That Girl was Sweaty

Author(s): Kwame aka D-Bag
Location: Miami, FL

"That Girl Was Sweaty!"

Directed by Spike Lee
Written by Spike Lee
Original Music and Lyrics by Quincy Jones and Lil’Wayne

Musical

Main Cast

Adriana Barraza – Julia Cifuentes
Tony Leung Chiu Wai-Sonia the Mexican Purse
Chandra Wilson-Agustin the Pig
Dennis Hopper-Zuleyka the Rabbit
Ruby Dee-Carmen the Horse
Naveen Andrews as Miguel the Rooster
Laura Linney as Alejandro the Frog
Sean Kingston as Bimba the Cows

Tagline: "Makes us want to talk out loud"

Synopsis: Adriana Barraza stars as Julia Cifuentes, a widowed farm owner in Puerto Rico . Julia has a great relationship with all of her animals, including Agustin, a headstrong and hardworking pig and the closest animal to Julia; Zuleyka, a flirtatious rabbit who had been sent to the farm from a pet shop in Colombia after escaping one too many times; Carmen, a Horse who brags about having been ridden on by Snoop Dogg when he visited Puerto Rico on tour; Miguel, a rooster who is obsessed with Jamaican culture and loves to cook ackee and codfish for Julia; Alejandro, a frog who spends his days playing with his paper doll collection and combing Carmen’s mane; and Bimba, an ultra-conservative cow who tries very hard to reform Zuleyka.

One day, after a few months of preparation, Julia leaves on a week-long vacation to Tijuana , Mexico . She leaves Agustin in charge, and tells her neighbors to check in on the animals once in a while. The animals, though loving their owner very much, are ecstatic to be on their own, thus throwing a house party(at which Miguel reveals his marijuana collection). 2 days before Julia’s expected return, just as Bimba was grazing the lawn, an unfamiliar visitor arrives at the barn. A walking and talking pink felt purse, who introduces herself as Sonia, has a long and deep conversation with Agustin. After much sobbing from Agustin’s part, he tells the animals that Sonia had just informed him that Julia had passed away a few nights earlier in her hotel room in Mexico . Sonia was a purse that Julia had bought in the airport in Puerto Rico . She didn’t know exactly how Julia died; she explains it was quite sudden, and that she had no choice but to return to Puerto Rico to the address that Julia fortunately had on a paper inside her( the Purse).

After digesting the sad news, and informing the neighbors that Julia was never returning, the animals reluctantly decide to let Sonia stay with them. Jealous of the stranger for having been with their true mother and guardian in her final moments, their gut tells them to not open to her. Over the next few days, the animals let Sonia know how they really feel about her (and she to them), but as chaos ensues, it’s up to Agustin to ease the tension before it’s too late.

Song List:

Walking and Eating (Agustin and Zuleyka)
Don’t want no fire (Julia)
Ecstatic( Julia, Agustin, Zuleyka, Alejandro, Miguel, Bimba, and Carmen)
Playin’ Tennis with the Bluejay (Miguel)
Easy like dat (Zuleyka and Bimba)
Who You is? (Bimba and Sonia)
That’s How it Was (Agustin and Sonia)
Worse (Agustin, Zuleyka, Alejandro, Miguel, Bimba, and Carmen)
Shut the Door(Agustin, Zuleyka, Alejandro, Miguel, Bimba, and Carmen)
Snoop (Carmen)
Whack, Woman (Zuleyka, Alejandro, Miguel, Bimba, and Carmen)
That Girl Was Sweaty! (Sonia)
Talk about the Good Times (Agustin)
Sunshine at the end (Agustin, Zuleyka, Alejandro, Miguel, Bimba, Carmen, and Sonia)

What the Press would say:

“That Girl Was Sweaty!” may be the most unprecedented musical ever to hit the theaters. Spike Lee had always intended to make another musical after “School Daze” back in 1988- he just never knew when the right time was. Luckily, he consulted with his friend and legendary music producer Quincy Jones, who along with rap superstar Lil’ Wayne , collaborated on this project for a year. It must have been the right time, because “That Girl Was Sweaty!” is being raved by critics all across the world. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine puts it best “ Talk about ‘Ecstatic’! That’s how I felt after watching this film…It may very well be the most original movie musical to date.” A worthy contender for Best Picture at the Oscars, critics can’t get over how intense and powerful a musical this film is.Richard Schickel of Time Magazine raves “I would have never imagined that it would take a musical by Spike Lee, Quincy Jones, and Lil’ Wayne to leave me utterly blown away for one of the very rare times in years-and more importantly, have me completely convinced that there is hope for the movie musical”. The cast, comprised of a very diverse and talented group of actors, is also garnering plenty of raves for their performances. Ken Turan gushes “The actors, all of whom we have never seen singing and dancing before now, are so special… Tony Leung made me squeal… Dennis Hopper is absolutely delightful as Zuleyka the rabbit….the standout is without a doubt Chandra Wilson. As a pig who never says never, we see such an unexpected range from the Grey’s Anatomy actress that we can only hope that her performance becomes required viewing for any actor planning on working in a musical; to snub her for an Academy Award nomination nomination would be heinous; and absolutely absurd. You’ll have to see what I’m talking about”

Indeed, the critics all know what Ken Turan is talking about, and collectively agree that “That Girl Was Sweaty!” is definitely Spike Lee’s finest work yet.

Potential Nominations:

Best Picture
Best Director-Spike Lee
Best Supporting Actor: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Dennis Hopper, Sean Kingston, Naveen Andrews
Best Supporting Actress: Chandra Wilson, Ruby Dee, Laura Linney, Adriana Barraza
Best Original Score: Quincy Jones, Lil’ Wayne
Best Original Song: any of the original songs by Lil’Wayne and Quincy Jones