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.

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.

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

I agree with the user who said that the low rating of this fine film could be due to the fact that a number of white viewers are unused to the portrayal of black males as normal, upwardly mobile Americans. The black middle class is treated as nonexistent in real life and the focus is on economically and educationally disadvantaged members. That seems to be the image most Americans are comfortable with and find acceptable. There have been black doctors and lawyers for decades now so there is nothing unusual or new about these young men's careers or lifestyles.

Having said that, I'm glad to see black men portrayed in a normal, honest, and introspective light. We've all known young men like this but as females, we weren't privy to their private conversations. It is refreshing to know that they have worries, problems, and as many insecurities as their female counterparts and feel comfortable enough to voice them with each other.

It felt good to hear another "brother" chiding one of his friends for always referring to women as bitches, and pointing out that there was something wrong with HIM, not the women he was attempting to demean. I also liked the fact that Jessie let Brian know that ALL women expect good treatment and respect from a man and that she was no more willing to put up with his shallow, immature behavior than a black woman would. I don't think she was a ditz at all and she didn't take any mess from Judge Carla either.

Maybe one day soon we can have a movie about middle class black people without making a big deal over their race and view it as just a middle class "people" movie.

All of the "brothers" learned something about themselves and grew as men and individuals.

I thought Jenifer Lewis was exceptional in this part and I'm not even a fan. She was so convincing that I actually believed she was Louise. She was a strong, outspoken female who was a good wife and mother. She fought for what she wanted. She wanted her husband back and she got him too - and even got "ole boy" to have a second wedding at that! I found Jackson's parents relationship more interesting than his and Denise's. I was rooting for the mom and dad to get back together and I really didn't care if he and Denise did.

I'll start off by saying that this was definately worth the rental price I paid for it. The DVD was great, and I felt very satisfied with my rental. "The Brothers" was a good movie that I enjoyed while watching, but when it was over I did not have the same satisfaction that I have gotten from other films in the same genre (such as "The Best Man" or "The Wood").

For one thing, I felt at times the script was dead boring, and humor was often not used enough. D.L. was a misplaced role for sure, his "humor" did NOT shine through, which was a major trip for the film because he was supposed to be the most humorous character. Still, enjoyable roles were played by both parents, as well as the solid performances by Morris Chestnut and Gabrielle Union.

"The Brothers" of the cast all went pretty well together, and the whole basketball theme was a good background. However, "the sisters" were not a very good combination. I didn't so much enjoy their scenes together. Also the rather random discussion of rejecting their... you know what, was completely out of the blue, and it was sharply contradictary to things said both before and after that discussion. Tamala Jones was bad in this role. In fact, I really didn't like any of the female characters in this movie.

The script was not very complete at times, and there were some very random emotional scenes from time to time, like the "I need a hug" scene. Completely unnecessay! The film is wasted talent in many ways, but it still came enough together to give me a decent viewing that I enjoyed for the price. I won't rent it again though.

Interesting that as I write this review, I consider lowering my star rating because upon mental review, there are many non-satisfying aspects of this film. Still, for this I'll stick with my original rating - 6/10