OPINION: TikTok creator Reesa Teesa’s 52-part series based on her former marriage has the internet in a chokehold. The next question is who is starring in the movie?
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Reesa Teesa’s story about her insane former marriage has Black TikTok in a chokehold. It has much of the internet in the same chokehold. When I heard that there was a 52-part TikTok series called “Who TF Did I Marry?!?” I said there’s no way I’m watching that. I could watch multiple movies in that time. But let me just watch part 1 and see what’s what.
The next thing I knew, I was washing the dishes and listening to Teesa say “Part 37…” That’s when I said, OK who’s going to star in the movie version of this? Because like “Zola,” a great film that started as a thread on Twitter, “Who TF Did I Marry?” could be a wild movie. But who you cast depends on what kind of movie you want to make.
Perhaps you want it to be a dark drama with ominous music and lighting that says you should be suspicious. You want the unsettling, something-is-wrong-but-you-don’t-quite-know-what vibe of “Get Out” by Jordan Peele. Then you get a dramatic queen, someone who can sear the painful story right into your soul. Someone like Viola Davis or Regina King, who are amazing in serious dramas. They can bring out Teesa’s realness, her Southern down-homeness and her intelligence but also give you that creeping sense that I feel when something is rotten but I don’t know what.
But then again maybe you want to go more comedic and bring out Teesa’s sense of “how much more am I supposed to take?” She’s resilient, for sure, but for a while, her life was a monsoon of crazy and that could be played for laughs, albeit laugh-to-keep-from-crying laughs. If you’re going that route, you look at Niecy Nash, Sherri Shepherd or Keke Palmer, sisters who are both hysterical and real. They could honor Teesa’s strength in dealing with all of this madness while also helping bring out the funny in the situation.
For Legion, her alleged lying ex-husband, if we’re going more dramatic, I think Terrence Howard would be an ill choice. Howard could look a girl in the eye and lie and she’d know it was a lie and still say OK. He’s able to access a devilish side with ease. If you want to go more comedic, I’d love to see Kevin Hart as her bumbling ex. Hart loves to be the butt of the joke when he’s onscreen, and watching him lie and then stare soullessly at her would be amazing. But who am I kidding? Either direction would fit Tyler Perry, and since Reesa is in Georgia, and Perry owns like half of Georgia, it’s likely that this story will become a Tyler Perry production. It fits his brand like a glove. (Don’t miss my interview with Tyler on “Masters of the Game”!)
Whether this movie is a drama or a comedy, I think we may have to wrestle with what’s really going on with Legion. From Teesa’s story, she claims he’s a pathological liar. She says his family told her that he’s been like this forever. Many people who used to be in his life have cut him off. And, curiously for me, Legion never appeared to benefit from his time with Teesa. He paid a lot of her bills; he did not scam her. So what was the point or the reason? It seems likely that there’s some form of mental illness going on here. No matter who plays Legion, the movie should suggest some sort of motive for his lies so that we walk away understanding why all of this happened to Teesa.
We should cast Legion’s ex-wife. I’m thinking Angela Bassett if it’s dramatic and Regina Hall if it’s a comedy. I love when Bassett plays world-weary and angry yet defiant and graceful. And I love everything Hall does.
Teesa’s aunt could be played by the legendary Pam Grier. I’m just happy anytime I get to see her onscreen. And Legion’s twin, who lives out the life Legion says he’s living, will be played by whoever plays Legion.
This will be amazing. Let’s get going, guys. Call Teesa, get her paid, and then call me. I’ll adapt it for the screen. You know where to find me.
Touré is a host and Creative Director at theGrio. He is the host of Masters of the Game on theGrioTV. He is also the host and creator of the docuseries podcast “Being Black: The ’80s” and the animated show “Star Stories with Toure” which you can find at TheGrio.com/starstories. He is also the host of the podcast “Toure Show” and the podcast docuseries “Who Was Prince?” He is the author of eight books including the Prince biography Nothing Compares 2 U and the ebook The Ivy League Counterfeiter.
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The post Here’s who I’m casting in the movie based on the TikTok series ‘Who TF Did I Marry?!?’ appeared first on TheGrio.
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