Do you know what you’re doing for Jackie Washington Day next month? You know, July 15, Jackie Washington Day! It’s the annual holiday that celebrates legendary music superstar Jackie Washington, singer of such unforgettable hits as “Wednesday Night Fever,” “Love Goddess,” and “Take Your Jeri Curl and Go.”
On second thought: Maybe it’s better if you don’t have any plans. After all, people are known to randomly drop dead on Jackie Washington Day.
At least that’s the popular consensus among the procession of talking heads in Jackie’s Back, the brilliant yet under-the-radar 1999 mockumentary starring Jennifer Lewis as the titular diva, Jackie Washington. Directed by the great Robert Townsend, Jackie’s Back was originally released as a TV movie on Lifetime in June of 1999. That means that the film is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and given that the film is now also streaming entirely for free (with a few ads) on Tubi, there has never been a better time to heap praise on this little-seen gem.
A still from the mockumenatry “Jackie’s Back” showing Jennifer Lewis.
One-quarter of a century on, Jackie’s Back has only become more searing and astute. Its script, penned by Dee LaDuke and Mark Alton Brown, is a deluge of endlessly witty running character gags, celebrity cameos, and incisive commentary on Black pop culture. It’s closest in the vein to Christopher Guest’s For Your Consideration—where three washed-up actors try to make an Oscar-worthy comeback—but more punchy and fraught than any of Guest’s classic mockumentaries. Jackie’s Back is a plainly ridiculous romp, led by a typically fearless Jennifer Lewis, whose performance is an all-around comedic triumph that will remain permanently lodged in your head from the moment you first meet the diva, Jackie Washington.
Jackie Washington’s life is so storied and chaotic that we need our hands held by a professional to even begin wading into her turmoil. Our intrepid guide to this topsy-turvy pop prima donna is Edward Whatsett St. John (an always-game Tim Curry), who kicks off the in-film documentary, Jackie’s Back: Portrait of a Diva, with a question. “Who is Jackie Washington precisely?” Edward asks the viewer. “Former child star, pop diva, down-and-out boozing has-been. Those are the accepted preconceived notions.” From there, we are thrust into the next 90 minutes of zeitgeisty debauchery, and introduced to a few of the famous names interviewed for the film to comment on their industry colleague.
Dolly Parton, in a cameo from the mockumenatry “Jackie’s Back” showing Jennifer Lewis.
The credits of Jackie’s Back are a who’s who of the late........