{{Short description|2009 American film}} {{Infobox film | name = Wah Do Dem | image = WahDoDem-Poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Film poster | director = Ben Chace<br />Sam Fleischner | producer = Ben Chace<br />Sam Fleischner<br />Katina Faye Hubbard | writer = Ben Chace<br />Sam Fleischner | starring = Sean Bones<br>Norah Jones<br>Carl Bradshaw | music = | cinematography = Sam Fleischner | editing = Ben Chace<br />Sam Fleischner | studio = | distributor = Wah Do Dem LLC | released = {{Film date|2009|06|20|Los Angeles Film Festival|2010|06||United States}} | runtime = 76 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''Wah Do Dem''''' is a 2009 American independent comedy drama film written, produced, edited, and directed by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner.
The major roles are played by Kevin Bewersdorf, Sean "Bones" Sullivan (of Brooklyn band Sam Champion), and Carl Bradshaw, who played Jose in the 1972 film ''The Harder They Come''.
==Plot== Brooklyn slacker Max wins two tickets for a Caribbean cruise, but ends up travelling alone after being dropped by his girlfriend, Willow. The trip coincides with the 2008 US election, which is won by Barack Obama. After docking in Jamaica, a series of misfortunes sees him travelling across the country where he meets several characters, including musicians and a mystic Rastaman.<ref name="Catsoulis" />
==Cast== *Sean Bones as Max *Norah Jones as Willow *Carl Bradshaw as 'Mystic Man' *Kevin Bewersdorf as 'the creepy guy on the cruise ship' *Mark Gibbs as Juvi *Christopher Palmer (also known by Mr. Lexx/Lexxus, singer/rapper/artist) *Ira-Wolf Tuton *Patrick Morrison *Sheena Irons *The Congos as themselves
==Production== The film was directed and written by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner, and contains a cameo by Norah Jones and a live performance by The Congos.<ref name="Catsoulis">Catsoulis, Jeannette (2010) "[http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/movies/18wah.html?_r=0 Wah Do Dem (What They Do) (2009): Seeking Excitement in Jamaica]", ''The New York Times'', June 17, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref>
''Wah Do Dem'' was made after Chace won two cruise tickets in real life and bought more for Bones and Bewersdorf in order to make the film.<ref name="Bradshaw" /><ref name="Bitel">Bitel, Anton "[http://www.film4.com/reviews/2009/wah-do-dem Wah Do Dem]", Film 4. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> He arranged for co-producer Katina Faye Hubbard to meet them in Jamaica, where the film was completed. Filming lasted three weeks in total.<ref name="Bitel" />
The film features music by MGMT, Yeasayer, Santigold, Suckers, Mykal Rose, Mr. Lexx and The Congos.<ref name="Catsoulis" /> Ira Wolf Tuton of Yeasayer and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT also appear in the film.<ref name="Breihan">Breihan, Tom (2010) "[https://pitchfork.com/news/38760-mgmt-yeasayer-suckers-members-appear-in-new-movie-wah-do-dem/ MGMT, Yeasayer, Suckers Members Appear in New Movie Wah Do Dem]", Pitchfork Media, May 12, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref><ref>"[https://www.nme.com/news/mgmt/51117 MGMT, Yeasayer, Norah Jones appear in new film 'Wah Do Dem']", ''NME'', May 18, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref>
==Reception== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|72|6.1|18}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wah-do-dem|title=Wah Do Dem|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|54|eight}}<ref name="MC">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wah-do-dem/|title=Wah Do Dem|website=Metacritic|access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref>
''The New York Times'' called it a "shaggy road movie about relinquishing your comforts to find your bliss",<ref name="Catsoulis" /> while the ''New York Post'' described it as "slight but satisfying".<ref>Musetto, V.A. (2010) "Tale of Broken Hipster", ''New York Post'', June 18, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> Sheri Linden of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' described the film as "a misadventure narrative, told via verite-style guerrilla filmmaking", and called it a "dynamic portrait of Jamaica".<ref name="Linden">Linden Sheri (2009) "[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-wahdowem-idUSTRE55O09M20090625 "Wah Do Dem" a dynamic portrait of Jamaica]", ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (via Reuters), June 24, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> Slant magazine gave it three stars out of four, calling it "a brief, peripatetic love letter to Jamaican tropes scrawled on hemp {{sic|statio|nary}}".<ref name="Lanthier">Lanthier, Joseph Jon (2010) "[https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/wah-do-dem/4862 Film Review: Wah Do Dem]", Slant magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> ''Total Film'' gave it three stars out of five, with Kevin Harley describing it as "stylish, observant, fitfully funny and laced with promise".<ref name="Harley">Harley, Kevin (2010) "[http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/wah-do-dem Reviews: Wah Do Dem]", ''Total Film'', September 14, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> Rob Nelson, reviewing the film for ''Variety'', described it as "slight but winning and often funny".<ref name="Nelson">Nelson, Rob (2009) "[https://variety.com/2009/film/reviews/wah-do-dem-2-1200477469/ Review: “Wah Do Dem”]", ''Variety'', November 11, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> Derek Malcolm, writing for the ''London Evening Standard'', viewed the film as "impossible not to like".<ref name="Malcolm">Malcolm, Derek (2010) "[https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/wah-do-dem-is-a-happy-holiday-in-jamaica-7421352.html Wah Do Dem is a happy holiday in Jamaica]", ''London Evening Standard'', August 27, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref>
''The Guardian'' reviewer Peter Bradshaw gave it two stars out of five, calling it "a pretty self-indulgent personal project, sketchily conceived and not particularly well acted".<ref name="Bradshaw">Bradshaw, Peter (2010) "[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/26/wah-do-dem-review Wah Do Dem]", ''The Guardian'', 26 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> Aaron Hillis of ''The Village Voice'' called it a "glorified vacation video".<ref name="Hillis">Hillis, Aaron (2010) "[https://web.archive.org/web/20140324125448/http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/film/norah-jones-mgmt-yeasayer-wah-do-dem/full/ Norah Jones, MGMT, and Yeasayer Walk Into a Movie -- Why, Wah Do Dem, Why?]", ''The Village Voice'', June 15, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref> ''The Boston Globe'' writer Wesley Morris gave the film one star out of five, opining that the directors "don't open any dramatic or emotional door".<ref name="Morris">Morris, Wesley (2010) "[http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/06/26/wah_do_dem_gets_lost_and_goes_nowhere/ Movie Review: Wah Do Dem]", ''The Boston Globe'', June 26, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013</ref>
''Wah Do Dem'' won the Jury Award for 'Best Narrative Feature' at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival.<ref name="Nelson" /><ref>"[http://2010.lafilmfest.com/archive/2009/ LA-Film-Festival-Website, as seen on Jan 11,2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406062529/http://2010.lafilmfest.com/archive/2009/ |date=2011-04-06 }}"</ref> It has been described as a "mumblecore" film.<ref name="Linden" />
==DVD release== The film was released on DVD by Factory 25 in October 2010.<ref name="Breihan" />
==See also== *List of American films of 2009
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|1506990}} *{{rottentomatoes|wah-do-dem}}
Category:2009 films Category:2009 English-language films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:English-language comedy-drama films