Danny and the Human Zoo

I guess this is a loose biography of Lenny Henry and his early start in showbiz.

People forget that he has been on television as soon as he left school and I remember seeing him in the ITV sitcom The Fosters in the mid 70s.

Here we see the teenage Danny Fearon (Kascion Franklin) the funny kid at school cracking jokes and doing impressions but is also bullied by racists, has to deal with difficult MCs in clubs and later appearing with the Black & White Minstrels which Lenny actually did and still feels guilty about.

This one off film starts out brightly with the music of the era and the art deco. We see his larger than life mother who rules the household and his more introverted father (Lenny Henry) who works in a factory.

I think the film goes a little off course as it deals with dramatic issues to add substance to the film such as his mother's affair and when Danny starts to drink too much and is unhappy with performing with the minstrels.

Kascion Franklin gives a good performance but the film loses sparkle half way through.