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Free of Eden

Less than a minute into "Free of Eden," it's already clear that the audience will be required to strap on its collective seat belt and prepare for a trip to Lessonland with that ultimate authority on ethics and character, Sidney Poitier.

Less than a minute into “Free of Eden,” it’s already clear that the audience will be required to strap on its collective seat belt and prepare for a trip to Lessonland with that ultimate authority on ethics and character, Sidney Poitier. His role playing a man who comes of age in old age affords him significant latitude to spout monologues on morality and academic commitment — in other words, the “To Sir, With Love” thing all over again. It seems to be all that Poitier, a 1963 Oscar winner for “Lilies of the Field” and a performer of great depth, is qualified to do these days. Too bad; the act is starting to wear more than a little thin.

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A virtual primer of preachy self-righteousness, the Showtime pic is at heart a homies-‘n-the-‘hood take on “My Fair Lady” minus the showtunes, with Poitier playing the Prof. Henry Higgins and his real-life daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier standing in as the unrefined pupil. If not outright nepotism, the casting perhaps represents too literal an interpretation of Take Your Daughter To Work Day. In this case, the day stretched out for weeks. Sydney had never before worked with her dad and never appeared in a film, and it’s nice to see them form an on-camera bond. But it doesn’t necessarily make for riveting TV.

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In truth, Sydney isn’t the problem, even if her Brooklyn accent tends to disappear and reappear like a summer cold. She is a fine enough actress. Far more perplexing is the propensity of “Free of Eden” to oversimplify and stereotype with such abandon throughout Yule Caise and Delle Chatman’s cloyingly virtuous script. Moreover, helmer Leon Ichaso fires up the jive rhythms to cue every trip to the projects and each appearance by a rough-hewn black character — the African-American equivalent of banging a gong every time someone of Asian descent drops by.

Poitier executive produces and stars as Will Cleamons, a onetime New York City teacher who bagged it all some years back after deciding he would rather collect money than dispense wisdom. He was now a big mucky-muck business dude, a senior partner in some firm or other. So when a vulnerable young high school dropout named Nicole Turner (Sydney Poitier) knocks on his door seeking advice and guidance in the wake of being traumatized while witnessing a recent double-murder, Cleamons shines her on. His compassion bypass was now complete.

But not so fast. Cleamons quickly caves and agrees to tutor the girl in the ways of the world as long as she pays him $10 per hour, and doesn’t roll her eyes skyward when he says stuff like, “Once you know from where you came, there’s really no limit to where you can go.”

Quicker than you can say “You go, girl!” Nicole is quoting literature to her uncomprehending girlfriends. And despite some rocky moments, the two wind up teaching one another a lot about…well, everything. She will get out of her dead-end existence in the Eden Projects, because Sidney Poitier doesn’t breed any failures.

Phylicia Rashad adds support here as a prison inmate. But worry not; Rashad, as Desiree, is the world’s most insightful, forthright and sincere prisoner in the entire penal system, having landed behind bars by killing an abusive husband in self-defense. To tell you just how annoying Will is, Desiree used to be married to him. Does this mean that she preferred a batterer to her ex’s speechifying?

Everybody does the right thing — except, of course, for the thugs who exist solely to do the wrong thing — in “Free of Eden,” which is well-meaning almost to a fault. Even the people in jail are unflinchingly decent. And as solid a dramatic actor as Poitier is, the achingly poignant way in which things fall perfectly into place for him and the major players in the film is as contrived as it is numbingly earnest.

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Free of Eden

Showtime; Sun. Feb. 21

  • Production: Filmed in Toronto, Ontario by Showtime in association with Verdon-Cedric Prods. Executive producer, Sidney Poitier; co-executive producer, Steven Hewitt; producer, Cedric Scott; director, Leon Ichaso; writers, Delle Chatman, Yule Caise
  • Cast: Will Cleamons - Sidney Poitier Nicole Turner - Sydney Tamiia Poitier Desiree - Phylicia Rashad Joe Sherman - Robert Hooks Taurus - Khalil Kain Ruthie Turner - Saundra McClain Frank - Anthony Sherwood Crystal - Netfa Perry Teresa - Naomi Gaskin Lewis - Corey Parker Robinson Camera, Claudio Chea; production designer, Perri Gorrara; editor, David Tedeschi; music, Terence Blanchard; sound, Urmas John Rosin; casting, Phyllis Huffman, Olivia Harris, Maria Armstrong. 1 HOUR, 35 MINUTES

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