Exit Strategy

Literally batshit crazy. The entire movie is just bizarre... The summary I read was completely wrong. This is a movie about a pathetic guy who can't get his life together and wants his girlfriend to break up with him, instead of him doing it, because somehow he thinks that means he'll still get to mooch off of her and get to still sleep on her couch. But she's a complete lunatic, how he didn't know that in the 3 months prior to moving in, who knows, but she's the type of girl you'd run away from 5 minutes in to the first date. So the entire movie is just a crazy pathetic mess. It's not worth the dollar I rented it for. complete waste of time.

I am normally partial to any genre an was excited to see what this film entailed after reading the reviews.

As it turns out, I should have put my trust in the readers stars! The awkward and constant pauses were painful to watch, the acting was horrible and the plot did not make sense at all!

And as for the ending? I wouldn't know, I couldn't get through it! It is regrettable because the general plot, or the idea seed that was planted would have been good with a better script, better direction, & better acting.

I was very confused that this was labeled a comedy also. I mean, I would normally watch an entire movie, then pass my personal judgment, like/hate/in-between. I really hoped it would pick up but didn't. Sorry to be harsh, & yes this is my personal opinion. So in my personal opinion, if you are looking for laughs, a good time, an entertaining plot, or an enjoyable watch, I would do one thing:

Avoid.

I totally giggled watching this movie. The chemistry between the main characters is beautiful to watch. Their sense of comedic timing made it all the more enjoyable. I brought my boyfriend to see this at the rave theater and he liked it too - but still won't admit that he laughed just as much as I did. The colors were fun - the pink was all too familiar with me and my girlfriends. I just love pink pink pink. Kevin hart was super laughs of course, but not any more than the other actors, which says a lot. The party scene by the pool was my favorite. The editing made me excited and wanted to be there with them. They must have had a good time making this. I recommend this movie because it's definitely outside the box of the typical rom-com, or should I say, un-rom-com - Nice to see a movie like this rise above all the Hollywood studio flops. You can make funny and inexpensive entertainment for the masses. Exit Strategy is proof.

What's interesting about this film, is that it does not address race. It's not labeled as a "Black movie" and the plot does not have anything to do with race. Weathers and James, both African-American, are the main characters and their issues in the film don't necessarily relate to their racial identities. Also, they each have a diverse group of friends in the film.

Many may argue that the majority of films we see with a Black cast, either harp on stereotypes or focus on an issue dealing with race. While dealing with race is important, are there enough films where we can just be light?

The world is full of low-budget comedies vying for notice. Some of them are worthy; some of them should just disappear.

Exit Strategy is far from a perfect film, but it does have enough good aspects to make it worth the look. And it does hint that star and co-writer Jameel Saleem has the potential to make a very good film down the line. He is not quite there yet, but I bet he'll make it.

Saleem plays James, a lazy, but basically personable guy who works at a second-hand store in LA with his two best friends from college, Carville (Quincy Harris) and Leona (Noelle Balfour). One day he comes home to find out he has been evicted from his apartment.

He tries to hit his friends up, but when they both turn him down he decides to movie in with Kim (Kimelia Weathers), a girl he had been dating a few months. Honestly, it hadn't been going that great, he didn't know her that well and they hadn't even had sex yet. Still, James figures that she'll take him in, give him run of the house, cook for him, clean for him and that sex thing will have to come if they are living in the same house, right?

However, it doesn't turn out quite how he expects. She's a neat freak, has a fetish for pink, expects him to follow her rules of the house – and sex is off of the table until he's ready to consider marriage.

James' character would be offensive if not for the fact that he is lightly mocked by everyone in the film for his character deficiencies. He wants to sponge off of his girlfriend – live in her apartment, eat her food, watch her TV – and yet is horrified to think that she may have expectations from him as well. Or that she does not necessarily want things in her life done her way.

It seems like a reasonable expectation. In fact, though, that is just about the only reasonable thing about the girlfriend, which is by far the film's worst aspect.

That's because his girlfriend is a horror show. I realize that she is way over the top on purpose, for effect, but she is so off-putting that the rest of the film suffers.

It's supposed to be funny, and in some ways it is, but the character is so unbelievable and so over-the-top that you can't buy it. Also, her whims seem to blow with the wind, changing her from sweet to psycho without a moment's notice. She seems bi-polar and you always wonder why he just doesn't leave.

However, he can't move out because his two best friends from college won't let him sponge off them. Hey, here's a thought. Get your own place and then you can live however you want.

Instead, James ends up bitching to his friends, planning his escape and calling Kim out on a radio talk show. Radio personality Big Boy, plays himself in the studio – as well as being one of the film's producers – and for some reason, he and his posse are always filmed in ethereal layered soft focus, making every scene he does feel like a dream sequence.

The story idea is a bit awkward, but on the plus side Saleem and Weathers (who based her character on a stand-up idea she had been working) actually have a really good ear for dialogue. The writing is often much smarter and snappier than the situation it is illustrating.

Therefore, Exit Strategy shows real promise. If Saleem can just get his act together as far as plotting and learn to dump some of the extraneous gutter humor, the guy could be someone to keep an eye on.