Black Coffee

In this cute, little independent film, Darren Henson stars as Robert, an all around nice guy and painter who just got fired from his job.He soon gets dumped by his girlfriend, the clueless, gold digging Mita (Erica Hubbard), who leaves him for his boss. Robert is then convinced by his cousin Julian played by the gorgeous and very charming Christian Keyes to help him distribute coffee. The magic begins when he visits a book store and encounters the lovely Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis), a beautiful attorney who he falls for at first sight.

For starters, Darren Henson and Gabrielle Dennis give good performances and have great chemistry. Their budding romance is endearing and they are truly a joy to watch. In addition, the sudden romance between Hill and Mita is charming and adorable. Opposites attract as Hill brings Mita down to earth while Mita helps Hill to open up more and have fun. Although they're cute together, it would've been nice to see Mita reach a level of independence on her own without being romantically linked to anyone.

Although nothing new to the screen, "Black Coffee" is a good movie to watch. If you're in the mood for some decent acting and some cute romance, rent "Black Coffee". You won't be disappointed.

A great date movie, Darren Dewitt Henson and Gabrielle Dennis have undeniable chemistry in this light romantic comedy. Christian Keys and Erica Hubbard provide the laughs. I saw this at the first matinée showing in Alexandria, VA and there were a lot of laughs in the theater. This indie is set in LA. With cinematography by Adam Lee, Black Coffee has a glossy and finished look. All the actors look beautiful and director Mark Harris's earnest message of black professionalism and empowerment is a refreshing change from the stereotypes of African-Americans all to frequently seen on film. Currently in limited release, in Chicago, D.C., Baltimore and Atlanta, it deserves a wider release. Go, you will be glad you did.

Director, Mark Harris has taken another leap forward in his career with this latest addition of "Black Coffee."

The delicate balance of black relationships is hard to capture in an authentic and heart felt way for most filmmakers, but Mark's command of subtle nuance pulls it off brilliantly here. I am particularly impressed with the way the storyline remains entertaining and sexy without ever going "raunchy". I appreciate Marks level of sophistication and taste.

Black Coffee is a great relationship film for anyone of any background and especially those brothers and sisters in the world looking for love today. Great insights into the minds of men and women.

A must rent for date night.

Just caught the movie Black Coffee on BET tonight. I wasn't familiar with the director (Mark Harris) nor the two lead actors, and I have to admit my expectations were not high, as a matter of fact, the only thing I was expecting was to be changing the channel after about fifteen minutes. Well, let me just say, that as the final credits rolled by, I found myself having been pleasantly entertained.

First, let me give you a synopsis of the film; Robert (the charming Darrin Dewitt Henson) is having a bad day. First he gets fired from the company his father started, by Nate (Josh Ventura), the man he brought in to resurrect the business. The cloudy day continues when Robert arrives at home only to find his gorgeous but vapid girlfriend of two years Mita (Erica Hubbard of BET's Let's Stay Together) is leaving him for another man. Robert's luck doesn't get any better when he later finds out that the man Mita is leaving him for, is none other than Nate. At his lowest ebb, no job, no woman, betrayed, Robert has a quick encounter with a beautiful woman named Morgan (the enticing Gabrielle Dennis) at his local bookstore. With a little push from his hustler cousin Julian (Christian Keyes), Robert arranges to meet Morgan, and after some initial hesitation, Morgan soon finds herself as attracted to Robert as he is to her.

From this point, the film turns into a romantic comedy with Robert and Morgan going through the usual motions of falling in love, with several potholes in the road as expected. Where this movie falls short is in its ability to build up emotional conflict and drama. For example, one of those potholes the couple encounters is Morgan's ex- husband Hill (the versatile Lamman Rucker) who, unable to keep his wife from leaving, refuses to release a million dollar property to her unless she keeps away from other men. This, and Mita's attempt to come back into Robert's life should have provided ample conflict, but unfortunately, become merely a soft sub-plot. Now please understand me, I was not looking for Tyler Perry crack mama, sadistic husband, drag queen crazy aunts, type drama. What this film lacked were the stair steps that make us invest in the characters, and reveal how deep or shallow their love is.

