I know this movie is a bit dated but Oxygen has been playing it for the last couple of days. So, I decided to write a quick review.
This is the classic fish out of water tale with Simon Baker (Brian) as the hunk du jour and Sanaa Lathan (Kenya) as the guarded women who can't find love. The twist, Brian is white and Kenya is black.
Even more of a twist, Brian is a working class landscaper who gets set up on a blind date with the snobbish upper-crust Kenya. They both go through this awkward dance of he's attracted to her without reservation and she is attracted to him but worried what other people think.
I wanted to like this movie but as with any movie you have to actually buy into the plot. I did not. Brian is a gorgeous, really nice guy and Kenya is a snob. She brushes him off so many times and is constantly in 'black against the world' mode. She puts him out because he asks her why she wears a hair weave. She is mistreated at work and complains ad nauseum about this to Brian who in frustration tells her in an argument he basically doesn't want to hear it. Kenya of course breaks up with him. Enters Blair Underwood, who is hot chocolate incarnate. Rich, debonair, willing and ready to marry. Of course Kenya dumps him because she misses Brian.
This is where I must suspend all belief in order to follow the rest of the movie. I don't know too many women, let alone black women, who are mid-thirties and unmarried who would turn down not one but two eligible bachelors. Also, Sanaa Lathan is not that cute to me. Her character's personality is so off-putting I don't understand why either man wants to be with her.
I saw so much potential in this movie but the point just gets lost. Brian is too perfect and Kenya too flawed. I won't tell you the end. You can watch it if you want. Let me know if you disagree.
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