Witty ‘Brothers’ Is Rooted in the Real World
One of the eerier aspects of being a member of today’s African American middle class is how R&B; pop tunes stalk you no matter where you go, what you do, who you are. At least that is the impression left by such movies as “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Best Man” and now “The Brothers,” the latest in a burgeoning field of studio-slick romantic opuses that seem preoccupied with generating soundtrack sales to shore up an uncertain box office.
Those who are more interested in what goes down between the songs will be encouraged to know that the quality of the talk is on the rise. “The Brothers” is the most pleasurable and sure-footed of comedy-dramas on the mating game of young black urban professionals to date. It’s very much in the four-guys-muck-through-the-battlefield-of-love mode of “The Best Man”--complete with a wedding, a stag party and a guest list of impossibly glamorous actors--but the writing is tighter and the behavior seems more of-this-planet.
Written and directed by Gary Hardwick with a democratic respect for the feelings of all of his characters, male and female, “The Brothers” inspects the baggage dredged up by four successful buddies in their late 20s when one of them announces he is getting married.
For the groom-to-be, Terry (Shemar Moore), and buddy Jackson (Morris Chestnut), it means staring down long-running anxieties about commitment. For perpetual adolescent Brian (Bill Bellamy), it spells doom for the fraternal equilibrium that has evolved for the foursome. In the case of Derrick (D.L. Hughley), who has already been married for three years, it underscores conjugal antagonisms that have already existed between him and his wife, Sheila (Tamala Jones).
At least one of Hardwick’s quartet supplements the supportive benefits of hoop games with the fellas through therapy sessions. Accordingly, “The Brothers” pays almost as much obeisance to the men’s relationships with their mothers as it does those with their girlfriends and wives. The queen bee is Jackson’s mom, Louise (played by perennial oomph gal Jennifer Lewis), who dispenses sage advice about relationships and eating habits to the womenfolk.
Hardwick pushes his cast beyond their daytime-soap perfection and the Terry McMillan-esque tendencies (both good and bad) of his script and toward a consistent emotional truth for their characters. While all of the actors are excellent, we sat up whenever Gabrielle Union walked on screen. As the ever-sensible woman who disrupts Jackson’s bachelorhood, she projects the pluck, gravitas and beauty of a younger Alfre Woodard.
* MPAA rating: R, for strong sexual content and language. Times guidelines: The talk is candid but not out of line with similar films.
‘The Brothers’
Morris Chestnut: Jackson Smith
D.L. Hughley: Derrick West
Bill Bellamy: Brian Palmer
Shemar Moore: Terry White
Tamala Jones: Sheila West
Gabrielle Union: Denise Johnson
Screen Gems presents a Sony Pictures release. Director Gary Hardwick. Producers Darin Scott, Paddy Cullen. Executive producers Doug McHenry. Screenplay by Gary Hardwick. Cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski. Editor Earl Watson. Costume designer Debrae Little. Music supervisor Melodee Sutton. Production designer Amy Ancona. Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes.
In general release.
