taking on the owner of his company in court. His bravery may cost him dearly. [More]
Starring: John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, Kelly Lynch, Tom Bower
Starring: John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, Kelly Lynch, Tom Bower, Margaret Avery, Andrew Lawrence, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Judith Drake, Robert Gossett, Tom Nolan, Carrie Snodgress, Thom Barry, Brian Brophy, Bert Remsen, Seth Green, Alexis Arquette
Director: Desmond Nakano
Director: Desmond Nakano
Get This Movie
Reviews for White Man's Burden
You can see the ideas behind White Man's Burden -- they just don't make it to the screen.
Watching this movie is like watching Godfrey Cambridge's racial switcheroo in 1970's Watermelon Man -- without the laughs.
No one looking for an action movie is going to choose this one. Equally obviously, no one interested in a film about racial stereotyping in America wants to sit through chase scenes.
A frustrating film with interesting ideas that never quite come together.
Were it not for John Travolta's big-hearted portrayal of an unemployed white factory worker driven to commit a desperate act, the movie would be an emotionally frozen exercise in cautious high-mindedness.
White Man's Burden was worth doing once, if it only to find out it isn't worth doing again.
Una sociedad en la que existe una raza dominante y una raza oprimida, casi como ahora, con la ligera diferencia de que ahora el racismo es al revés.
So simple, so broad are White Man's Burden's paint strokes ... that no real lesson outside of the obviously mundane can be elicited, and that's a real shame.
The flaws in this film are many. The dialogue verges on silly when parodying cliches that white people use to denigrate blacks. And most of the acting is just inadequate.
It's undeniably fascinating to watch this hypothetical experiment for a while. But White Man's Burden starts to feel like an only-passable Twilight Zone episode stretched into a full-length movie.
White Man's Burden spirals into tragedy but never into stirring drama. It stays stuck at the level of noble experiment.
A look at color relations that's likely to be more compelling for nonurban audiences than the latest take on drug dealing and gang banging in the 'hood.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 58% 58% | 9 |
| 44% 44% | Jennifer's Body |
| 58% 58% | A Perfect Getaway |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- White Man's Burden at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



