Ways of the Flesh

Watched 20 minutes of this last night and stopped. My wife and I both agreed that nothing could save this film so why continue with the torture of watching. I understood the plot but the way they went about it was brutal. The transitions between scenes were horrible. It seemed to jump from one scene to another without any connection. Wood Harris was not the best actor to be cast in his part. I saw nothing positive out of this film to keep my interest. I love Zoe Saldana, but this will be just a tiny bump on her career. I feel for those who went to see it and had to sit there and suffer. I'm glad it was on Showtime so I simply just changed the channel.

I have seen many reviewers like this film because it avoids the typical stereotypes and negative images that some films, built around a Black cast, tend to lean on. I say look at "Love Jones", "Love and Basketball", "The Best Man" and "Brown Sugar" as films that gave us a well rounded script which is built on all aspects of Black culture. If you are looking for the Indie style of film with a Black cast, I have enjoyed "Hav Plenty" and "I'm Through with White Girls." I've seen flaws with these films also but I would recommend them. As for "The Heart Specialist", I love seeing our people on the big screen, but I personally cannot recommend this film to anyone.

So I don't ruin it for you, I'll be very brief. There's some great acting and funny lines from the attractive cast. A young graduate of Harvard Med School (Brian White) finds out he doesn't know as much as he thinks about people. He goes to a small hospital in Florida for his internship because a girlfriend (Mya) left him for a job as a TV Producer. His Senior Resident (Wood Harris), helped marvelously by his 'creative collaborator'(Zoe Saldana) bring him up to speed. They help protect his career and show him the wider possibilities that come from being a compassionate doctor instead of a player who just wants to make money (as seems to be true for many of my pre-med friends).

This is a really funny (and sexy) movie - that is not just silly but has great acting. It's the kind of movie where the characters are so entertaining that you feel like you are connected to everyone in the theater. I saw it at the Boston film festival, and I found myself frequently laughing out loud with everyone else, and also moved by some of the movie's more serious parts. It's a unique movie about two doctors, and I don't want to give anything away but there are some powerful scenes as well really funny ones - plus the dialogue is great. Wood Harris' character has a unique relationship with his girlfriend Zoe Saldana, and Brian White and Mya are also funny and sexy in their roles. If you get a chance to see it - go - you won't be disappointed. It's worth seeing again. Wood Harris deserves an award.

I saw the movie & I have to say that I enjoyed it tremendously. It was light & entertaining but it has a solid story line where anybody including myself can follow & relate to the story line. It portrays the daily things that could happen in life - happy/positive or sad/negative. Not only I was entertained by this movie, I also felt that I learned a thing or two about how people grow through life experiences. Each character plays a very distinct & interesting role. They are all fit into a great story & it has a great mix of characters. Love it! Love it! Love it! I definitely recommend this movie. I hope it will do well at the theaters. I definitely would like to see more of this kind of movie.

I had to give this film a 10 simply because it did what so many films thrown at black audiences have FAILED MISERABLY to do. This film was void of all the video whore clichés, and it also skipped the gangsters, rappers, and foul language. It examined several relationships among physicians, African Americans, and African American male/female romantic relationships on a completely new and refreshing level. I was highly impressed with the films careful mix of light headed humor with some pretty tough and heavy issues. The film will leave you feeling happy and sad all at the same time. I saw it at the Boston Film Festival as well. It premiered at AMC Loews Boston and I truly hope this film makes it to much larger audiences. Black People (and EVERYONE else) would LOVE a movie like this- if only the industry was SMART enough to put them out there!

As an extra- if your a doctor, a resident, a medical student, a premedical student, married to a doctor, have a doctor sibling, have a doctor in the family, or know a great doctor period- they would love this film as well. It portrayed residency and the practice in a true-to-life way that was greatly appreciated by the doctors, residents, and medical students who viewed the film. Dennis Cooper completely his residency in internal medicine- so he definitely applied his knowledge/experience to the film and that is greatly apparent.