On the last installment of this three-night miniseries... after signing with MCA Records in early 1984, New Edition finally enjoyed tremendous crossover success, although their finances continued to have little to show for it. Behind closed doors, Ralph's girlfriend suffered a miscarriage during the group's 1985 tour, while in public, Bobby's testosterone-driven ego led to his expulsion from the group by the beginning of 1986, and the remaining four members escaped the production deal that Gary Evans had them enslaved to.
But the group's brotherhood was splintering, as Ralph's attempt at a solo project caused Mike, Ronnie and Ricky to bring Johnny Gill in to replace him for safety, leading to an ugly clash in the studio. However, all five members sorted out their conflicts and worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to create their classic Heart Break album, only to learn that former member Bobby would tour with them as a headliner.
Damn. They got every last detail down in this remake of "If It Isn't Love", even the Chinese girl.
IMO, there's too much reverb on Algee and the others' voices.
Fun fact: those outfits in the rest of that performance of the song are from their appearance at the 1989 American Music Awards, and from the music video for "N.E. Heartbreak".
D.C. Young Fly looks more comfortable here than he was on TRL.
Bobby started an iconic trend, although he raged about it for a nanosecond.
I wish Woody would've done that thing Bobby does with his suspenders in the actual video (sorry, I don't know the name of that dance move.)
Al B. Sure!'s unibrow got a trim. XD
Sorry, Bobby, while I did enjoy you singing lead on "Jealous Girl" and "Mr. Telephone Man", it's interesting to hear how not just Johnny, but also Ricky, sound like doing those songs.
STFU, Bobby. They already fired oh-so-crooked Gary near the end of the last part.
I've seen a whole lotta singers get high, and still sing every song lyric in their setlist.
I actually like the biopic version of "You're Not My Kind of Girl" just a little bit more than the actual video.
$30 million before taxes, and Ricky has to go tell Mike he's thinking too much? But anyway, Boyz II Men is born right in this scene, and I'm all for it. If you ask me, they should get a biopic too, because there's probably plenty of the stuff the public doesn't know that shaped their career and who they are now.
No doubt, Bobby is New Edition's very own David Ruffin. And while I'm at it, I would say that Johnny is Dennis Edwards, Ralph is Eddie Kendricks, Ricky is Paul Williams, Mike is Otis Williams and Ronnie is Melvin Franklin.
I actually agree with Jheryl for once about Johnny going to Motown. That voice of his alone brings back memories of all the talent from that time.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis formed Bell Biv DeVoe not even realizing how much the music industry would turn on its head because of the three ex-background singers of New Edition.
I've said it like, more than once, and I'll say it again: Ralph Tresvant is nowhere near Michael Jackson's level. Nowhere near it. That's Bobby's area, and this is all before Whitney Houston came in the picture.
One, two, three, drink... and have negative things said about you run through your head. Such a good thing to happen at a party. NOT!
For all those who might not know or remember, BBD was always "hip hop smoothed out on the R&B tip with a pop feel appeal to it." I think of Bruno Mars and Drake when I hear that.
When I watched the real Video Soul interview, I seriously didn't think that there was any tension between the six. But after watching the miniseries so far, I can see why. Although I do need to say that most of it, especially between Mike and Ralph, was mainly caused by the industry hammering away at their brotherhood.
"Sensitivity" and "My, My, My" are amazing R&B songs and videos, but the remakes were masterpieces in and of themselves.
"It's gonna be comin' out real soon; we gonna start recording it in a couple of months." *Six Years Later...* Yeah, Ralph forgot to mention that he and the other members have homes and families to take care of, now that they're in their twenties.
At the photoshoot for Home Again: on the surface, it looks like there won't be any friction or tension, and from reading all the articles about the album and tour, it seemed true. Boy, were they wrong.
Bobby clearly was on a multi-drug bender before that photoshoot.
Six separate tour buses! Entourages for miles! Egos the size of Kanye West! And that was the long-awaited New Edition reunion tour, Home Again.
Now that Bobby's married to Whitney, he knows for a fact that really doesn't need Ralph, Johnny or BBD, as sad and outrageous as that sounds.
Ricky's doing cocaine? What is this world coming to?! *Boyz in the Hood voice* RIIIIICKYYYY!!
Very slick of him. Hiding that booger sugar with the upgraded aminos.
Amy's side eye said it all.
Here we are again... where the prologue was, so I don't have any further comments.
These kids done messed around and gave poor Uncle Brooke a heart attack!
