Carbon Copy (1981)

★ 5.8 1h 32m IMDb

A middle-aged married wealthy white corporate executive is surprised to discover that he has a working-class black teen-age son who wants to be adopted into the almost-exclusively-white upper-middle-class community of San Marino, California.

Carbon Copy

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Cast

Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington as Roger Porter Age 71 · Mount Vernon, New York, USA Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of...
George Segal
George Segal as Walter Whitney Died 2021 · Great Neck, Long Island, New York, USA George Segal (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor and musician. Segal became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. Some of his most acclaim...
Susan Saint James
Susan Saint James as Vivian Whitney Age 79 · Los Angeles, California, USA Susan Saint James (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series McMillan &...
Jack Warden
Jack Warden as Nelson Longhurst Died 2006 · Newark, New Jersey, USA Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Shampoo (1975) and Heaven C...
Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield as Bob Garvey Age 86 · Los Angeles, California, USA Paul Edward Winfield (born May 22, 1939) was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landm...
Macon McCalman
Macon McCalman as Tubby Wederholt Died 2005 · Memphis, Tennessee, USA Macon McCalman was born on December 30, 1932 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Deliverance (1972). He died on Novembe...

Audience Reviews

r96sk 7/10 Jul 23, 2025
<em>'Carbon Copy'</em> is a Denzel Washington flick that only a few have apparently seen; just 2.9k watched on Letterboxd, for example. That's a surprise, as is the film itself frankly. It's a bit of a trip. I knew it'd be to do with race due to the poster/title, but it's the entire plot.

I was getting major vibes of <em>'Trading Places'</em> throughout, there are plenty of differences, for sure, but the white guy's trajectory is fairly similar. That Landis flick came out just two years after this, curiously. As for how this deals with race, I think positively (albeit clumsily).

Washington, in his proper movie debut, is standout. I wouldn't have predicted the phenomenal actor that he'd soon become based on this performance, but there is enough to show his acting prowess. George Segal is just as good as Denzel, the two share solid comedic chemistry.

It is amusing, I found myself chuckling. The plot is ludicrous but it's never portrayed not to be just that, in fairness. I did enjoy it, as bizarre as it is (how about that opening scene!). It does have an old TV sitcom feel to it, largely thanks to a catchy score (by a certain Bill Conti).

"Not aged the best"/"couldn't make it nowadays" and all that. Still, it did entertain me for (a well chosen run time of) 90 minutes.

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