TriStar Pictures, Stage 6 Films, Our Stories Films,
Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, Meagan Good, Tasha Smith, Julie Bowen, DeRay Davis, Valarie Pettiford
It’s culture war when Jason Taylor (Laz Alonso) invites his mom (Loretta Devine) who are down home poor southern family from very humble settings to his wedding to Sabrina Watson (Paula Patton) at her rich family’s Martha’s Vineyard mansion. Things start off badly when they don’t arrive to meet Mama, but send someone to pick her up. From there it goes bad to worse, as Jason’s mother is offended by the French speaking mixed racial and uppity Watson family, so she does her best to break them up before they start. At first the Watson’s are appalled at Mama’s behavior, but as it turns out, they have a few secrets and problems of their own. In the end, it’s too much for them to take and Jason and Sabrina figure it’s time to call off the wedding.
This is a very funny movie. The characters are well developed. It’s a black movie that isn’t really. As a white person, I can completely understand the problems and issues of these families. It’s easy enough for this old Caucasian to understand, because the same problems face us all. The details may be different, but at some time or another we feel like we’re out of our element, trying to fit in with someone who feel is above us or below us. Either way, it’s comfortable. I didn’t understand the meaning of “Jumping the Broom” and I didn’t know this custom existed. It was nicely explained by Mrs. Taylor, and was a defining moment in the film. We have problems and challenges no matter how high on the horse we think we are.
The whole rest of the characters too are very interesting, and there’s enough meat and potatoes to the storyline to make it interesting all the way through the film, but the bottom line is that it’s very funny. It’s also very PG-13, so there is no nasty stuff in this film. It’s good for all but the very young ones who will probably be bored. Otherwise it’s a really fine film. Very well done, and well worth putting this in your queue!
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