Brown Sugar

My summary of the movie is my opinion. I love this movie because I feel that Sidney Shaw is using a metaphor throughout the whole movie. She is comparing Hip Hop to her best friend Dre, both of which are alike. I find this movie amazing because of all the metaphors found within the movie, that only one can find if they look closely.

For example, when Sidney and Dre are in the store looking at something to buy for her new place, they come across a "vase" and the woman at the store explains to them that many couples enjoy that piece. Later within the movie, you see that that vase is in Sidney's house.

I also enjoy this movie because everything that is said, and everything that is done within the movie has a meaning behind it. Foreshadowing is found everywhere, you just have to look closely enough for it. Nothing in this movie is done without a reason.

Every line said within the movie is said beautifully and has significance behind it. My favourite line within the movie, that I've carried with me ever since I heard it is, "So what is the difference between rap and hip-hop? It's simple. It's like the difference between saying you love somebody and being IN love with somebody. Rap is just a word." When I heard that line, I fell in love with this movie and I had to watch it over again, and I have watched it many times. Each time I find more meanings that I missed the first time. What I like even more about this movie is that they use actual artists in the movie that state their opinion on "When they first fell in love with Hip Hop." "Brown Sugar" spoke to me. It's real. Nothing in it is fake like in the majority of movie's these days which is why I think I enjoy it so much. I recommend this movie to anyone who has a passion about something or to anyone who looks for significant meanings behind anything.

This movie is ultimately one of the best love stories i have seen on film.You don't even have to like hip hop to enjoy this movie. It will make you laugh, and it will even make you cry(tears of joy). Lathan and Diggs light up the screen together. It's a beautiful love story which sends a message of how to friends can really fall in love. It will certainly make you think twice about that friend of the opposite sex, that you have known for years, that you find attractive, that doesn't have a mate. It's just a wonderful movie to see, its not too raunchy on language or sex scenes. It's kind of funny how something like hip hop music can join two people together.

A delightful film from the beginning to the end. I liked this film for so many reasons. The primary reasons are the following:

1) A creative and deep look at the impact of hip hip as a music and culture on individuals 2) Beautiful chemistry between the characters Sidney and Dre. 3) Mos Def - period 4) Sanaa Lathan - for her essense as an actress in this film, as well as her amazing beauty. 5) Hip Hop Cameos

The start of the film was especially interesting with the old school (and some new) artists explaining their love of hip hop. I've grown so tired of seeing these new rap films with phony actors like Master P, Snoop, and the Roc-A-Fella crew. It was rewarding to see hip hop artists in a film IN THEIR ELEMENT. With that, I'd like to point out that Mos Def has established himself as one of the few rappers who has sucessfully crossed into the film industry without totally insulting the quality of movies (2pac, Will Smith, Ice-T to some degree, and Eve are a few of the better acting ones).

Aside from the hip-hop aspects, the romantic part of the movie worked very well for me. I really enjoyed the up and down relationship of Sidney and Dre. It helps that I love Sanaa Lathan no doubt, but overall it really was an enjoyable romantic comedy in that aspect. Taye Diggs was cast well as Dre, and I thought he showed a good perspective on the being-real v. getting-money battle that so many in the industry go through.

The Cameos were great with everyone from Russell Simmons to good ol' Angie M. up in the New York Studios. Personally surprising to me was seeing one of the assisant basketball coaches at my univeristy appear as a bartender. Questlove, Kool G. Rap, De La Soul all had good comments.

I can't refrain from commenting on Mos Def's character hitting up on Queen Latifah. hahaha, what a great series of scenes. Also cool was the reappearing blue vase (notice that?).

If you haven't seen the film, go out and rent it. Enjoy! 9/10

Brown Sugar (2002) could have been retitled Love & Hip-hop if only to simplify matters. Like Love & Basketball, it marries the tried-and-true romantic flick formula to the emergence of mainstream "black" culture. Because of these similarities and the presence of Sanaa Lathan, most viewers will quickly lump Brown Sugar into one of two pools. They will either see it as yet another "black" film about a lifestyle that was once counter-cultural and is now, thanks to MTV, cliched or as one more in a long line of romantic comedies.

This film fits into both categories but is far better than most of its fellow films. The hip-hop culture is a childhood background that has turned into a profitable lifestyle for Dre and Sid, the two main characters. Their careers are products of the American craze for pop culture but their love for hip-hop is strong enough to allow them the hope that they can somehow make a difference in the business. Films with black stars tend either to drown them with imagery of the ghetto (a la Menace II Society, Baby Boy, etc) or completely ignore the African-American element, dress the characters in business suits, and absorb them into the "white" corporate world of success. Brown Sugar does neither. Hip-hop is natural to Dre and Sid and is present in their conversations without being obtrusive. Writer Michael Elliot is wise to let them lead their lives in the corporate world without ever losing their childhood backgrounds.

In the other camp, romantic comedies generally sacrifice character development and plausibility to accomodate the dreaded near-misses, love misunderstandings, and the climatic scene where the man publicly confesses his undying love. For the most part, Brown Sugar steers clear of these pitfalls and remains true to its characters. The movie never pretends that any of its characters are perfect or indeed that any of them are ever sure of any of their emotions. This is not a fairy tale movie where characters have sex because they are in love. This film is more realistic. The characters are young and romantic at heart and for one reason or another, they find sex first. That then leads them to at least the misguided pretense of love. As one character explains it, "put a man and a woman together for long enough and something's bound to happen." Infidelity is shown as a sign of emotional uncertainty not of villainy. Even the best of the characters eventually considers it. But neither Famuyiwa's camera or Elliot's script vilify them for it. The characters earn the viewer's sympathy despite their mistakes and when confronted by their angry spouses, they do try their best to be honest and direct.

The script also avoids the kinds of contrived jealousy traps that most romantic comedies rely on. When one character finally falls for another and acts on his feelings, he is not lead astray by a misunderstanding. He arrives early enough to realize that she has managed to find love elsewhere while he was making up his mind, but too late to do anything about it. Even the public pronouncement of love is cleverly flipped. All in all, this movie should be watched by anyone who has seen one too many weak romantic or African-American comedies and needs to be reminded that a string of bad movies does not ruin a genre.

I just loved this movie!!!! It brought back the "old-fashioned" love story. Everyone was so good in it but I thought the actor who stood out was Mos Def especially with his "Humphrey Bogart/Casablanca" analogy. It was just too funny and yet it made a lot of sense. Also his conversation with Boris Kodjoe in the kitchen was also very funny. This (to me) seems to be the first piece of film work that took hip-hop seriously and beautifully incorporated it into a love story. I was also impressed with the fact that there was no nudity and hardly no profanity.