Taraji P. Henson is mom on a mission in ‘Coffee and Kareem’
Taraji P. Henson is one wild avenging mom in Netflix’s high-octane “Coffee and Kareem” action comedy streaming Friday.
She’s Vanessa, a single mother who unknowingly angers her 11-year-old son Kareem (newcomer Terrence Little Gardenhigh) with a romance with Ed Helms’ Detroit cop James Coffee.
Kareem hatches a ridiculous scheme to eliminate Coffee — as in kill him — that backfires, puts everyone in mortal danger and exposes a corrupt police squad.
“Vanessa doesn’t really know what’s going on,” Henson, 49, said earlier this week from lockdown in her Chicago condo.
“Until the mayhem starts, she’s just a regular mom trying to take care of her kid and trying to have a relationship with Coffee.
“When the craziness comes, her natural instinct is to protect the ones she loves. It’s really about being a mama lion, protecting her cubs.”
This is one mother who wipes the floor with two would-be assassins. “It’s a supporting role but it was fun how they incorporated the mother into the action. I thought that was kind of brilliant.”
Being an action heroine, Henson knows, is all movie magic. “It’s fun to shake it up a bit like you’re a hero. When I have two left feet and feel a bit awkward, they make you look good.”
Henson was set to leave Chicago once “Empire” finished filming — then Covid-19 arrived.
“We’ve got about nine more days to squeak out. We had 20 episodes to film and were working on 19 when this happened,” she revealed.
As for life in lockdown, Henson was prepared. “When this first started in China, I started storing up. Everybody, they were laughing at me and I was, ‘Watch! Who will get the last laugh?’ Who is in the store fighting for tissue and paper towels? Not I.
“I have a condo next to this one,” she added. “I took all my gym equipment there, my massage table and my sauna blanket. I have my meditation there.
“When I wake up in the morning this feels like I’m actually going somewhere.
“And you know what? I think I’m going to open a spa after this. I’ve learned to do pedicures on my son and fiancé. I put them under the sauna blanket and give them earphones so they can hear tranquil music. I let them smell oils. It’s literally like a spa treatment — and I love it, making people feel good.
“I do that through my work.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/39y4J3F
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