Pense como Eles

Based off the Steve Harvey bestseller, the film "Think Like A Man"opens with the legendary sound of James Brown singing "It's A Mans World". Anyone familiar with the song knows the true message of the song is in the lyrics; "but it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl".

That song choice serves as a perfect theme for this conventional romantic comedy that chronicles the timeless war of the sexes. Now I realize that the description "conventional" may come across as negative but that's not my intention entirely. I mean conventional as in "not a Madea" movie. This quality film falls more in line with Hollywood's traditional romantic comedy formula rather than Tyler Perry's "play adapted for film" approach to movie making. There are plenty of laughs interspersed through out romantic conflicts that are resolved without any significant twists or surprises.

The plot revolves around the love lives and relationships of six male friends who fall into very specific roles; the player, the mamas boy, the dreamer, the non-commiter, the happily married man and the happy divorcée.

For the most part these guys are blissfully ignorant of the dissatisfaction that the significant others in their lives silently suffer through.

That is until the women discover and read Steve Harvey's book "Think Like A Man, Act Like A Woman". Acting on the advice of the book, the women manipulate the men into becoming the type of man they each want and getting the relationships they desire. So can the "player" be tamed by the girl who keeps her "cookie" on lock down for at least 90 days? Can the single mom get the "mama's boy" to cut the emotional umbilical cord he shares with his overbearing, over nurturing mother (played pitch perfect by Jennifer Lewis)? And what happens when the fellas realize that they've been "betrayed" by Steve Harvey and then use the book against the ladies like a sports team with knowledge of the opposing teams plays.

Although the majority of the cast is Black, the story (due to Steve Harvey's source material) and the comedy (thanks mostly to Kevin Hart) is broad enough to appeal to almost all audiences unlike some of Tyler Perry's movies which tend to cater  specifically to Black women.

Every actor and actress does an adequate job in their various roles and move the film easily from scene to scene. There are plenty of cameos that make the film fun but Kevin Hart deserves special recognition because he absolutely shines! He redefines the term "scene stealer" by being the most enjoyable character every time he appears on screen.

Although many people will consider this a Black romantic comedy, this film is really too strong to be pigeonholed into that genre.  But if you must classify it as such, then know that this movie breaks Tyler Perry's stronghold and breaks out of the Madea mold of what Black entertainment is.

"No one will ever win the battle of the sexes; there's too much fraternizing with the enemy." Henry Kissinger

From early literature, at the very least Chaucer, the war between the sexes has been a topic of the best writers, notably Shakespeare in his Taming of the Shrew, among others.

Now Think Like a Man, based on Steve Harvey's best-selling Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, takes the topic for a modern spin, and a pleasant one at times, at other times just too long. The boys, really grown men but film prefers to keep them like adolescents for as long as possible, have varying degrees of difficulties with their women. The film has arranged the tale in episodes that feature each type, e.g., mama's boy, non-committer, and the player. The ladies have a secret weapon to win the engagement ring prize--the book, Act Like a Woman, Think Like a Man, promoted by a smarmy talk show host played by Harvey himself.

Such tips as making a suitor wait for 90 days before sex and increasing standards are among the many strategies that help the women deal with intractable male slacking and avoidance. The episodes are sometimes funny and all devoid of scatological surprises as have come to be common in modern male-centered Hangover and Bridesmaids comedies.

It's not just the absence of crudity that makes this a pleasant film; it's that at times it has respect for the adults absent in comedies of late. Sure, the film has caddish men and pushy women, but they have a civility that sets them apart from the rest of the contemporary comedy scenes. Cedric Kevin Hart) is not classy but as the manic divorced one with stories to tell, he serves to keep the plodding sermonizing from sinking the film.

When the men learn about the book and turn that knowledge into weapon, the film gets interesting. After that strategy gets its challenge, the rest of the film trails off lamely into another Shakespearean observation: all's well that ends well.

I'm proud of this film's success. Will Packer and Rainforest work hard and they deserve it. But this film is weak on so many levels. Being based on a "self-help" book, this screenplay was crammed with nothing but on-the-nose dialogue that left me bored and fidgety for the most part. Outside of Kevin Hart, there wasn't a single thing funny about this film. Okay, maybe once or twice I laughed but one time it was at something I don't think was meant to be funny (actor Romany Malco singing with his guitar). You can't call a film a comedy where only one character was remotely, or should I say barely humorous. I found more humor in dramas like American Beauty, City Lights, and The Graduate.

This film seemed to just flat-line from beginning to end. When I say flat, I mean literally flat. Nothing happened until the guy-meets-girl moments, and that took a while to get to. Once the relationships started, the weak conflicts seemed to be limited to the superficiality of Steve Harvey's best selling book. No inner conflicts, not even conflict on the extra-personal level.

I could've done without most of the characters which can read like a list of players on a football team. They had no purpose and added nothing to the telling, like the married guy amongst them, Bennett played by Gary Owen. I know a lot of people loved this film. But can anyone seriously say they got to know any of the characters? Also, I had a hard time buying most of the relationships. The worst of them all had to be Jerry Ferrara with Gabrielle Union. It was like having to suspend your disbelief watching them together and that didn't even work for me. I didn't believe they even knew each, let alone them being in a 13 year relationship. At a glance, I would faster believe Union was Ferrara's babysitter or nanny, not her man. It was one big spoof to me.

The next absurd relationship was Regina Hall and the guy from 106 and Park, Terrence Jenkins. I didn't believe he and Hall went to high school at the same time. In fact, she could've passed for his mother as well.

Taraji Henson's relationship with Michael Ealy was also hard to stomach, as I had trouble believing a woman with her success in business wouldn't question Ealy's facade.

I liked the relationship between Meagan Good and Romany Malco but it was so contrived, like everything else about this film.

And the next black film made showing black friends discussing their relationships while trying to play basketball should have little-tree car re-fresheners hanging from theater ceilings for the sake of audiences. Why? Because such expository scenes are a load of steaming crap. Guys don't stand around on the court discussing such things, or play ball while having those kinds of conversations. I know they did it in The Brothers (2001) and it was b.s. then as it still is now.

The telling had no direction, no point-of-view. It could've been anyone or anything's story at any given time, which left me confused and disengaged. I was waiting for the fire hydrant's storyline eventually.

I really wanted to like it, but I couldn't. In the end, I was dissatisfied and utterly annoyed.

I watched this movie not expecting anything great, taking in consideration its very low IMDb rating. It completely proved me wrong, and it absolutely made my day. It was funny, charming, and full of really great moments. I loved the fact that the movie was following more than one relationship. It has a great storyline. The characters are great, and all the couples in the movie have great chemistry between them. Even though Cedric was the funniest character in the movie, all the others always had something pretty funny to say. I loved seeing Turtle in something else besides Entourage, he's a really great actor. The soundtrack is also amazing. I would definitely recommend this to all my friends.

Friend of mine referred me to this movie to go see with my girl. I saw the rating on IMDb and was hesitant. However, he insisted, so I went for it.

The movie is funny as hell. It may run for two hours but for me and my girl it passed by quickly; there's always something going on keeping you interested or making you laugh.

I don't need to write a detailed review. If you're hesitant, don't be...it's worth it!

PS I'd really give this movie an 8, but I feel like the current rating is way too low.

Another PS: I'm not black!