Brown Sugar

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"So, when did you fall in love with hip hop?", 2008-09-22
Enjoyment of this film doesn't hinge on how much you dig hip hop music or how deep or how far back your history with hip hop goes. 2002's BROWN SUGAR works just fine as a romantic film, and it's cool if you relish it solely for that. But if you love hip hop or even if you just have a nodding acquaintance with it, then you'll get so much more from the movie. Me, I grew up in the '80s, listening to what's referred to nowadays as old school hip hop. So I can definitely get with the opening sequence, which features real-life hip hop luminaries being interviewed and divulging their musical inspirations. I've been listening to these cats from the get-go (Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, De La Soul, etc.), and to set eyes on them in this flick, well, it's a very cool thing... I just wish Erik B. and Rakim had made an appearance (Rakim, to this day, is still my favorite emcee). br / br /Well-respected magazine editor Sidney Shaw's first question in her interviews is always: "When did you fall in love with hip hop?" This not only reveals Sidney's deep, abiding ardor for this music genre but as well the underlying theme of the movie. How she herself fell in love with hip hop is established in a flashback set in 1984 in the boogie-down Bronx, as young Sidney and a little boy named Dre witness legendary rappers Dana Dane, Slick Rick, and Doug E. Fresh engaged in a rhyming battle. Sidney and Dre would grow up as lifelong friends, with their passion for hip hop inspiring them in their life choices and serving to keep them tightly connected. br / br /Now Sidney and Dre are grown up, nearing thirty and successful in their careers. Sidney was an L.A. Times columnist, but now has moved back to New York as an influential magazine editor. She's never lost her integrity. Dre Ellis is a record label executive, and he's sold out a bit, bartering some of his ideals about hip hop for upward mobility and that good old green. Dre is about to be married to a beautiful girl. He's still best friends with Sidney. The plot gets going from there. br / br /I really like this movie. It's romantic as hell, and told with intelligence and warmth and humor. And, sorry, but I can't help but compare it to the amazing Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series), partly because of the shared themes - with the friendship-into-romance arc being the most salient - and partly because both films star the luminous Sanaa Lathan. BROWN SUGAR and LOVE BASKETBALL simply make good bookend movies. br / br /Metaphors, now. In Sidney's voice-overs, she often presents a parallel between hip hop and her best friend Dre. This is done in a way which is interesting and insightful and heartfelt, and I really enjoyed this storytelling device. Particularly telling was Sidney's equating the "union of hip-hop to the mainstream" to Dre's wedding to his vanilla-type girlfriend Reese. And when Sidney professes her love for hip hop, the subtext is clear enough. br / br /The cast clicks. Lathan's natural beauty, combination of strength and vulnerability, and marvelously grounded acting. Taye Diggs' magnetic presence and playful personality. Together, they create a very personal space, a cozy comfort level. Whenever Sanaa and Taye are in the same scene, everyone else seems to fade away. This is chemistry at its best. br / br /Queen Latifah as Sidney's outgoing best friend and Mos Def as a laid back cabbie/emcee add solid support. Queen Latifah, as most folks know, used to be a strong emcee herself, before devoting her career to film acting. Mos Def, to me, can do no wrong. Dude is a sublime hip hop artist and so natural as an actor (Something the Lord Made, The Italian Job (Special Collector's Edition)). When Dre, in starting his own label, looks to sign Mos Def's character, he couldn't have found someone who embodied real hip hop more. Mos adds huge depth and credibility to this film; and he even performs on stage in it. Mos's scenes with Diggs and Queen Latifah are fabulous. Just keep an ear out for Mos and Taye's priceless conversation about Humphrey Bogart and Casablanca and walking off into the fog. br / br /It's one disc, one side with the widescreen, the flipside with the full screen. Bonus features include: commentary by the director and the film editor (with the director's tendency to chuckle a lot getting to be this side of annoying); four deleted scenes with optional commentary (the scene "Poppin' in the Park," which shouldn't have been cut out, is terrific for Lathan and Diggs's cute pop-locking and their discourse on who the best emcees and djs are); two great music videos: Erykah Badu's "Love Of My Life" (featuring Common and MC Lyte) and Mos Def's "Brown Sugar" (featuring Faith Evans); and, of course, the theatrical trailer. br / br /I also listen to other stuff, so as much as I love hip hop, I don't know that I'd call it the love of my life. I'd say that hip hop is more an off-and-on girlfriend. But, sometimes, I still get very much in the mood to listen to hip hop; I still try to keep track of who's who and what's what. I still bug out to Rakim's "I Know You Got Soul" and KRS-One's "My Philosophy." BROWN SUGAR is a wonderful love story, yep. But it's also a sincere valentine to a mean street musical artform which was triviliazed by most and, in its infancy, not given any sort of chance to grow and thrive. And how very wrong, the doubters and the haters. That there's even a movie like BROWN SUGAR around today is a testament to hip hop's popularity and longevity. And hip hop is not about to slow its roll.

