I decided to try out a movie I knew nothing about...and paid the price with this one. I've never seen such an obviously amateur film make it into movie theaters, the producers and director get credit for making it as far as they did. This is kind of movie you stumble upon on Cinemax-7 at 4:45 on Monday morning, watch 10-16 minutes, cringe, maybe make fun of it if someone's up with you, and forget. Unfortunately, I got stuck with 90 minutes of this garbage.
Reportedly this movie is based on the director/writer's actual life story, and starring his real-life wife. It's about a white guy who marries a girl of some sort of West Indies origin. I sure hope this guy's life is more interesting then this film makes it appear. The poster said his wife won some sort of acting award. I guess. She has the range of a postage stamp. None of the actors are remotely appealing, and they all fall into the most basic of stereotypes. The bumbling fiance, the overbearing father, the brother who doesn't trust the fiance, the wise girlfriend and her uber-wise mother, and the slutty ex-girlfriend all make appearances, with ability matching the average actor in a soft-core porn. Not acceptable.
The plot is terrible, basically "it's hard to marry a black girl". After such excellent films as Jungle Fever, this is an insult to people of both races. This has the kind of plot where everything magically happens at the right time, and the actors react in the most obvious way. There are no layers to the plot, and everything's on screen.
The worst part is the direction...Cunningham has a fine career waiting for him in retail, no doubt, but directing is not for him. The film is so badly lit, shot, and edited that it honestly looks like a high-school film class project. Sets are visible, boom mikes dip down, and any sense of continuity flies out the window during the opening credits. Music sounds like it was composed on a Casiotone, and even the titles look bad.
I'd warn you not to watch, rent, or otherwise subject yourself to this film, but I get the feeling you probably won't have to. I saw this on opening day at one of the busiest theaters in the world, and I was with 5 other people, 3 who walked out. A DVD release is probably not in the cards. If this one pops up on Cinemax late at night...watch, laugh, and RUN.
