JEAN OF THE JONESES (2016)

Written & Directed By: Stella Meghie 
Cinematography: Kris Belchevski
Editor: Aren Hansen 

Cast: Taylour Paige, Sherri Shepherd, Gloria Reuben, Anna Hopkins, Erica Ash, Mamoudou Athie, Michelle Hurst, Demore Barnes, Cara Ricketts, Francois Arnaud 

Chaos ensues after the estranged patriarch of the Jones family dies on their doorstep. When the paramedic who answers their 911 call tried to win over acerbic Jean Jones, his attempts are disrupted by old conflicts that come to a boil at the funeral.


The film is short and sweet. Yet you want to see more. 

The film has a constant wit. With a wicked sense of humor that at times goes for the heartstrings but not without a good dose of resistance. That allows the film to be dramatic and funny at the same time.

The film shows how the absence of one person has affected the rest of them and how pettiness and secrets can damage even when not intended to 

The main character is an educated mess trying to find herself and is constantly literally tripping as in clumsy.

This film presents a modern metropolitan romance with a so-called urban twist. Seen through with characters of color. While being a family drama. 

The lead character is similar to the one on director Stella Meghie’s Other film after this THE WEEKEND only here a little sadder.

Like any New York-based romantic comedy with an ensemble cast. We get glimpses of their Individual dramas. Only this time amongst African Americans upper-middle class. Well, really more Caribbean Americans with a neurotic lead something we rarely see in African American films.

The film offers more of a light touch, not a tragedy where the characters are allowed to just be and not be perfect placeholders or model citizens. 

In the end, this is a fun film. That is as charismatic as its Script and leads 

GRADE: A- 

BRIAN BANKS (2019)

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Directed By: Tom Shadyac
Written By: Doug Atchinson
Cinematography: Ricardo Diaz
Editor: Greg Hayden 


Cast: Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Dorian Missick, Morgan Freeman, Tiffany Dupont, Melanie Liburd, Xosha Roquemore 


A football player’s dreams to play in the NFL are halted when he is wrongly convicted and sent to prison. Years later, he fights to clear his name within an unjust system.

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GUESS WHO (2005)

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Directed By: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Written By: David Ronn, Jay Scherick & Peter Tolan
Story By: David Ronn & Jay Scherick
Based on The Original Screenplay “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER” By: William Rose
Cinematography By: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Editor: Paul Seydor 

 

Cast: Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana, Judith Scott, Hal Williams, RonReaco Lee, Sherri Shepherd, Niecy Nash, Paula Newsome, Phil Reeves, Nicole Sullivan, Jessica Cauffiel, Kimberly Scott, Richard Lawson 

Percy and Marilyn are renewing their vows for their anniversary, and their daughter Theresa brings her boyfriend Simon for them to meet. Unbeknownst to her parents, the kids plan to announce their engagement during the weekend. The Jones family is Black; Theresa neglects to tell them Simon is White. Race complicates Percy’s general mistrust of any boyfriend, so he instigates an investigation of Simon, discovering he’s recently lost his job and hasn’t told Theresa. Mistrust rears its ugly head, and in the process of Theresa and Simon’s argument, Marilyn and Percy fall out. What can the men do to cross the divide between each other and between men and women? Will anyone be exchanging vows?


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