Baby Driver
“People of color are picked off easily, like a retro horror film where the Black guy gets killed first.”
Title: Baby Driver (2017)
Director: Edgar Wright 👨🏼🇬🇧
Writer: Edgar Wright 👨🏼🇬🇧
Reviewed by Li 👩🏻🇺🇸
—MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD—
Technical: 3/5
Baby Driver feels like a three part movie: It starts as a quirky musical in the vein of La La Land (2016), switches to a generic action heist film, then ends on gory British humor reminiscent of director Edgar Wright’s 2004 Shaun of the Dead. But when a film doesn’t know what it wants to be—and doesn’t have the chops to blend genres—it falls flat. Baby Driver lacks a soul under its in-your-face soundtrack and preciously-timed sequences. Meanwhile, other action romps like the John Wick or Fast and the Furious movies dutifully play to their stylistic strengths with none of the pretension.
Gender: 1/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? NOPE
Only two women in Baby Driver are given names: Darling (Eiza González) is the sexy-sultry “bad girl” dating Buddy (Jon Hamm) and donning fur coats and long acrylic nails. Debora (Lily James) is the sexy-sultry "nice girl" dating Baby (Ansel Elgort), and she’s found more readily in a ‘50s diner waitress outfit and hourglass dresses. Darling and Debora never speak to each other. One of them dies halfway through the movie.
Women in minor roles are used as props for background noise. I can picture the script now: Woman shrieks, clutching her face. Woman screams, police rush in. The sheer absence of interest in sketching women as human beings in Baby Driver feels stunning.
Race: 1.5/5
People of color are picked off easily, like a retro horror film where the Black guy gets killed first. Baby Driver plays to stereotypes almost entirely, except for JD (Lanny Joon) who is East Asian and tatted up. But it hardly matters, since JD is the first of the ensemble to die. Then the stereotypically "thuggish" Black guy dies. Then the stereotypically “spicy Latina” dies, before the body count finally starts to include white characters. The last two remaining survivors: the borderline-genius, young white protégé and his pretty but clueless white girlfriend. *end scene*
The only casting that saves this category from a total flop involves CJ Jones as Joseph (CJ Jones), a Black man in his 60s being taken care of by Baby. His role is positive if flat, used solely as a device for Baby’s character development.
Bonus for Disability: +0.50
Props for including a Deaf character, Joseph, played by Jones who is also Deaf. Baby and Joseph communicate primarily through signing. Deafness does not play a large role in the film, but it feels included with naturalism in the film and is a much-needed balm in the otherwise racist and sexist narrative.
Mediaversity Grade: D 2.00/5
Baby Driver barely saves itself from an F grade by its inclusion of a Deaf character, alongside Wright’s signature directorial pizzazz. So if you’re in the mood for something stylized and unable to focus on a coherent vibe before switching gears, then Baby Driver could be your evening rental. Just brace yourself for extreme floundering when it comes to representation.
Like Baby Driver? Try these other titles that feature musical montages.
Harlots - Season 1
Sing Street (2016)
La La Land (2016)