It was 1999 when
The Best Man first came out. It was smash hit with most of us who were not in their nappies at the time. It was funny, it felt fresh, it was part of the new trend of movies moving away from gangs, hoes and ghettofixation of the African-American experience (of the like of
Boyz n the Hood et al). It also had a lot of beautiful people in different shades and hues of black (i.e. eye candy for both the guys and gals).
Now, close to 15 years later we get a sequel, with all the principle cast returning for a second turn but is it worth it? That is the question.
Well, if you are looking for laughs, the movie has that in spades, with Terrence Howard's character Quinton getting all the funny retorts in the movie, just like the first. There's even some great physical comedy thrown in the mix , especially from the ladies.
When it comes to laugh-out-loud moments the film has them in spades. There's a lot of drama that's mined from the consequence of the first film - which you don't need to watch 'cause the title sequence reminds you of what happened in it. Pity the drama tends to be very melodramatic at times though.
Fans of romantic comedies might eat up the melodrama like fodder but it tends to undercut some of the strong dramatic points in the film. Yet the sentiments and values the film espouses around family and friendship make it easy to overlook the melodrama. There are some genuinely touching moments and some cringeworthy melodramatic parts, especially when the guys takes the path the first film covered.
Although the plot kinda beats the same path as the first movie with tweaks - instead of having a wedding and a secret book, we have a Christmas holiday and a spectre of yet another book in the background this time.
Yet the movie recognises that time has moved on, there are more sub plots here and not all of them centred round Taye Diggs which is cool 'cause we get more of the delightful ensemble cast who are talented in the own right.
We are also treated to some touching moments that only a returning ensemble cast can pull off. Although the director Malcolm D. Lee could have shaved 30 minutes off the movie, he does he great job of juggling the comedy and drama element.
So there's a lot of fun to be had in The Best Man Holiday and some tearjerker moments too, a perfect date movie with a lot of positive values being put forward. So go check it out if you want to make the special one feel warm and gooey inside :)
Rating : ***
*junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trailer Watch Four Corners: To win you have to kill the king. Four Corners was supposed to be the "Tsotsi" of 2014 but the Oscars did not buy the sales pitch. South Africa's official entry for the Best Foreign Language film is yet another gang story but this time set in a Western Cape prison and uses the feuds between the Numbers gang as the background to this coming-of-age-story. The trailer looks cool and the film hits our circuit 28 March. I have a feeling this is going to be a classic.
Guardians of The Galaxy: It looks like the series Serenity meets Star Wars, talking trees (Vin Diesel), talking Racoons (Bradley Cooper), talking Wrestlers? Yes Batista from WWE Smackdown is in it too people... the kids might enjoy but i shall wait and see but the trailer does not look bad.