Bobby starts a whole lotta drama, but never got punished for it. Until now.
All the dialogue in this scene speaks for itself:
Bobby: "Ron, Ron, what happened to Stroh?"
Ronnie: "MAN, WHATCHU MEAN WHAT HAPPENED TO STROH?!!" (all members except Mike pull him back and console him)
Bobby: "You're blamin' me?! I would never do anything to hurt Stroh, 'cause that's my uncle too; matter of fact, you came on stage and started shit, that wasn't me!"
Ronnie: "WHATCHU MEAN, THAT WASN'T YOU— YOU BEEN DOIN' THIS SHIT SINCE WE WERE KIDS, AND I'M SICK OF IT, WE'RE ALL SICK OF IT!! YOU COME HERE, COME THROUGH EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, AND WHEN YOU DO A SHOW, YOU THINK IT'S ABOUT YOU, IT AIN'T ABOUT YOU, MAN, AND NOW STROH HAD A HEART ATTACK, YOU HEAR ME?!! A HEART ATTACK!!!" (throws Johnny off) "ALRIGHT, GET OFF ME, MAN! WHY DO Y'ALL KEEP BABYING THIS ASSHOLE?!! BOTTOM LINE IS, I'M DONE!" (he storms off to follow Brooke to the hospital)
Bobby: "Y'all crazy; I came back to do y'all a favor."
Johnny: "What?! You ain't done shit for me!"
Bobby: (marches towards him) "BOY, YOU BETTA WATCH YO' MOUTH!!"
Johnny: "Who are you talkin' to?"
Bobby: "NEW EDITION DIED A LONG TIME AGO— WHEN I LEFT THE GROUP, AND AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IT CAN STAY DEAD!!" (exits)
Ralph: "I don't need this shit!"
Mike: (bumps into him) "You know how easy it is for you to leave, Rizz..."
Ralph: "Yeah, if that was true, then your career would've ended ten years ago, Mike..." (exits)
Johnny: "I'm tired of this shit; stop wasting my time!"
My thoughts on all this... Bobby only did himself a favor, if you look at it closer. And it wasn't a very good one. Although he was right that New Edition wasn't the same when he was voted out, because they'd lost their street credibility until Johnny replaced him. The only reason Mike's career would have ended would be when he spat on Bobby during their fight with the limo, and you already know how that went down. And the only other reason Ralph would've called it quits for New Edition is if he took the solo deal from Maurice Starr, or that Disney deal, but he did the right thing, in the grand scheme of things.
I can easily imagine being in Ricky's position, but I can't imagine getting into the entertainment industry without any backup plans or trade skills.
Johnny looks more happier as a solo artist than he does in a group.
I don't think Ronnie should feel ashamed about having real estate as a job, because it's always rewarding.
Total shame that Mike had to deal with the same stuff he did when he was younger, although he was now on the business side of the table.
Ralph should've known that Zena was poison much sooner than the divorce... he wouldn't lose all his assets.
I legit thought Ricky was gonna die from that overdose.
Wow... Ricky got so caught up in fame and fortune, he let that notion of it dictate his life for years, and it almost cost him his life.
Sadly, what Ronnie told Shamari about New Edition is still true today, not just for them, but for all musical groups: "We're great together... we just can't get it together."
No sign of Whitney Houston in the biopic. Highly unusual with Bobby Brown. That is all.
"Looking for a mellow fellow like DeVoe." Never gets old, even after almost 30 years.
It's about time Bobby finally owns up to everything bad he'd done. No doubt, if Ricky was the heart and Ralph the soul, then Ronnie was the glue.
All six finally reunited... my heart gets warm for a happy ending.
Ralph and Mike finally back on good terms, and talking. Could this get any better?!
Mike may have been desperate by bringing Johnny Gill into New Edition, but when you look at it, he essentially cemented the group's place in history. Plus, New Edition has always been the six members, regardless of who's the face or voice, because audiences know all their names and talents from 1983 onward.
I agree with Ralph. As far as I'm concerned, they should've taken care of the group tension after they found out they weren't signed completely with MCA. Total shame Gary, Jheryl and the other MCA executives had to make him feel like he was carrying the group, although I would say all five original members went about dealing with internal strife the wrong way.
My favorite wedding party song: "Let's Get Married" by Jagged Edge.
A recreation of the BET 25th Anniversary Special performance, plus a montage of the group's tenure. Perfect way to cap off this biopic!
That's all, folks.
