Good Fences

For the Prison Break episode, see Good Fences (Prison Break episode).

Good Fences is a 2003 American comedy-drama television film directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by Trey Ellis, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by his wife Erika Ellis. The film is about the stresses of prejudice on an upwardly mobile black family in 1970s Greenwich, Connecticut. Danny Glover plays the overworked, stressed husband and Whoopi Goldberg plays his steadfast wife.

Good Fences
DVD cover based on the painting American Gothic
Genre	Comedy-drama
Based on	Good Fences by Erika Ellis
Written by	Trey Ellis
Directed by	Ernest R. Dickerson
Starring	Danny Glover Whoopi Goldberg
Music by	George Duke
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Spike Lee Sam Kitt
Producers	Danny Glover Whoopi Goldberg
Cinematography	Jonathan Freeman
Editor	Stephen Lovejoy
Running time	119 minutes
Production company	40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	February 2, 2003 (2003-02-02)

Good Fences was produced by Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. It premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on Showtime on February 2, 2003. Goldberg won an Image Award for her role.^[1]

Cast

• Whoopi Goldberg as Mabel Spader
• Danny Glover as Tom Spader
• Mo'Nique as Ruth Crisp
• Ashley Archer as Stormy (age 13)
• Ryan Michelle Bathe as Stormy (age 17)
• Vincent McCurdy-Clark as Tommy-Two (age 12)
• Zachary Simmons Glover as Tommy-Two (age 17)

Reception

The New York Times reviewed the film positively,^[2] as did Dove.^[3]