FILM REVIEW : COLIN IN BLACK AND WHITE

An activist looks back. Kaepernicks's origin story. Natural talent helps, but icons are made, not born.

Colin in Black and White, from co-creators Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick traces that process, connecting the iconic pro footballer turned activist in 2021 to the teen athlete he was in the early 2000s.

Jaden Michael from The Get Down stars as the young Colin, a biracial boy growing up with adoptive parents [played by clean-shaven Nick Offerman and a pinched Mary-Louise Parker] in a conservative town.

His run-ins with prejudiced cops and coaches - exacerbated by his mom and dad's well meaning obliviousness - become case studies in white privilege and systemic racism.

The real Kaepernick hosts each episode, offering primers on everything from Black hair to the birth of hip-hop.

That these are such worthy topics makes the show's awkward execution all the more disappointing. Colin's parents often seem so clueless as to who their son is, it's as though they've only recently met him.

Kaepernick's mini-lessons have a PowerPoint vibe. Colin might work as a teaching tool, but as topical entertainment, it's a long third quarter. [Judy Berman]