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Great Movie, 2008-09-01
Once I got this movie, I never seen it and I decided to purchase a used copy and I will defintely buy again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Brown Sugar, 2008-08-14
I agree with a previous reviewer that this is one of those movies that I gladly supported by seeing 3 times upon its release because it's a love story as opposed to a gang-banging, drug related shoot em up. I love seeing movies with attractive African American actors playing upwardly mobile responsible adults. br / br /It was also a clever twist to use hip hop as a metaphor for the lead characters life long relationship and I truly didn't feel like they beat me over the head with the comparisons. Initially I thought I was seeing a film about two people who'd grown up loving hip hop, had careers related to hip hop and then fell in love but as the movie went on, I realized that their relationship the evolution of hip hop were one the same. br / br /Since others have detailed the movie plot, I just wanted to add my two cents regarding likes dislikes. br / br /Likes: br / br /SANAA LATHAN is again terrific as the everywoman. I think she's such a good actress because in all of her films, she makes me FEEL her character's emotions. I believe her as the confident editor of a hip hop magazine and I believe her as a young confused woman who realizes that she is in love with her best friend. br / br /QUEEN LATIFAH MOS DEF - scene stealers, both are fantastic in their supporting roles br / br /NICOLE ARI PARKER - ever fabulous as the bride who slowly realizes that she doesn't really know the man she's married br / br /BORIS KODJOE - always gorgeous to look at, he is good as the self-absorbed baller. (His drunk behavior at the Holiday party always cracks me up!) br / br /THE EXTRAS - although I would have liked a short series of interviews with the cast regarding their true feelings about hip hop - how it's influenced them, "when they first fell in love with hip hop", etc; the deleted scenes along with the director's commentary was interesting the videos were a treat br / br /Dislikes br / br /TAYE DIGGS - he is not one of my favorite actors so it took a lot for me to accept him in this role. He's good but not entirely believable as a record exec br / br /CHEMISTRY - there was no romantic chemistry between the two leads, Sanaa Taye which made their storyline of the least interest to me br / br /Overall I am glad I added this disc to my collection because I'd rather see different aspects of "Black love" portrayed than "black on black crimes" on the big screen. br / br /

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Another good movie!, 2008-05-19
I remember watching brown sugar in the theatres a long time ago and now I am glad to watch it again. Who said that two best friends can't hook up? If they knew it each other kicking it from since they were small, there is no doubt that love cannot be felt among them. Dre Sydney were in love with each other from since day one. They both loved hip hop grew up with it and promoted hip hop when they were older. Hip Hop brought them together. It is a good movie for those who like movies with love in it also. Enjoy looking at Brown Sugar.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Rick Famuyiwa does it again with this sweet love story, 2008-03-26
Rick Famuyiwa continues to show his talent to Hollywood in the sweet Brown Sugar. Rick Famuyiwa who burst on to the scene with the vastly underrated The Wood in 1999 has made a charming film that couples, hip hop heads and anyone just looking for a good film can enjoy. Brown Sugar use the evoulation of hip hop to tell the story of Dre and Sidney two life long friends who belong. Dre and Sidney are both played with charm by Taye Diggs and Sanna Lathan. Sugar is similar to Love Basketball on some levels just subistute basketball for the music indstury but this film is more of Lathan's story who should have recieved top billing this time. Mos Def steals every scene he's in as Chris an up and coming rapper and Queen Latifah, Nicole Parker and Boris Kodjoe all give good performances. A vibrant soundtrack and sharp script by Mike Eillot should made this film a hit.