Ebony and Ivory Review: When a Bad Song Inspires an Even Worse Movie
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You know that feeling when you hear a song and think, “Wow, this is pretty bad”? Well, imagine someone taking that bad song and stretching it into an entire movie that’s somehow even worse. That’s exactly what happened here. This is my Ebony and Ivory Review, and trust me—you’re in for a ride.
Courtesy of Drafthouse Films
The movie Ebony and Ivory, directed by Jim Hosking, is loosely based on the infamous 1982 Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder duet of the same name. Back in the day, the song was widely mocked as one of McCartney’s weakest high-profile collaborations. But at just 3 minutes and 45 seconds long, the song is a tiny headache compared to the 86 minutes of pure chaos this movie serves up.
Hosking, known for his bizarre cult hit The Greasy Strangler, decided to parody the events leading up to that legendary music collaboration. The result? A painfully awkward comedy that feels like someone took a short Adult Swim sketch and stretched it into a feature-length film that really, really shouldn’t be feature-length.
Two Legends, One Awkward Cabin Trip
In this weird reimagining, actors Sky Elobar and Gex Gillen (longtime Hosking collaborators) play exaggerated versions of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. In the film, Stevie (played by Gex) sails across the Atlantic Ocean to meet Paul, who invites him to his seaside home in Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre. The two spend the weekend together—Paul’s wife conveniently leaves the house, probably so another actress doesn’t have to ruin her career by appearing in this thing.
From the moment Stevie arrives, things get… odd. He almost drowns at sea, then demands a perfectly made cup of hot chocolate (which, to be fair, does look delicious). This simple drink request quickly spirals into bickering and strange tension between the two. Before they’ve even started working on the song, their creative partnership is already falling apart.
The problem is that Hosking doesn’t aim for realism or clever satire here. If he had dramatized some “what-if” conversations between McCartney and Wonder—something half-true, half-imagined—it could have worked. But instead, the movie leans heavily into surreal, aimless absurdity. It’s less a playful rewrite of pop history and more like a Tim and Eric Awesome Show episode that forgot to be funny.
And when I say “acting,” I use the term loosely. No one expected Oscar-worthy impersonations, but here it’s not even clear if Stevie is supposed to be blind or not. Both characters spend most of the time grunting, groaning, making weird hand gestures, and repeating lines over and over. As a viewer, you start silently begging: “Please, something happen.”
One running gag involves a tiny handmade slide that delivers vegetable nuggets directly into Stevie’s mouth. It’s supposed to be “so dumb it’s funny,” but honestly? It’s just dumb. Then there’s a painfully long scene where Stevie yells at his parents (both also played by Gex) because a drink called “Doobie-Woobie” made him dizzy. If that sounds hilarious to you, this movie might be your thing. If not… prepare for suffering.
The Movie’s Only Saving Grace
There is one sequence that almost works. At one point, Elobar and Gex strip naked, run around, and act like total lunatics while Andrew Hung’s funky electronic music plays in the background. Hung’s score is actually great—arguably the only genuinely good thing in the whole film. Unfortunately, by the time this scene arrives, you’ve probably already hit your mental breaking point.
The grand finale tries to go for some “magical” payoff. It involves the two musicians having a strange, spiritual meeting with a giant animatronic frog, followed by a moment where they supposedly get the idea for “Ebony and Ivory” after overhearing a black sheep and a white sheep talking. Yes, really. That’s how the movie explains the song’s origin. If you’ve stuck around this long, you’ll either laugh at the sheer absurdity—or just stare blankly, wondering how you got here.
This is the thing: low-budget films today have more opportunities than ever to stand out. Streaming platforms and indie distribution mean you can take creative risks and still find an audience. Basing a movie on a real cultural moment is actually a smart move—it gives your weirdness a hook, something people can recognize. Companies like Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision deserve credit for supporting experimental, boundary-pushing projects.
But here’s the catch—being weird isn’t enough. You still need a rhythm, a story, and at least a hint of emotional or comedic connection for your audience. Ebony and Ivory feels like it’s trying to be strange for the sake of being strange. It mistakes nonsense for comedy and awkward pauses for tension.
Why This Movie Fails
In my honest Ebony and Ivory Review, this movie falls apart because it has no real center. It’s not committed to being a full parody, a surrealist art film, or a character study. Instead, it’s an 86-minute inside joke that most viewers aren’t in on.
The pacing is painfully slow, with many scenes dragging far longer than they need to. The humor feels forced, often relying on random repetition or bodily awkwardness instead of sharp writing. Even the set pieces—like the frog or the nugget slide—don’t land as much as the filmmakers probably hoped.
And while I’m all for embracing absurd comedy, there’s a difference between structured absurdity and random noise. The best weird comedies, like those from Taika Waititi or even early Coen brothers, still give you characters to root for and a sense of forward momentum. Here, it’s like being trapped in a room where two strangers are arguing in slow motion while you can’t find the exit.
Should You Watch It?
If you’re a die-hard Jim Hosking fan, maybe. If you absolutely loved The Greasy Strangler and An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, you might get a kick out of the sheer oddness here. Or if you just want to witness the strangest “making-of” story for a pop song ever filmed, then sure—add it to your watchlist.
But for everyone else? My Ebony and Ivory Review verdict is simple: skip it. Go listen to the original song if you’re curious (though I wouldn’t recommend it for your playlists), or watch a documentary like The Greatest Night in Pop, which actually knows how to bring music legends to life on screen.
Movies like this remind me that being “different” isn’t automatically good. Creativity is about connecting your audience to your vision, not just throwing bizarre images and hoping they stick. And in the case of Ebony and Ivory, the only thing that stuck for me was the question: Why did I just spend 86 minutes watching this?
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Final Take: This movie had a golden opportunity—two music icons, a notorious song, and a director known for quirky, cult comedy. But instead of clever satire or entertaining weirdness, we get a messy, exhausting stretch of awkward grunts, bizarre props, and a giant frog that somehow still isn’t the strangest part. My Ebony and Ivory Review? One star for the soundtrack, half a star for the nugget slide, and a big sigh for everything else.
That’s the whole lowdown, my friend. If you were hoping for a hidden gem, this ain’t it. Sometimes bad songs just need to stay bad songs—and not become even worse movies.
