Those vignettes, threaded together with Jones’ breezy 1970s funk-inspired music, veer between interviews with Jones’ family members, friends, artists and activists; short clips of Jones rapping; and visual flights of fancy, such as a man floating in the middle of an apartment to illustrate “A is for amphetamines” or Jones popping out of a manhole in an homage to Gordon Parks’ Invisible Man series to illustrate “U is for Underground.”
This is largely Jones’ personal history, which is a surprise, as the film’s description makes it seem like it would be about the development of those famous flash cards, and what it was like for kids growing up at that time to see themselves represented in a positive and recognizable way. (That is still a film I would love to see.) But Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma turns out to be a pleasant one, as Jones pays homage to his family, who feature prominently in home movie footage that is interspersed throughout the film.
The film at some points recalls m.a.a.d, Khalil Joseph’s stunning often surreal visual component to Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar’s classic album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, that also blends home movie footage and Joseph’s darkly romantic view of Los Angeles.
However, the similarities between Joseph’s and Jones’s projects are only in the blend of archival footage and fictional vignettes, along with the use of the 70mm-style square frame that gives the film a retro look. Jones’s music has more of a breezy, easygoing style than Lamar, and Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma is also not quite as cohesive as m.a.a.d., as sometimes the lyrics in Jones’ songs don’t get as personal as the images and interviews he presents in the film.