Movie Review Black Los Angeles

BlackNLA Movie Reviews

*****THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*****

by Edwardo Jackson

BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare

SOMETHINGNEW (PG-13)

MOVIEBIASES: I love you, Sanaa, but you better BRING IT!

MAJORPLAYERS: Sanaa Lathan (Love & Basketball), Simon Baker (The Ring 2), MikeEpps (The Honeymooners), and director Sanaa Hamri (music videos)

Anyone who has read this column with any regularity over the past five years knows that Sanaa Lathan is THE original REEL DEAL Crush. The alpha and omega of cinematic leading ladies, Sanaa has been quiet and unimpressive in the past couple of years (Alien Vs. Predator, anyone?). Against my will, this has left the door to my heart ajar for the incandescent Ziyi Zhang to walk on through and rewrite my on screen Greek alphabet. But with her toplining role in"Something New," well, Sanaa, baby I'm sorry I EVER doubted you!

Despitea high powered job as a tax attorney and a new home in LA's upscale black enclave of View Park, Kenya McQueen (Lathan) has everything but a man. But she doesn't want just any man she wants her IBM, her Ideal Black Man. After a failed meet cute on a blind date, Kenya, whose whole life is a case study inanal-retentive repression, ends up catching feelings for her free-spirited landscape architect Brian Kelly (Baker) a white guy. With her spoiled, Afrocentric mother (Alfre Woodard), callow, elitist brother Nelson (DonaldFaison), and semi-approving but curious girlfriends (Taraji P. Henson, WendyRaquel Robinson, and Golden Brooks) all weighing in, Kenya tries to reconcilewhat her life would be with who could be her Ideal Man versus the image, andthe real life temptation of, her Ideal Black Man (in the form of a fellow taxlawyer (Blair Underwood)).

Although I am deliriously happy with the return to (luscious) form of Sanaa Lathan,"Something New" marks the arrival of an equally talented Sanaa Hamri. Working from a Kriss Turner (TV's "Everybody Hates Chris") script that may be a little too on the nose at times, Hamri escorts us through this emotional and social mine field with visual artistry. Not only did she make me fall in love with Sanaa Lathan all over again (if that were possible), in all her Skippy-coated, butter brown glory, but also Hamri addresses the unspoken social taboo of interracial dating by playing up racial differences more with visual cues than cheesy dialogue. And for all you Los Angeles residents out there, Hamri covers all the local black haunts like Blackbucks, er, Magic Johnson's Starbucks in Ladera Center, Magic's TGI Friday's, Leimert Park,etc. Reminding us that this is still a rookie feature director, Hamri isn't immune to old romantic comedy movie tropes like "sexy" toenail painting (Bull Durham) and The Run (just aboutevery rom-com ever made). Still, Hamri's "Something New" is an impressive, hopeful debut of that Hollywood unicorn: the African female director.

Her cast is thoroughly professional and, at the very least, committed to having a good time. Scene-stealing REEL DEAL Crush Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow) continues to enliven any role she's in, large or small. Donald Faison (Turk! from TV's "Scrubs") is slyly amusing as Kenya's pro-black brother, dedicated to the bougie life and his endless parade of young, impressionable floozies. Green-eyed, blond-tressed Aussie charmer Simon Baker flashes a flawless American accent as the self-satisfied, dog-toting, naively appealing Brian. Through his unaffected confidence and guileless perseverance, Baker's Brian is the perfect candidateto inject some variety into the garden of Kenya's buttoned-down life.

Sanaa, Sanaa (Lathan) how do I love thee? In "Something New," Sanaa is, as always, luminous,enchanting, and on point. At a time when some of our more venerable"King" pinups and "Essence" cover girls are going the way of "Disappearing Acts" (see the incredibly shrinking waistline of Union, Gabrielle), Sanaa's still got more curves than a Thomas Guide. With acting chops to match, Sanaa plays Kenya believably, even understandably, as the beige-obsessed, dog-loathing, romantically ascetic individual she is. Once Baker's Brian enters her sphere of influence, making her question all her preconceived, tightly held notions, Sanaa reliably plays the internal tensions with admirable aplomb. Their chemistry is fine, with a realistic, sweet pseudo-courtshipthat's only semi-confrontational, but doesn't ignore the proverbial Elephant in the Room ("That's what being black is about," a frustrated Kenya lectures Brian after he requests a one night tente from race talk, "you don't get a night off.").

Will Sanaa, Hamri's visually lush "Something New" usher in a resurgence of buppie pics reminiscent of the late '90s ("Two Can Play That Game," "The Brothers,"etc.)? Only if they are as inspired as "The Best Man," then let's hope so. What I am proud to call a resurgence is the return of my girl, Sanaa,Lathan; babymama status is BACK in effect! Quite honestly, it/she never really left. Ziyi who? Sanaa's Greek to me.

@@@ REELS
(THREE REELS)
It's pretty hot – go give it a shot.

Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com!

Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com




			BlackNLA Movie Reviews ***THE REEL DEAL: Reviewz from the Street*** by Edwardo Jackson BIASES: 30 (yikes!) year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare SOMETHINGNEW (PG-13) MOVIEBIASES: I love you, Sanaa, but you better BRING IT! MAJORPLAYERS: Sanaa Lathan (Love & Basketball), Simon Baker (The Ring 2), MikeEpps (The Honeymooners), and director Sanaa Hamri (music videos) Anyone who has read this column with any regularity over the past five years knows that Sanaa Lathan is THE original REEL DEAL Crush. The alpha and omega of cinematic leading ladies, Sanaa has been quiet and unimpressive in the past couple of years (Alien Vs. Predator, anyone?). Against my will, this has left the door to my heart ajar for the incandescent Ziyi Zhang to walk on through and rewrite my on screen Greek alphabet. But with her toplining role in"Something New," well, Sanaa, baby I'm sorry I EVER doubted you! Despitea high powered job as a tax attorney and a new home in LA's upscale black enclave of View Park, Kenya McQueen (Lathan) has everything but a man. But she doesn't want just any man she wants her IBM, her Ideal Black Man. After a failed meet cute on a blind date, Kenya, whose whole life is a case study inanal-retentive repression, ends up catching feelings for her free-spirited landscape architect Brian Kelly (Baker) a white guy. With her spoiled, Afrocentric mother (Alfre Woodard), callow, elitist brother Nelson (DonaldFaison), and semi-approving but curious girlfriends (Taraji P. Henson, WendyRaquel Robinson, and Golden Brooks) all weighing in, Kenya tries to reconcilewhat her life would be with who could be her Ideal Man versus the image, andthe real life temptation of, her Ideal Black Man (in the form of a fellow taxlawyer (Blair Underwood)). Although I am deliriously happy with the return to (luscious) form of Sanaa Lathan,"Something New" marks the arrival of an equally talented Sanaa Hamri. Working from a Kriss Turner (TV's "Everybody Hates Chris") script that may be a little too on the nose at times, Hamri escorts us through this emotional and social mine field with visual artistry. Not only did she make me fall in love with Sanaa Lathan all over again (if that were possible), in all her Skippy-coated, butter brown glory, but also Hamri addresses the unspoken social taboo of interracial dating by playing up racial differences more with visual cues than cheesy dialogue. And for all you Los Angeles residents out there, Hamri covers all the local black haunts like Blackbucks, er, Magic Johnson's Starbucks in Ladera Center, Magic's TGI Friday's, Leimert Park,etc. Reminding us that this is still a rookie feature director, Hamri isn't immune to old romantic comedy movie tropes like "sexy" toenail painting (Bull Durham) and The Run (just aboutevery rom-com ever made). Still, Hamri's "Something New" is an impressive, hopeful debut of that Hollywood unicorn: the African female director. Her cast is thoroughly professional and, at the very least, committed to having a good time. Scene-stealing REEL DEAL Crush Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow) continues to enliven any role she's in, large or small. Donald Faison (Turk! from TV's "Scrubs") is slyly amusing as Kenya's pro-black brother, dedicated to the bougie life and his endless parade of young, impressionable floozies. Green-eyed, blond-tressed Aussie charmer Simon Baker flashes a flawless American accent as the self-satisfied, dog-toting, naively appealing Brian. Through his unaffected confidence and guileless perseverance, Baker's Brian is the perfect candidateto inject some variety into the garden of Kenya's buttoned-down life. Sanaa, Sanaa (Lathan) how do I love thee? In "Something New," Sanaa is, as always, luminous,enchanting, and on point. At a time when some of our more venerable"King" pinups and "Essence" cover girls are going the way of "Disappearing Acts" (see the incredibly shrinking waistline of Union, Gabrielle), Sanaa's still got more curves than a Thomas Guide. With acting chops to match, Sanaa plays Kenya believably, even understandably, as the beige-obsessed, dog-loathing, romantically ascetic individual she is. Once Baker's Brian enters her sphere of influence, making her question all her preconceived, tightly held notions, Sanaa reliably plays the internal tensions with admirable aplomb. Their chemistry is fine, with a realistic, sweet pseudo-courtshipthat's only semi-confrontational, but doesn't ignore the proverbial Elephant in the Room ("That's what being black is about," a frustrated Kenya lectures Brian after he requests a one night tente from race talk, "you don't get a night off."). Will Sanaa, Hamri's visually lush "Something New" usher in a resurgence of buppie pics reminiscent of the late '90s ("Two Can Play That Game," "The Brothers,"etc.)? Only if they are as inspired as "The Best Man," then let's hope so. What I am proud to call a resurgence is the return of my girl, Sanaa,Lathan; babymama status is BACK in effect! Quite honestly, it/she never really left. Ziyi who? Sanaa's Greek to me. @@@ REELS (THREE REELS) It's pretty hot – go give it a shot. Like what you read? Agree/disagree with The Reel Deal? Think he's talkin' out his...HUSH YO' MOUF! (I'm only talkin' about The Reel Deal!) Email him at ReelReviewz@aol.com! Edwardo Jackson is the author of the novels EVER AFTER and NEVA HAFTA, (Villard/Random House), a writer for UrbanFilmPremiere.com, and an LA-based screenwriter. Visit his website at www.edwardojackson.com Â© 2004, Edwardo Jackson