Something New Review
by [email protected] (johnny_betts AT hotmail DOT com)February 3rd, 2006
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Something New http://www.themoviemark.com/moviereviews/somethingnew.asp (full review)
PLOT
Love is an adventure, right? I know that's one of the few metaphors that Bette Midler's The Rose fails to capitalize on, but that doesn't make it any less true. Unfortunately for Kenya McQueen (Lathan), it's an adventure she has yet to embark upon.
Kenya's an L.A. career woman who is busy trying to make partner at the prestigious accounting firm where she serves as a senior manager. She has too much on her mind to pursue a fulfilling personal life. Well, there's also the fact that it's hard to find one man who possesses all of the qualities of what she considers the ideal man.
One day Kenya agrees to go on a blind date with a landscape architect named Brian Kelly (Baker). There's just one problem - she had no idea he was white. She quickly ends the date, but she does need her yard landscaped, so she decides to hire him for the job. Their chemistry slowly develops, and the two must soon decide whether to follow their hearts or the opinions of those around them. A movie collaboration between two people named Sanaa ensues.
JOHNNY'S TAKE
I have a confession to make. *takes a deep breath* I am not a professional black woman. I know that's a little hard for you to believe, but it's true. I don't know what it's like to be part of the 42.4% of black women who never get married. That's what the movie claims, and who am I to question those numbers? Combine that with the fact that this is a film directed, written, and produced by black women, and it's fairly safe to say that Johnny Betts isn't exactly part of the film's target audience.
Never underestimate the importance of connecting with your target audience. Black women in the theater were laughing, clapping, and amen-ing throughout the entire runtime. It was obvious they were watching characters they could relate to. I, on the other hand, would have felt like a bit of a poser had I joined in on the applause and shouts of "you go girl!" when Kenya finally ditched her weave.
However, that doesn't preclude me from finding something to enjoy here. Granted, Something New doesn't entirely live up to its name in regard to many standard elements of the romantic comedy, but it does offer a little something new concerning its lead characters. There isn't a plethora of interracial romantic comedies. And believe it or not, this approaches the subject just a wee bit more seriously than Ashton Kutcher's Guess Who. Shocking, I know.
The moral of this story is incredibly simplistic. Blair Underwood, doing his best impersonation of a new generation Billy Dee Williams, sums it up nicely, "Something New is about how you can't determine, define, or pinpoint who you're going to fall in love with. Can you throw your list out the window, throw caution to the wind, and follow your heart?"
Thankfully, for the sake of drama, the bootylicious Kenya (who has an equally killer smile) and Mr. Five-O'Clock Shadow Brian don't find it quite so simple to just follow their hearts. Otherwise, we'd have a five-minute movie. Kenya's mom, brother, and friends all agree that she needs to continue her search for the IBM. That's "Ideal Black Man" for those of you not as well-versed in the slang as I. Astute watchers of the romantic comedy should have no problems predicting how all this will end up, but the solid acting, credible chemistry, and sporadic laughs keep your interest until the end. Unless you instinctively hate all movies in this genre.
Does Something New offer something outrageously original, creatively clever, and uproariously hilarious? Nah. But it does offer a little something different than the "date movie" norm. No doubt this will appeal more to black women who may see a little of themselves in Kenya, but similar to a Johnny Betts movie review the movie maintains enough universal appeal to avoid exclusion. Just like Brian, some of us might not be able to relate, but we can empathize.
THE GIST
Something New will have the greatest appeal to professional black women and anyone involved in an interracial relationship, but it handles its subject matter maturely enough to be respectable entertainment for people who enjoy romances in general.
Rating: 3 (out of 5)
Johnny Betts
The Movie Mark
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