Livin' Large

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Livin' Large
Directed by	Michael Schultz
Produced by	David V. Picker
Written by	William Mosley-Payne
Starring	Terrence "T.C." Carson Lisa Arrindell Anderson Loretta Devine Blanche Baker
Cinematography	Peter Collister
Editing by	Christopher Holmes
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	1991
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

Ratings
United States:	R (Restricted)

Livin' Large! is a 1991 comedy movie starring Terrence "T.C." Carson, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, and Loretta Devine.

1 Plot
2 Box Office and Business
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Carson portrays Dexter Jackson, a young, black deliveryman in Atlanta, who desperately aspires to become a news reporter, to the point to where he's even videotaped himself "reporting". Jackson gets what he considers his big break, when he drives up to a hostage situation. When his idol reporter dies suddenly, Dexter steps in and confronts the hostage-taker, who threatens to kill himself on live television. However, Dexter talks the man out of it, and ratings-obsessed executive producer Kate Penndragin (Blanche Baker) later offers Dexter a reporter position at "News 4 Atlanta".

A recurring gag throughout the film involves Jackson seeing himself on TV with notably different facial features, i.e. thinner lips, straight hair, and a lighter complexion. As Kate tries to transform Dexter's urban image (mainly his dreadlocks, clothing, and diction), he begins questioning whether he's starting to sell out as he becomes more and more successful, in other words, he wonders whether becoming successful also means becoming "white".

Although Dexter begins to fulfill his dream, he also starts forgetting where he came from. He manages to alienate those close to him with tabloid-style exposé stories, i.e. a local barber's illegal numbers racket, and a restaurant's unhealthy cooking styles. Dexter manages to lose his fiancé Toynelle (Arrindell Anderson) after a night on the town results in him spending the night with ditzy weather forecaster, Missy Carnes (Julia Campbell). Dexter also betrays his best friend Baker Moon (Nathaniel 'Afrika' Hall) by revealing a local criminal's plan to commit grand theft auto. However, Baker previously insisted that Dexter not bring up the plan as it could lead to trouble for Baker, which it does, as Baker winds up in the hospital.

After longtime anchor Clifford Worthy (Bernie McInerney) blows up on the air, Kate promotes Dexter to lead anchor and teams him with Missy, much to his chagrin. Kate also arranges a live marriage between the two, which she plans to exploit for ratings. However, in the end, Dexter comes to his senses and calls off the wedding, deciding to go back to Toynelle. He also makes amends to those he stepped over, just to become successful. In the end, Dexter finally reaches his goal, becoming co-anchor at News 4 Atlanta, alongside Clifford Worthy. He also realizes that success does not automatically equate to becoming white.