Cece (Annette Myrie) grew up as the child of the blaxploitation star Lydia Love (Patricia DeArcy), an experience that left her with mixed feelings regarding the film business. It didn’t help that she was regularly sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend and generally not allowed to experience her feelings the way a child needs to, and, as Cece grew up, she became estranged from her mother.
Life is full of surprises, and the adult Cece, now known as Cicely (Jake-Ann Jones), has decided that she too wants to be a movie star—but she’s going to make it as a real actress, not someone noted for taking off her clothes. When she turns up in her now-retired mother’s video store to share the news, sporting a magenta wig and a svelte body (she went on a severe diet to prepare for her newly chosen career), Lydia doesn’t receive it gladly. For one thing, she knows the movie business all too well, and it’s not what she wants for her daughter. For another, she feels judged by Cicely’s implication that her own success wasn’t due to her acting ability so much as her willingness to be naked before the camera.
Cicely goes into her first script reading full of confidence, only to learn that maybe the film business hasn’t changed that much after all. The producer (Marcel, played by John McKie) informs her that she will have to do a nude scene; when she refuses, he fires her. Feeling blindsided, she confronts the director (Joel, played by Ron C. Jones), whom she regarded as a friend, asking why he left out that little detail about her role. He doesn’t think it’s such a big deal, particularly given her “slamming new body,” but he goes to bat for her with the producer, and eventually she’s reinstated in the role.
On the one hand, Naked Acts is about filmmaking on the very indie, low-budget side of things, and features rehearsal scenes that are sometimes sometimes hilarious. On a more serious note, it’s also about Cicely’s fight to establish her adult identity and for black women to maintain their dignity and agency in the white, male-dominated world of film. As Joel says, “everybody’s out for something,” but it’s also true that you can’t be a film actress without dealing with that stuff, so the trick is to learn how to survive without making concessions that damage your dignity.
Naked Acts is a real indie film that makes a virtue of its small budget, apart from some unfortunate casting choices and tin-eared dialogue. It tells a story you probably haven’t seen before, from a point of view that remains under-represented in the American film business, was beautifully shot on location by Herman Lew, and looks great in this restoration. The fact that it’s outside the mainstream makes it all the more worth viewing.
The history of Naked Acts it a story unto itself. Director Bridgett M. Davis, an award-winning author, editor, and professor of journalism at Baruch College, shot it in 1996 and it premiered in New York City in 1998, followed by video and DVD release and occasional festival screenings. Despite positive audience reaction and reviews, the film never got wider release and in 2013 Davis placed it in the Black Film Center & Archive at Indiana University. Nine years later, curator Maya S. Cade expressed interest in restoring and re-releasing it, which resulted in this release by Kino Lorber. | Sarah Boslaugh
Naked Acts is distributed on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in a 4K restoration by Lightbox Film Center in collaboration with Milestone Film. Extras on the disc include and audio commentary with director Bridgett M. Davis and actress Jake-Ann Jones, two interviews with Davis, the short films “Creative Detours” and “Last Wish” by Davis, footage from the BAM Premiere, and the film’s trailer.
