Drama,Comedy
United States of America,United Kingdom
Carbon Copy is a comedy-drama movie released in 1981 and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars George Segal as Walter Whitney, a middle-aged white businessman who discovers that he has a 17-year-old son named Roger Porter (Denzel Washington), who is the product of a brief encounter he had with a black woman in college.
Roger is an intelligent and ambitious young man who is dissatisfied with his working-class life in South Central LA and wants to be adopted by Walter, his biological father. When Walter's wife (Susan Saint James) finds out about Roger's existence and his desire to live with them, she is shocked and resistant to the idea. However, Walter sees Roger as an opportunity to rebuild the relationship with his own estranged son, whom he has little contact with.
Roger moves in with the family and experiences culture shock as he navigates his way through the almost exclusively white, upper-middle-class community of San Marino. Despite the challenges, he becomes close to Walter and his daughter (Dana Elcar) and begins to see the opportunities that were previously impossible in his old life.
As Roger adapts to his new surroundings, Walter's colleagues and friends become uncomfortable with the idea of a black son living in their neighborhood, and they fear that it might damage their social status. The situation becomes more complicated when Walter's business dealings are put in jeopardy by a scandal of racial discrimination.
Carbon Copy tries to address issues of class and race relations in America while also exploring the theme of family values. The film was received with mixed reviews, but Washington's performance was praised and marked the beginning of his career as a leading actor.
