Best Man Holiday. Yup—I cried. I laughed. And I felt GOOD. On so many levels, this is one of the best movies to come along in a long time. I love the fact that this ensemble of talented Black Men & Women was assembled to deliver some very important messages wrapped up in some powerful entertainment. It was powerful to see the bonds of friendship sustained through the years. Instead of giving us some hokey “we’re all doing well” update, Malcolm Lee gave the audience a sequel with realistic updates. Sometimes, life knocks us down and the lesson learned from the likes of Harper is that you have to lean on friends, because, that’s what friends are for. The lesson learned from Mia is that in the moment of truth, you desire and need nothing more than the people whom you love and whom love you most. I also love the fact that we got to see multiple dimensions of beautiful Black people. Even with Terrence Howard’s character, we got so much deeper. He went from a snippy jackass to a snippy jackass who is also concerned about his friends. We got to see his humanity. We saw some true concern and depth from one of the characters who was perhaps the most shallow. The scene with he and Taye Diggs discussing money was priceless. And friendships don’t always stay beautiful. You have to tend to them. Watching Morris Chestnut and Taye Diggs’ characters deal with tension from the previous difficulty and then fall into ugly division and then mend the bridge again was beautiful. And it was even more beautiful to see that Monica Calhoun’s character loved her husband so much that she built a bridge for him to reconnect to his best friend because she knew that was what he needed. Damn what people say about Black Love—this film will make you BELIEVE! And there was nothing phony about the Black Love between these beautiful Black Men & Women. I wanted to get inside a group hug with this cast! Watching the ladies go through their arc of dissonance into resolve was powerful and not in a sappy way, either. The most touching piece of the film has to go unmentioned so as not to spoil the plot for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. And as a Black Man who loves only Black Women and the artistic manner in which God created their shades and shapes, it was a true delight to see a rainbow of Black Womanhood, in the hues of (quoting Wu Tang Clan) “French Vanilla, Butter Pecan and Chocolate Deluxe!” Overall, it was truly a feel good movie and should be Oscar fodder. Outside of awards, this is an important flick for the African American community. With more than 30 million at the box office for the opening weekend, Black people sent Hollywood a clear message: We will support a movie that doesn’t have cross-dressers, raucus physical comedy, demeaning punchlines or awkward nudity. We sent Hollywood the message that we love and will strongly support a movie with Black people acting as dignified human beings. On a personal note, I am encouraged by this film for my own burgeoning film career. I am only making films with Blacks in positions of dignity. Best Man Holiday has helped to solidify the market for such films. Thank you, cast, crew and studio. Thank you Malcolm Lee. Let us be the revolution here and deliver another powerful weekend for the film. You liked it? Encourage someone else to see it. Or, join my mission, which is to see that film at least two more times. Darryl James
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 23:39:35 +0000
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