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(Disclaimer: We are not professional film critics. What we are is a husband and wife team that knows that finding a babysitter can sometimes be hard and finding money for date night can be even harder so that last thing we want you to do is waste a precious date night opportunity on a flick that is a dud.)
by Lamar and Ronnie Tyler
Last Friday afternoon we took the time to see the TD Jakes film that everyone is talking about Jumping the Broom. In a nutshell, the movie Jumping the Broom, was a pleasant surprise for us and we walked away thinking this was a great comedic love story that I could be watched again and again.
The movie was centered on the romance between Sabrina Watson (Paula Patton) and Jason Taylor (Laz Alonzo.) Sabrina is a promising young professional that comes from wealthy parents “old money” and Jason is a self made, successful career man that comes from working class parents. Sabrina meets Jason after she makes a deal with God promising to remain abstinent until she’s married. It’s really quite cute how Jason and Sabrina meet and six months later they are engaged to be married.
The real drama begins when Jason’s widowed mother, Pam (Lorreta Devine) shows up at Sabrina’s parent’s Martha’s Vineyard estate for the wedding. Pam and Sabrina’s mother, Claudine (Angela Basset) instantly clash and there is a bitter war between classes that ensues up until the vows are said.
Ronnie (Her View):
So what did I like? I liked that I could actually pickup on the messages in the movie. Sabrina looked inward and focused on herself…and the “good man” that she wanted came to her. This is something that I always tell people, if you want to attract a good man/woman …then focus on being a better you.
There were other messages that I picked up on such as forgiveness and that in relationships you will be “tested” but you have to stick together in order to make it through. Additionally, I thought the movie was funny without being too vulgar. And finally, it was a very endearing love story that I could watch again and again.
There were a couple of things that I did not like. I thought the mothers, Pam and Claudine, were too over-the-top bitter and angry. As an African American woman, I am having problems with seeing black women being depicted as so angry all of the time. Yes there are some angry women out there, but not all of them. So perhaps both mothers did not have to be such ice queens.
Lamar (His View):
I must admit because I promote marriage and films about it on a full time basis I walk into most marriage\relationship movies with a slanted view but I was pleasantly surprised at how good Jumping the Broom was. Of course it delivered a cast chocked full of big name actors and actresses and they all delivered. My favorite characters in the film perhaps weren’t even the main couple Paula Patton and Laz Alonso but instead Lil Romeo and Tasha Smith. They had me cracking up through the entire film or every time that Mike Epps didn’t.
The film was full of cultural pointers that many are familiar with in the African American community but overall I think they did a good job of not overdoing the stereotypes. I say this in spite of the fact that were doing the cupid shuffle in the closing scene (because we know that no black film is complete without a line dance) LOL.
If you’ve got to find a babysitter, pull a few dollars from the cookie jar and don’t want to waste one of the few opportunities for a date night that pop up every blue moon I’d be happy to say go see Jumping the Broom. Chances are you won’t be disappointed.
BMWK family, did you see the movie yet? We’ve seen some mixed reviews around the web what did you think?