Last week, the very anticipated movie The New Edition Story made its three-part debut on BET. Not knowing exactly what to expect, millions of people tuned in to watch the movie that eventually won over all of our hearts, and had us all on social media raving about the success of the film.
Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but there have been several biopics on television that have highly disappointed me, so I honestly did not have high expectations for this one either. But just like everyone else, on Tuesday night, I tuned into BET to watch Part 1 of The New Edition Story, and I can honestly say that I was so impressed with the cast, production, and outcome of this film! Since I am still on a high from seeing this movie, and now have big crushes on about three of the cast members, it was only right that I wrote this week’s article on a synopsis of BET’s newest biopic. Hopefully by the end of you reading this, if you missed the movie, you will want to go and sit in front of your television and wait for the next airing of the movie. And if you’ve already seen it, hopefully it will get you exciting to wait in front of your television to watch the movie again!
Okay so let’s begin! To sum up part 1 of the film, it began with multiple scenes that introduced each member of the group as a kid. It showed us how the group came up with the idea of starting a group, then how they executed the idea to find a manager to help their dreams of having a singing group come true. As kids, the four boys (Ricky Bell, Michael Bevins, Ralph Tresvant, and Bobby Brown) approached a local manager and choreographer, Brooke Payne about helping them prepare for a career in the music industry. After a lot of begging and a spontaneous and unpolished performance, Brooke Payne eventually gave in, and agreed to help the boys prepare for an upcoming talent show in their city. The movie continues to show Brooke and they four boys training, and practicing for a performance that would eventually change their lives forever. About halfway into Part 1, the group of boys now known as New Edition performed, and won the talent show with a prize of recording a record in a real recording studio with music producer Maurice Starr. Realizing, the group’s potential Maurice asked Brooke about a fifth member for the group, and he ended up bringing in his nephew Ronnie DeVoe to join New Edition. Now that the group was complete, they began recording and performing more frequently. By the end of part 1, New Edition had already signed contracts to Maurice Starr’s label, recorded their first single, had their song ‘Candy Girl’ played on the radio, and began their first tour – The Candy Girl Tour. Before the movie ended, all group members were older (probably in their late teenage years) and the film concluded with New Edition showing signs of jealousy towards their lead singer Ralph Tresvant.
On Wednesday, Part 2 aired (this was my favorite portion of the movie). Unfortunately, this part of the film contained a series of unfortunate events including a physical fight between Bobby and Mike, Brooke being fired as their manager, Ralph wanting to put out a solo album, the truth about them being signed to a larger record label (MCA) got exposed, Bobby Brown getting arrested, Bobby being kicked out the group, and Johnny Gill being invited into the group to make Ralph upset. Even though there was a lot going on in this part of the movie, this was my favorite because we (the viewers) got to really see the members grow into their own, as well as fight for the longevity of their group… even if it meant getting rid of the people that were creating a toxic environment for them. Towards the end of the film when Johnny Gill was introduced to the group, was when I officially became in love with this cast. When Ralph Tresvant found out that the rest of the members agreed to have Johnny added to the group behind his back he was furious, and this of course created an awkward tension between him, Johnny Gill, and the remaining members (Mike, Ronnie, and Ricky). But after a long conversation of truths and understandings between Johnny and Ralph, New Edition went on to record one of their most popular songs ever – Can You Stand the Rain. From this point on, they officially had my attention. The cast of The New Edition Story sang their hearts out and I was so here for it! Tuning in for last part of the movie was not an option… I had to see how this story ended.
When part 3 aired, I had no idea what to expect. After learning and understanding each character I was so interested to see how the success of the group played out, and became the group that so many of us still listen to today. Before this part came on, BET continuously advertised part 3 as “drama-filled” and they were so right! For those who haven’t seen the movie yet, just know that part three was full of drama and I don’t want to fully spoil all of the surprises by telling you everything that happened. But to give you an idea of what occurred, let’s just say that emotions got high, situations got tough, love brought people closer, and the importance of family was really, really apparent. The New Edition Story ended with an amazing performance tribute to New Edition at BET’s 25th anniversary celebration – that scene was fantastic!
Although I have always loved the music from the R&B group New Edition, I honestly did not know much about each member and what they all personally dealt with during their time in the group, but thanks to BET, all of that changed. The New Edition Story successfully told their story and did a great job remaking the music videos, and album covers they put out over the years. The cast did an outstanding job portraying their characters (and might I add that they are a very attractive cast), I’m sure the real members of New Edition are very proud.
Oh! If you’re interested in checking out the cast of The New Edition Story on Instagram like I was, here you go! HCXO!
Bryshere Y. Gray –> @yazzthegreatest
Elijah Kelley –> @oneelijahkelley
Keith Powers –> @keithpowers
Algee Smith –> @itsalgee
Luke James –> @wolfjames
Woody McClain –> @woody_thegreat
You can catch The New Edition Story on BET!