Brown Sugar

Movie Title: Brown Sugar

Official Website (it might still work): Brown Sugar

Rating (out of 10): 8

Buy the: Video/DVD | Soundtrack

The Review:

Time for a non-politically correct rant: How come no one complains about there being so few white people in what are primarily Black pictures like Barbershop, Baby Boy, or Two Can Play That Game to name a few recent releases? I think it’s because people of color are so under-represented in so many other media outlets that people think that makes it OK. Wrong. I learned a long time ago that two wrongs do not make a right. However, three consecutive left turns around a block does equal one right, turn. But now I’ll step down from my soapbox and talk about Brown Sugar, a Hip-Hop romantic comedy.

In the film, Hip-Hop music journalist Sidney Shaw (Sanaa Lathan, Blade) always asks her interviews about the moment that they fell in love with Hip-Hop. For her, it revolves around when she meets a cute boy her age Dre. Of course, most of her life since then has revolved around Dre, who’s formal name is Andre Ellis (Taye Diggs). Dre also fell in love with Hip-Hop back in Brooklyn with Sidney (Sid for short), and now works for Millennium Records producing Hip-Hop albums. Both are successful, but Sid has always resisted a physical relationship with Sid, so he finally moves on and marries him a fine looking attorney in Reese Wiggins (Nicole Ari Parker, Remember the Titans). Sid still hasn’t found anyone, but eventually hooks up with a sweet NBA player in Kelby (Boris Kodjoe). Well, throughout the movie Sid is writing her definitive book on Hip-Hop and its evolution, and in the book she talks about how some think Hip-Hop has sold its soul for mainstream success and money. Eventually, Dre discovers that he has become a sellout as he is producing a song for Millennium Records’ gimmick duo Ren and Ten (Erik Weiner and Reggi Wyns), the Dalmatian rappers. Ren being the films token white guy teamed with Ten, a not very good Black rapper (an ebony and ivory thing). Once Dre realizes this he leaves Millennium Records and starts his own label with money from Sid, who he tells first about quitting, not his wife. This is because the two share a special bond, a bond that is way to close for comfort for Dre’s Reese. So the question becomes, will Dre stay with Reese and will Sid fall for Kelby. Plus for some good laughs, throw in a burgeoning relationship between Dre’s skinny cabby-rapper Chris (Mos Def, Showtime) and Sid’s best friend the older bigger Francine (Queen Latifah, The Bone Collector) and that sums up Brown Sugar.

Rick Famuyiwa directs the film and helped write the screenplay with Michael Elliot (Like Mike), who wrote the story that the film was based on. Both did a great job with the film. A few others of note in the film are Wendell Pierce, Melissa Martinez, Venida Evans, Marc John Jefferies, Wyking Jones, with some cameos from the likes of Hip-Hop legend Russell Simmons and other Hip-Hop folks.

I enjoyed Brown Sugar, but it was not as funny as I think it should have been for a romantic comedy. The acting was good, and the music was even better. On the downside, it is a romantic comedy. All-in-all though I liked what I saw and Mos Def’s character had some good lines. Eight for the rating.