Rick Famuyiwa makes his strongest case through friendship, humour and the way people talk to one another. We rate that feel for characters, though his plotting can become busy and his more conventional comedies less distinctive.
Fi1m perspective
The bounty-hunting adventures in The Mandalorian (2019) move briskly and leave room for a welcome sense of humour. We enjoyed those frontier excursions; their humour made the underwritten masked hero easier to forgive. Rick Famuyiwa directed six episodes and contributed writing, working on a series created by Jon Favreau. His experience with ensembles and changes of tone fits a programme that needs people worth spending time with between the action sequences.
His feature work began with The Wood (1999), a semi-autobiographical story centred on Black male friendship and growing up. Brown Sugar (2002) brought his interest in hip-hop into romantic comedy, keeping music close to the characters’ personal lives. These subjects give Famuyiwa something particular to work with: friends, shared tastes and the awkward business of becoming an adult. Our Family Wedding (2010) suggests the limitation, with a more formulaic comedy giving him less to say.
Dope (2015) brought the coming-of-age story together with a teen caper, geek culture and social commentary. Its character-driven dialogue makes a stronger case for Famuyiwa than its occasionally overambitious plotting. The uneven pace matters, because humour and drama need careful timing if they are to work together. We would rather see him follow his characters through a conversation than keep adding complications to their lives; his attention to how they understand themselves is sufficiently interesting.
The Mandalorian marks a move into franchise television, and Famuyiwa’s executive producer role on the third series extended his involvement beyond directing and writing episodes. He works there with Favreau and executive producer and writer Dave Filoni, so the programme needs to be judged as a collaboration. We would not assign either its briskness or its underwritten lead to one director. There is satisfying work here for someone who handles groups of characters well, and enough character around the masked lead to make these adventures worth an evening. Start there if the space western appeals; for a more personal introduction to Famuyiwa, try the friendships of The Wood.
Biography
Rick Famuyiwa is a Nigerian-American film and television director, writer and producer. He was born on 18 June 1973 in Los Angeles, California, and graduated from the University of Southern California with degrees in cinematic arts film and television production and critical studies.
Famuyiwa made his feature debut with The Wood (1999), which he directed and co-wrote. His other films include Brown Sugar (2002), Our Family Wedding (2010) and Dope (2015), the last of which he also produced. On television he has directed episodes of The Chi and Ahsoka, and for The Mandalorian (2019) he directed six episodes, wrote two and served as an executive producer on the third season.
