Disappearing Acts

This was a well-made movie for those who want to see how a relationship is formed & broken.Wesley Snipes plays a struggling construction worker who one day wants to be a contractor falls for a music school teacher played by Sanaa Lathan who wants to be a singer.The two quickly fall for each other.But as the months go by,things fall apart as they both struggle to maintain their personal goals.Snipes shows in this picture that he can be very charming.It was good to see a softer side of his acting ability instead of the usual action-adventure he always plays.Lathan was very convincing in her part & I hope this movie will put her career up.A must see.

As much as I love a good romantic comedy, I must say that it was refreshing to get ahold of a great romantic drama. Nice to see that sometimes things don't always go smoothly like in the movies, and that some films are in touch with the people of reality. I loved the love/hate relationship of Wesley and Sanaa. They both played the parts so well, and my goodness.... wash my eyes, ears, and mouth with soap, cause the love scenes were off the chain.

I love Sanaa for many reasons, and she didn't let me down in this film. Once again, good to see an empowered woman in a decent script. Also nice to see a brotha that's not some high powered exec being able to get with a good woman. I'm rather tired of the old sucessful young man with a snob, and falling in love with the girl next door. This new, up-and-coming women falling in love with the man who made her floors is unique and a winner.

Despite ups and downs, in which I'll admit, I was very into the film and the characters - I was very pleased with the movie at its conclusion. It was not an outrageously perfect ending like too many movies I've seen, but had a real life tone to it. A feel good movie in a very different way.

One of the aspects that really drew me into the film was the musical soundtrack and the excellent use of photography for the film. There were several key scenes in which I thought the photography was so instrumental in providing me the viewer a different view of situations. Bravo to all involved in that process. As well, the music was superb, with a lot of great slow jams.

This movie isn't for viewers who don't enjoy romance/drama... it was in some sense a bit much for me, but I still enjoyed the film very much. Gina - another great film, Sanaa - I enjoy no actress more, Wesley - came through in the clutch. 8/10

DISAPPEARING ACTS is the 2000 HBO TV movie, based on the novel by Terry McMillan (WAITING TO EXHALE)that examines the relationship that develops between an uneducated and unemployed contractor (Wesley Snipes) and a music teacher/aspiring song writer (Sanaa Lathan) becomes extremely complicated when he gets her pregnant but is unable to support her. Sadly, this movie is an excruciatingly real look at relationships between black couples in society today (and before anyone calls me a bigot, I am black)...two people drawn together by sexual heat and think that this enough to keep them together until the realities of a relationship begin to rear their ugly heads, such as the the woman becoming primary bread winner and supporting both her and her man, but not wanting to give up the sex either. Not to mention the fact that these people are from two completely different worlds...Lathan's circle of friends are all intelligent folk with jobs who feel Lathan is being dragged down by a relationship whose only glue is sex. What happens between Snipes' Franklin and Lathan's Zora is not pretty, but it is undeniably real. It should also be mentioned that one unique aspect of McMillan's novel is that it is written in first person from Franklin and Zora's alternating points of view...one chapter is written by Franklin and the next by Zora, throughout the novel and this fresh perspective of looking at what happens to these people from both sides is lost in the film; however, Snipes and Lathan have never been sexier on screen and it is their chemistry that makes this movie watchable, even if you do end up taking sides, and, trust, you will end up taking sides.

Very well written, cleanly told, the story of relationships in the year 2000 reveals that things really have not changed radically, but instead have only evolved slightly. Centering on a relationship that is nominally black, it could have been refitted as any ethnic group without changing it in any vital way. Snipes proves he is a great actor, Sanaa Lathan shows that she has tuned and toned her skills during the last five years and is ready to join the ranks of the "name" actors, and the supporting cast behaves almost flawlessly.

I was a bit skeptical when seeing the previews for this movie, but it was well worth the two hours it took to watch it! Instead of the cheesy, one-sided, pro-independent-Black-woman, anti-Black-male film that I thought it was, "Disappearing Acts" was a refreshing, well-made movie that both men and women (and not necessarily just African-American) can feel. This is because the movie 1) was actually believable, 2) related to a lot of true events in this day and age that aren't really exposed much without being sensationalized, and 3) had two strong leads in Sanaa Lathan (Zora) and Wesley Snipes (Franklin)...

I think that the supporting cast could have been a bit more utilized (more so with Zora and Franklin's respective families and parents), but that is overshadowed by a powerful, emotion-stirring performance by Sanaa and Wesley. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a true-to-life, devoid-of-unneeded-drama-elements movie that you can really feel.

If this movie is half as good as the book (which everyone is telling me it is), then I shall be off to Waldenbooks for a sneak peek.