When it comes to most bio pics, the legends are rarely around to get an opportunity to tell their story. As a result, the audience must trust the visions of secondary sources who become the storytellers.
But fortunately for New Edition and their fans, all members were able to share their journey during the making of the BET film, The New Edition Story.
The three-part mini-series begins in the Orchard Park housing projects in Boston where viewers are introduced to youthful versions of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, and Ralph Tresvant. The boys, who have barely reached puberty, are focused on winning local talent shows and finding a manager who can take them to another level.
Enter Brooke Payne, portrayed wonderfully by Wood Harris, who takes a chance on the boys and guides them into becoming a cohesive group. Payne’s nephew, Ronnie DeVoe, is eventually added into the mix as they form New Edition.
The first episode takes a look at how stardom didn’t equate to financial success for New Edition whose families remained in the housing projects despite having hit records and a multiple-city tour.
As the series progresses, the group members become young adults who must find ways to balance personal struggles while dealing with the traps of money, fame, and jealousy.
Director Chris Robinson does a masterful job of capturing the essence of the 1980s and early ‘90s. The fashion and hair styles that are presented by New Edition and other cast members prove that the costume designers for the film understood that generation.
Also, Robinson, who is a known music video director, perfectly blends storytelling with New Edition, BBD, and Bobby Brown’s massive discography and other R&B hits from that time period. Viewers who lived through that era will appreciate the films authenticity when it comes to the music and Black culture of that era.
And even the promotions around the film were unapologetically Black. One advertisement featured hairstyles of all the group members in a layout that was often used by Black barbers. It was an adverstiement that was probably only recognized by those who had visited a Black barbershop in the 1980s and ’90s.
Those small details were important because New Edition made Black music and inpired the sound of all-White bands such as N-Synch and the Backstreet Boys who sold millions of more records. Although they never received the mainstream accolades of N-Synch and the Backstreet Boys, New Edition provided a blueprint for those groups to follow and steal. Overall, The New Edition Story is an epic piece of work that reveals the story of the greatest Boy Band of all-time.
