If you are a fan of classic sitcoms being turned into feature films, then this news is for you. Good Times, the classic heart-warming sitcom about a family living in a Chicago housing project, is being adapted as a feature film by Kenya Barris. Barris hit it big with his sitcom Black-ish airing on ABC about an upscale African-American family dealing with the day to day, so naturally he is a great fit for the material.
Good Times aired for five seasons in the mid-1970s and was set in the turbulent 1960s. It was a spin-off of Maude which was itself a spin-off of All in the Family which was itself a remake of a British sitcom. So, you know, this makes perfect sense. Good Times has been in eternal syndication so odds are you have seen at least one episode while sick at home from school or while unemployed. It is best remembered as the show that featured the memorable character of Jimmie Walker who played J.J. on the show. His Urkel-esque catchphrase, "Dyn-o-mite!", ranks as one of the most lasting (and annoying) in television history.
This news is a bit surprising only in that the recent trend has been in bringing films and old series back to television rather than adapting for the big screen. Good Times is an odd choice for a feature film unless they decide to go the route of THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE and spoof the genre. Whether this gets out of the scripting phase remains to be seen.