Marcus Scribner is currently starring in the poignant family drama How I Learned to Fly, also starring Lonnie Chavis, Cliff “Method Man” Smith and Cedric the Entertainer. He landed his first series regular role at the age of 13 on ABC’s hit comedy Black-Ish starring as Andre Jr opposite Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross. Marcus has been nominated for multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, NAACP Image and Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the ensemble cast, and in 2016 he received an individual NAACP Image award for Outstanding Performance by a Youth, a category in which he has been nominated every year for his work on the show. Transitioning into film, Marcus most recently starred in How to Blow Up a Pipeline, based on the book of the same name. (Photo by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr.)
One of my favorite movies of the past year was Joy Ride, which I feel like came a little bit out of left field. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. My friend Sherry Cola is in it and it’s a very raunchy comedy troupe film. I absolutely loved it. I felt like it was a callback to OG Jonah Hill movies, except with fresh faces and a new cast. I don’t know anything about what it is to be an Asian woman, but I connected so heavily to the character dynamics and the way that the characters interacted with each other.
Joy Ride was risqué and went places people are not typically comfortable going in movies anymore. And it was incredibly funny, so I had a really good time. I had no real expectations whatsoever going in. I had seen the trailers and felt like the energy was similar to a contemporary version of Bridesmaids, but I honestly thought it was going to be a lot safer than it was. And that’s what was so fun about it.
To be clear, this is not a shameless plug because Sherry’s my homie, I just really enjoyed this movie so much. I told Sherry, “Wow, I just really freaking love this movie – I’m in shock by how much I loved it!”
I really like to be entertained when I go to the theater. I feel like a lot of movies set out to be art, but the people making it are not really thinking about who’s actually consuming the movie or who might want to watch it. It’s either that, or they make a crazy blockbuster and spend the most money possible and don’t really think about story or character or anything that actually makes a film. For me personally, I love movies that just seek to entertain and be relatable, and Joy Ride definitely accomplishes that.
In terms of the TV shows I’ve watched in the past 12 months, I’ve been on a reality show grind, so there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking there. I’ve been watching Selling Sunset recently, which has fallen off a bit, but it was pretty high drama for a while. I also watched Silicon Valley for the first time this past year, which was freaking hilarious. This is my issue: I’ll watch a show that’s been out for a while and then “discover” it long after everybody else already knows how amazing it is. I’ll say something like, “Wait, guys, have you guys seen Breaking Bad yet? It’s a fantastic show – super niche.” I also watched Veep for the first time, which was hilarious, and started watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is fantastic. Larry David’s so funny. As you can tell, I love comedy!
