This Time, It Isn’t About Jokes : With ‘The Five Heartbeats,’ filmmaker Robert Townsend leaves the comfort of comedy for a look at the life of a ‘60s soul group

Actor, comedian and filmmaker Robert Townsend grew up on the west side of Chicago in the 1960s listening to R&B; groups like the Temptations, the O’Jays and the Spinners. After the surprising success of his first movie, “Hollywood Shuffle,” Townsend decided he wanted to make a movie about the rise of a ‘60s soul group--a comedy, of course.

“Hollywood Shuffle,” which Townsend wrote with his partner and friend Keenan Ivory Wayans (the creator of Fox Television’s popular comedy series “In Living Color”), was essentially a series of comedy sketches about the way blacks are portrayed in Hollywood films. Famous for being financed by its star-director’s credit cards, the $100,000 production charmed critics and grossed $10 million.

But the comedy script Townsend and Wayans began writing, “The Five Heartbeats,” soon took an unexpected turn.

“At first I was going after pure comedy, but it took another shape,” says Townsend. “I traveled on the road for a few months with an actual group from the ‘60s, the Dells, and heard their stories of being ripped off and taken advantaged of by people in the business. After spending time with that group I felt sad. I kept telling myself, it isn’t about jokes, Robert, it isn’t about jokes.”

The storyline of “The Five Heartbeats,” in which Townsend acts as well as writes and directs, was altered to concentrate on the friendship of five black men from the same neighborhood. It follows them through the dramatic turns in their lives that come with the group’s rapid success.

“I mean, they were just kids, they didn’t know what was going on and they got taken advantage of because of it,” said Townsend, wearing jeans and an MTV hat at a Sunset Strip health food restaurant.

“It’s a story about friendship, and that can be one of the most difficult experiences to explore, much less write about. The story is a positive look at five young black men with an attempt to break away from any of the negative stereotypes that are tagged to us through the media,” said Townsend. “Each character is totally different from the other. One might be what most people expect from the black male, while the others take you in completely different directions. I want to show people something that they haven’t seen before--not the same thing.”

Making the transition from comedy to scenes of intense drama as an actor and director was difficult, admitted Townsend, but he feels it was a change he was ready to make.

“This film is something I’ve had in mind for a while now, but there were a variety of things I wanted to do with the script, and those things took time to complete. In many ways this is the most difficult film I’ve made as an actor,” said Townsend. “There are a lot of emotions in each scene that really pushed me as an artist, but I’d rather that than coming back with the same performance time and time again.”

Cast and crew on “Heartbeats” said Townsend artfully balanced the tasks of directing and starring as one of the Five Heartbeats.

“He handled it well--better than I thought possible,” said Leon, who played the black biblical character in the controversial Madonna video “Like a Prayer.” “Since we portray brothers in the film, we have a great many scenes together, which means I was very aware of how he adjusted to both roles. I have to give it to him--he handled it like a pro, which made my job a lot easier.”

Diahann Carroll stars as Eleanor, the wife of the group’s manager. “After meeting Robert, I was attracted to him, his maturity and insightfulness. He made me immediately interested in his project,” she said. “I was impressed by his gentle strength and commitment and wanted to know and see how he worked and what stimulated him. I enjoyed it.”

Leon, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells and Michael Wright are the remaining four Heartbeats. Harold Nicholas, of the legendary Nicholas Brothers dance team, also has a starring role as the group’s choreographer.

Townsend and the members of the Heartbeats spent weeks watching old tapes of performances by the O’Jays and Temptations. The group also performed around the Los Angeles area, even entering amateur-night talent shows to perfect their skills.

Those skills will come in handy once again as the the Heartbeats go on a promotional tour around the country before the film’s release next February.

But the story also moves beyond show business.

“There is a scene where the girlfriend of one of the guys in the group gets pregnant and an abortion is considered,” said Townsend. “The way this male character deals with it is with compassion and true concern. I hope that men who see the film will say, ‘Hey that’s the way a man deals with it and if that happens to me, that’s the way I am going to deal with it.’ ”

As a black filmmaker, said Townsend, “I feel total responsibility for what I am putting out there for people to see. That is one of the reasons I’ve taken time to make my second film, because I understand what effect films and movies have on peoples’ lives. They affect the way we dress, comb our hair, even the way we decorate our living rooms. That’s powerful stuff, and you have to treat it accordingly.”

