Guess Who - Meine Tochter kriegst du nicht!

When it was released in 1967, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was acclaimed as a "breakthrough" film for its lighthearted, yet serious, depiction of an interracial romance. In the years since, society has moved so far in the direction of acceptance of so-called "mixed marriages" that any remake is bound to feel, at least to some extent, superfluous and anachronistic. And that is exactly the case with "Guess Who," a 2005 update whose abbreviated title is only the first of the many changes the filmmakers have rung on the Stanley Kramer original.

The screenwriters' first alteration involves switching the race roles, so that it is now a black family having to accept a white male as a prospective in-law rather than the other way around. Bernie Mac assumes the Spencer Tracy role as the father whose world is turned upside down when his beloved daughter brings a Caucasian boyfriend (Ashton Kutcher as a white Sidney Poitier) home to meet the family. On the distaff side, we have Judith Scott taking over for Katherine Hepburn as the understanding mother and Zoe Saldana replacing Katherine Houghton as the freethinking daughter.

Since interracial marriage is no longer the hot-button issue it once was, the filmmakers have been forced to inject a number of other non-race-related plot complications into the mix to develop and maintain the conflict and drama. Thus, we have Kutcher trying to hide the fact from both his fiancé and her family that he has recently quit his high-paying job at a prestigious firm and that he may, in fact, be the target of a securities-and-exchange commission probe. Indeed, with Kutcher spending most of his time trying to win over his critical and overbearing future father-in-law, "Guess Who" feels more like a remake of "Meet the Parents" than of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." The real problem with "Guess Who" is that it rarely has the courage of its convictions. Having decided to tackle a relatively dicey topic, the film too often drops the issue in favor of scenes that wouldn't pass muster even on a third-rate sitcom. For every scene that is incisive and daring - i.e. Kutcher telling a series of black jokes at the family dinner table - there is another that is pure Hollywood hokum (Mac and Kutcher sleeping in the same bed together, Mac and Kutcher having a go-cart race to determine who has the higher testosterone level and the greater machismo, etc.).

All of the performers are fine, especially Mac and Kutcher in the lead roles. However, they just haven't been given very sophisticated material to work with here. "Guess Who" might have been a better film had it aimed more for genuine, hard-edged satire and less for lowbrow slapstick and predictable romantic comedy sentimentality.

Still, it's been 38 years since "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" first shocked the nation with its in-your-face defiance of miscegenation laws, and the world has since moved on to other issues of social injustice and marital definition. Which is why, in the year 2005, "Brokeback Mountain" was a breakthrough film and "Guess Who" was not.

Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) is trying to protect his daughter Theresa (Zoe Saldana) from ending up with the wrong guy, and though he does a thorough background check on her new boyfriend Simon (Ashton Kutcher), there's only one thing his research didn't tell him. He's white and he wants to marry his daughter.

The "meeting the parents" premise has been done to death recently with Monster-in Law and Meet the Fockers being the most recent films. However, what the film lacks in originality, it makes it up with laughs. There were a lot of funny moments and the movie hardly ever got boring. However, most of the funny bits were used in the trailer and this makes the jokes a little less effective since they are already expected. Also, the repeat value of the movie is very low. It's worth watching once but that's pretty much it. I don't think that's a bad thing since most light comedies are like that.

I think the film works well because of the two leads. Both Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher give funny performances and they have nice chemistry together. Their scenes were the best and they never felt forced. Zoe Saldana also gives a good performance and she has come a long way from appearing in Crossroads. Most of the supporting actors are also funny including Judith Scott, who plays Bernie Mac's wife. Mike Epps also makes a cameo though it wasn't that good.

Kevin Rodney Sullivan directs and he only does an okay job. The first half of the film is pretty funny and the racial issues are handled lightly. During the second half, the film becomes all serious and it's kind of awkward. The director ditches the laughs for awhile and he approaches the issue in a mature manner. It kind of works but some of the serious scenes felt fake. It seemed like the actors were about to burst out laughing at any second and the film also got kind of dull. The ending was surprisingly strong though. The changes of tone in the film worked out okay but they weren't as effective as they could have been. In the end, Guess Who is worth a rental, nothing more though. Rating 7/10

In New York, the Afro-American Theresa Jones (Zoë Saldaña) goes to the suburb of New Jersey with her Caucasian boy-friend Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) for the renewal of the vows of her parents after twenty-five years marriage. Her father, the racist banker Percy Jones (Bernie Mac), does not accept the white Simon and does not give a break to Simon. In the end, love is beautiful, and all the family problems are fixed.

Although having the theme "visiting the family", which is very explored in comedies by Hollywood, the beginning of "Guess Who" is funny, with many hilarious racist situations. I laughed a lot, for example, with the confusion of Percy with the cab driver in the arrival of Simon to his house; or with the stupid dialogs of Simon with Percy, making the situations worse and worse. There are some jokes at the grandfather's dinner table that I did not understand (for example, the joke with the "ho" sister). Bernie Mac is simply perfect in the role of a very racist black man, and Aston Kutcher is very good in the role of an impulsive young guy that does not think before speaking. Indeed his character is too much silly to be a good and disputed professional in business. Unfortunately, in a certain moment the story become boring and corny, certainly for commercial interests in order to have a politically correct conclusion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Família da Noiva" ("The Family of the Bride")

You're right euroman1970: Ashton can't act his way out of a paper bag. He should have never been able to pursue a career after "That 70's Show". Bernie tries to carry the weight of the movie on his shoulders, but it is too much. The movie has its funny moments, but I didn't feel any chemistry between Bernie and Ashton; almost as if they were walking through their lines. In the taxi scene Ashton looks right into the camera! What a sloppy actor! The plot is also in need of some serious repair. I wish I could have paused the movie in the theater so I could announce what was going to happen next.

Overall, I give it a 3/10.

And it's still funny and romantic. Bernie Mac, Ashton kutcher and Zoë Zaldaña had a great chemistry in the screen.