The Brothers

Wow i saw this movie and thought is was quite fun to watch, and then look at the ratings here and see the majority of them are ones. Serious black films get critique harder then other films because black viewers want to have a great black film. So a movie with like this with well-to-do men, exagerated characters, and lots of mood lightening humor wont win any academy awards. But thats not to say this is a bad film. Its very good at what it tries to do. This film is enjoyable whether you are white or black.

This movie is about 4 men having difficulty to make a commitment. It is always nice to watch a movie with mostly African-American actors because even though if such a movie is only average there are still several mighty fine women to be seen like Gabrielle Union in this case. Nothing memorable but not bad for a rainy day.

I can't believe this movie has received a 5.4 on IMDb. Ratings like that make me lose trust in IMDb critics. This movie is NOT a Tyler Perry, low-quality movie and VASTLY deserves a higher rating than a 5.4! Come on now!

When I first saw this movie years ago, I was impressed. As I've caught it recently on the cable movie channels, I realized my first impression was not a fluke. This really IS a quality film. (DISH Network agrees, it gets 3 out of 4 stars on their rating system.) Funny, but not slapstick. Great acting (I have to admit I was surprised at how well the cast did, especially Gabrielle Union who at the time was a newcomer and DL Hughley whose specialty is comedy.) "Real" characters, real dialogue. Good drama. Even some unpredictability. This movie comes across as genuine and broaches the issues of relationships and friendships and even family much more realistically than does say the self-prescribed relationship flick, "Why Did I Get Married?"

Even if I hate to (at the risk of adding to the unfairly low rating of this movie), I have to offer honest criticism so that this critique can have integrity. There were some parts of the storyline that were too manufactured and soap opera-ish (enter the girlfriend who just happened to date the father of the man she's fallen in love with) and other parts that were a little too cheesy for what was otherwise a realistic, relatable expose on relationships (enter the two main characters end up together after the overused "man begs for woman back after woman has 'moved on'). Other parts wrap up a little too neatly as well, as all the characters get their happy ending, most of the conflicted characters come around and miraculously see the light, lol (like the unaffectionate mother of Bellamy's character somehow realizing the err of her ways and *gasp* hugging her son for the first time and professing her love, or Moore's character suddenly wanting to be with the woman he just essentially stood up at the alter again.)

But those knocks on the film are not significant because the film at its essence is a feel-gooder. It's not deep, it doesn't offend, it doesn't make you uncomfortable. It makes you laugh and think a little and smile after it goes off. That's what it sets out to do and the mission was accomplished. You will enjoy your movie-watching experience.

7.5

Four professional young black men have a strong friendship that has lasted through relationships and work – even if sometimes it just means getting together for hoops and then drinks at the club. Jackson has commitment issues, Derrick is married, Brian is out for bodies only while Terry is respected for his sexual exploits. So when Terry announces his engagement to new girlfriend BeBe it is met with a mixed reception – cynicism, disbelief and happiness. As Terry prepares for his wedding, the others are having their own relationship issues that will brings changes to all of their lives.

It is rare to find a film about a group of black men where the only clear sight of a gun is in a white woman's purse and is met with a black man asking it to be removed from his house. Such is the overwhelming force of gangsterisms, guns and machoisms in black culture that I felt I was almost duty bound to see a film that tries something different. However "different" is no guarantee of quality and indeed this film is frustratingly uneven and inconsistent. The basic plot offers a good chance to get inside the heads of four men (regardless of colour) and at times it manages to do this in interesting ways as well as providing some genuinely funny and reasonably realistic banter. However for every moment that is like this there seems to be two where it'll head off into sentimentalism, soap opera drama or outright dumb plot device. It is a shame because generally the film is distracting mush that isn't too sentimental but is still basic to the point where it washed over me – it was only these bad moments that stuck in my throat for one reason or another. The conclusion is suitably mushy and is a fine summary of the film – unconvincing, mushy, unlikely, melodramatic but still reasonably fun forgettable stuff.

The cast are mixed but mostly match the level of the material by being predictable and a bit unimaginative. Chestnut is probably the best of the cast and makes for a nice leading man – good looks, a bit of charm and the ability to say his lines naturally all help. Hughley is funny and, although he doesn't make a convincing character and is a bit of a caricature but is still fun and his scenes have energy. Bellamy and Moore are somewhat non-events, with the latter very wooden and failing to make an impression on me. The females are generally young and attractive but lack the material served up to the men (which itself isn't that great). Union is sexy but her character doesn't convince and she doesn't know what to do with it. Jones works well with Hughley but Ali, Dalian, Lewis and others generally just hang around with basic lines and no characters to speak of – Ali in particular gets nothing to work with and seems to be there just to draw a laugh from hearing the innocent young Fresh Prince star talking about her "pu**y".

Overall then a distracting and reasonably amusing film that has some good moments but annoys in the ease with which it just slips into sentimental melodrama etc. The performances are mixed and none of them really help lift the material to something that could have been amusing and interesting. Forgettable fluff that isn't bad but just generally isn't that good.

This is a very funny and heartfelt movie that uses every urban movie cliche of the last 20 years but still wins based on good performances by its cast. D.L. Hughley and Bill Bellamy are particularly good and both extremely funny. Bellamy plays the "player" but ends up sad and kind of lonely as the film moves on. Morris Chestnut is always good in dramatic roles and this is no different. "The Brothers" works and is enjoyable even if we've seen most of this before.