Townsend says much of his imagination developed by watching a great deal of television in order to stay out of trouble while growing up.

“Watching TV kept us inside and off the streets,” he said. “Through watching television I was exposed to all types of influences, from Red Skelton to Sidney Poitier, which made my range of interest in entertainment just that varied.”

Loretha Williams, who is producing “Five Heartbeats” and also produced Spike Lee’s “School Daze,” said of Townsend, “He is probably one of the most directed and focused people I’ve ever met. The thought process he goes through when he is dealing with a project is really amazing. He has such a clear-cut vision in his mind of what he wants and accepts nothing less.”

Townsend says there were a variety of reasons for his three-year wait to make another film.

Though there was a brief period in the early ‘70s when black films such as “Shaft,” “Superfly” and “Cooley High” were commercially successful, the interest and development of predominantly black films, with the exception of “The Color Purple” and “A Soldier’s Story,” hit a long drought in the late ‘70s to early ‘80s.

That drought ended with the emergence of director Spike Lee and Townsend’s “Shuffle.” But despite the critical success of Lee and the increased marketability of black-oriented films such as Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America,” Townsend said he still had difficulty getting the deal he wanted for his second film.

“I got a variety of offers for ‘Heartbeats,’ but I wasn’t comfortable with them,” he said. “And I heard a lot of people say, ‘How dare Robert Townsend walk away from a studio,’ ‘How dare Townsend take his time.’ But that’s me, and I wasn’t comfortable with what was being offered; it would have been like getting in bed with a stranger. My bottom line was I’ll wait until I do my film the way I feel it should be done. I have a story to tell. Hopefully, people will listen when it gets done--be it this year or six years from now.” Townsend finally signed with 20th Century Fox to finance the $9-million film.

Though Townsend, filmmakers Lee and Wayans (who also made the satire of “blaxploitation” movies “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”), and entertainers Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall have been warmly embraced by white audiences and, to some extent, the white film Establishment, there have been conflicts among them.

Lee and Hall disagreed hotly on Hall’s late night talk show about Lee’s criticism of Murphy for not pressuring Paramount, where Murphy has a long-term arrangement, to hire more blacks. Hall, who is a close friend of Murphy’s, attacked Lee for going public with that accusation. (That rift was apparently mended a few weeks ago when Lee appeared on Hall’s show a second time.

Townsend makes a conscious effort to distance himself from the verbal warfare. “For me it’s not about blasting anyone,” said Townsend, who directed Murphy in the concert film “Raw.” “We are all out there doing what we can and that’s what matters; the negative stuff isn’t necessary. No, I may not agree with everything Spike does or Eddie does or Arsenio. But isn’t up to me to agree with them. That’s not my place. They are out there doing what they are doing and that’s what counts.”

Townsend added that he was particularly dismayed over rumors that he and longtime pal Keenen Ivory Wayans were at odds with one another.

“Keenen and I have been good friends and partners for years, and that hasn’t changed,” said Townsend. “He was originally set to be in the film before his show got picked up. That’s why we aren’t working together at this time and for no other reason. No one is happier than I am about the success of his show.”

The two currently have plans to co-write another film together sometime next year.

Also in the works is a deal for Townsend to continue directing “Partners in Crime,” an HBO showcase for new comedians from around the country that Townsend directs. He hopes to soon start a two-week workshop on filmmaking for inner-city children in large urban areas.

“That’s a very important aspect of what I want to do, and that is giving back to the community,” said Townsend. “Showing kids, particularly inner-city kids, that there are other things out there for them to do. That it is possible for them to become successful. I really don’t think a lot of kids, particularly black kids, believe that.”

Townsend said he was reminded of the need for such a program when he and a white casting director held auditions for “Heartbeats.” “The both of us were sitting there and this kid begins to audition, but he was directing everything to the casting director as though I wasn’t there,” said Townsend. “It is that slave mentality that we as blacks have. We think that though we may be on the team, we can’t be the quarterback. Unfortunately, that thought process sets in at a very early age. I want to work to see that change.”