Mo' Betta Brown Sugar

By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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If you can imagine that making a good film is a little like making a hearty stew, then think of "Brown Sugar" as enough good acting, writing and direction to make you feel full and warm. Following the relationship of hip hop writer Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) and hip hop producer Dre (Taye Diggs), "Brown Sugar" uses the music passion shared by both to thicken this romance that, once again, has a Black woman checking her watch and patting her foot. (Oh Lawd! How Long? Will Sanaa Ever Get Her Man?)

Lathan, our first true Black romantic heroine (aside from Tisha Campbell in "Sprung"), is the glue that holds this energetic production together. True, she doesn't muster any type of New York accent but she does portray a sensitive, creative soul. Her work, combined with fine contributions by Diggs and the rest of the cast, keep "Brown Sugar" from becoming the next predictable hip hop romance. There were the adolescent beginnings ("The Wood"). And then the heavy drama or marriage ("The Best Man," "The Brothers, "Two Can Play That Game"). Now there is something else—a film that renders its men and women with more depth and empathy.

Writer Michael Elliot ("Like Mike" and "Carmen: A Hip Hopera"—oops), along with director Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood), frame this film as a love story from Generations X and Y. It starts out with a series of interviews with hip hop artists who tell when they first fell in love with hip hop. Then it flashes back to Sidney and Dre as children growing up in the Bronx where hip hop was born.

As grown-ups, Sid and Dre have continued their friendship. Dre has somebody, in fact a woman named Reese (Nicole Ari Parker) whom he has decided to marry after dating for a few months. But poor Sidney can't seem to find anybody who she really vibes with—except for Dre of course. But Dre is, as Biz Markie said, just a friend.

Likewise, Sid is Dre's pal. He even, to her momentary shock, affectionately refers to her as his "dog." Eventually they both must decide whether it is better to be married to a best friend or to someone else who holds a different type of attraction.

There are a lot of surprises here, including more cameos by more rappers than ever seen before. Did they film "Brown Sugar" after The Source Awards? Mos Def is irresistible in the role of an emerging hip hop artist. Queen Latifah adds to what is already a script full of irreverent observation and funny lines. I'm not sold on Taye Diggs as a leading man, especially opposite Lathan, but he does have the capacity, like Lathan, to infuse his role with an emotional complexity. He's in the big mix here, a mix with enough substance, love and flava.

Esther Iverem's film reviews also appear on BET.com

Related Web Sites:

• Official "Brown Sugar" Movie Site

-- October 10, 2002

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