For Marlon Wayans, it’s all jokes. He’s not trying to change the world, just your mood.
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“All the Wayans have a certain flavor of comedy,” Marlon tells me, citing his blend as “a spicy crispy” that may “burn your mouth.” Marlon’s older sister Kim calls him “desperate” and he, without argument, would agree.
“I will go to wild places to make people laugh. I don’t give a fuck; I just want to have fun.”
Marlon points to the fact that he’s an 80’s baby and “missed some of the struggle” – such as not being able to travel down south without fear of losing your life – so for him it’s always been about the fun. Even looking at his own kids, who attend a mostly white private school, he says they don’t have a “care in the world” and the only time his children are called “nigga” is when he says it.
In the second installment of his A Haunted House franchise, Marlon’s use of the word nigga, moreover his play on racial stereotypes, seem to accompany the plot from start to finish. He doesn’t seem to expect criticism though, as his target is the “YouTube generation” and the stuff in this movie, he says “is nothing compared to what you can find on the web.”
Although Marlon’s family might not be thrilled with the super-freaky sex scene that at one point shows a possessed doll tossing his salad, he assured me that millennials “are going to laugh at this.” But despite is desperation for laughter, Marlon warns he does have a limit and never intends to offend anyone. He shares that while he was shooting a scene with Cedric The Entertainer – who in the sequel revised his role as a gangsta priest – things got a little uncomfortable, so they edited a big chunk out and left only the funny parts.
It really is all about the jokes for Marlon Wayans, who says he doesn’t produce movies with the goal of making bundles of money. His success is defined by the moments spent laughing with his cast, crew and friends. And although he lacks what the world may consider a progressive social commentary in his comedy, Marlon reiterates that his goal is not to “teach the babies,” but it’s to make people laugh, at any cost, and take the tension of off what we’re making tense, like race.
For Marlon, comedy always comes from a place of truth, like a tongue-in-cheek line in the movie that says: “When are the republicans going to call Obama the N word?”
“When you see all the tension and all the stuff Obama is going through, I’m just thinking to myself why don’t y’all call him nigger already, it seems nothing he does they will approve of. In my movies if I have an opportunity to tell a joke that sticks some places, great we’ll do it, but I’m not trying to change the world, I’m just trying to change your mood.”
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This article first appeared on @TinselTine.