That being said, where Black Coffee does work is in its funny, witty dialog, charismatic, lovable characters, and an attractive cast, that makes this movie a pleasure to watch. Henson as Robert shows great chops as a leading man, and if this performance is any indication, he should be showing up in more films. Keyes as hustling, wise- cracking Julian steals the scenes he is in and Hubbard's Mita takes a role which could have been annoying but adds just the amount of sass to make her believable. The star of the movie for me is Dennis, who blends a mixture of sophistication and sexiness to her role that rivals any of the A-List girls such as Halle Berry or Kerry Washington.

Director Mark Harris pulls everything together smoothly; reining in his actors so that there is no Perry-ish moments of over-acting, and allowing the movie to glide along at a steady, if not spectacular pace. Adam Lee's cinematography is as smooth and mellow as Harris' direction, allowing the actor's charm and attractiveness to be the film's finest special effect. While you're not going to be taken on the head-spinning roller coaster ride of most of today's romantic-comedies, just like Black Coffee, the film will stimulate and satisfy.

When Mark Harris's Black Coffee ended, I felt like I was still waiting for the film to begin. The film's poster, trailer, and title give it the impression that there will be themes and ideas about black entrepreneurship and private enterprise, that would've made for a wickedly entertaining subject that has never, to my knowledge, been articulated in film. Instead, writer/director Harris gives us something we've seen far, far too often; a relationship drama where all the characters are flat as a board and all there is a cloying artificiality to the characters, their motivations, and their interactions with one another.

The film concerns Robert (Darrin Dewitt Henson), an amiable man who gets fired from his own father's company and simultaneously loses his money-hungry girlfriend Mita (Erica Hubbard) all in the same day. Robert sticks by his cousin Julian (Christian Keyes) for personal guidance after meeting and falling for an attractive woman named Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis) as well as trying to find gigs as a painter. Furthermore, trouble brews like a cup of piping-hot coffee when Morgan's ex-husband Hill (Lamman Rucker) attempts to get her back, as well as Mita revealing she had been in a relationship with Robert's now ex-boss the whole time and is hungering for his company (meaning his money) once more, throwing everything into a dramatic tailspin.

There is enough melodrama in this picture to sustain two consecutive Tyler Perry films and a TV show, and Harris attempts to introduce the film's many characters, get us to like the ones we're supposed to and loathe the ones we don't, show numerous instances of betrayal, drama, intensity, and connections, and give us an ending we believe all in the time frame of eighty minutes. Quite a lofty ambition, but it should come as little surprise that the film is just short of being completely and totally abysmal. Simply put, the motivations had by characters - especially Robert's cloying and unrealistic "forgive and forget" attitude towards his ex-girlfriend's treatment of him when she comes groveling back, even offering her a place on his couch - aren't the least bit believable.

The squeaky-clean dialog is also not a very accurate portrayal either. Not every film needs to have excessive amounts of cursing, but Black Coffee's constant desire to possess an annoyingly sunny, look-on-the-bright-side definition isn't only unrealistic but delusional. These characters dangerously approach the lines of being completely unfazed by anything, deluding and sugarcoating current events in their lives as if cheating, deception, and betrayal are normal, every-day "it happens" sort of deals. It's frightening how the characters never seem to get that aggravated or hurt by their peers' actions, and when they do show it, it's in a contrived and disgustingly phony manner.

Aside from the film's grave amount of flaws, it at least looks unbelievably gorgeous, with an indescribable antiseptic slickness to the cinematography, done by Adam Lee. The film has no problem in the looks department, portraying society as if we're viewing it from a crystal-clear, recently-washed window, again adding to my idea that the film has a constant desire to keep on the sunny side, downplaying disgusting moments of human deception as if they're not really anything to bat an eye at. As an adolescent with a short-fuze, high-anxiety, and an often low self-esteem, I wish I had the restraint and control the characters in Black Coffee have. Unfortunately, I am located in reality.

The real tragedy of Black Coffee, however, isn't its depressing focus in the realm of cinema that tries to be of human interest but ends up being unrealistic and it isn't that its characters take a blow from a pound of rocks with as a tickle from a grain of salt. It's that this picture should actually be about black entrepreneurship. Why did we have to dive into Robert's relationship life? Couldn't we see him maybe open a coffee shop, fight competition, deal with backlash and dissent from family, and maybe have to gain moral and physical help from his cousin Julian? It could've been a beautiful parable and a great film to showcase the often underestimated black businessman and entrepreneur. Instead, we got one of the worst possible substitutes.

Starring: Darrin Dewitt Henson, Erica Hubbard, Christian Keyes, Gabriella Dennis, and Lamman Rucker. Directed by: Mark Harris.