When "Uptown" meets "Downtown", the only real expectation is an abundance of clichés; rich versus poor, cultured versus street, tact versus all-out rudeness, and families that just don’t mix without a magic ingredient; love. Jumping the Broom has a few tricks up its Martha’s Vineyard sleeves, but is weighted down by a script that lacks pizzazz and a leading man who just can’t pull it off. In a tired genre done and redone ad nauseum, this Broom just barely avoids being swept under the carpet.
Sabrina Watson (Paula Patton) has done it again. She wakes up staring at a piece of eye candy that’s already committed to another woman. With a quick one to God, she resolves never to let her sexual needs overpower her reason again. She swears celibacy until marriage and almost immediately runs down Fast and Furious star Laz Alonso as Jason Taylor with her swanky upper class ride. Profess apologies unfold as he asserts his masculinity and they set off on five months of courtship before a surprise proposal that is anything but surprising. Now the real movie begins, with Angela Basset as the stiff, upper crust Mrs. Watson, pitted against Postal Service employee Mrs. Taylor (Loretta Devine, in a long overdue leading role). And then the clichés begin, but with a new spin.
To look, one would think that Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are the only African-Americans producing films in Hollywood. They have both built an almost impenetrable empire of franchise products that seem to come out every month, one after another. Before you can blink, Madea is back in town and the Paynes are on rerun every hour of the day. Jumping the Broom brings a refreshing change with a new black voice. One particular scene over the dinner table, where Mrs. Watson reveals that her family owned slaves, rings true as an entirely new angle on the black experience and social mobility.
The film has other moments of true potential. An especially devastating scene unfolds between Mrs. Watson and her career driven hubby, when a suspected affair turns out to be a whole other problem entirely. At the end of the day, however, the film suffers from inconsistent performances. With the veteran actors in the cast, this most likely can be traced back to the director. First and foremost, Alonso is just plain bad. Whether he’s locked into an uncomfortable grin attempting coolness, or trying to play at a street-savvy romantic that he just can’t manage, his performance never goes too long before it just rings false.
Patton plays the other half of the passionate couple with more sincerity, but loses her emotional gravity by picking moments of zaniness instead of subtlety. Her character is manic, constantly running at a high-energy that verges on needing a straight jacket. Perhaps the director was so smitten with the crazy that he forgot to bring her down. Consequently, when her endearing character has moments of unprovoked selfishness or cruelty with the wedding preparations, one feels they have suddenly been dropped into a less enjoyable film. The mismatch ultimately takes its toll, and even the spectacle of Martha’s Vineyard can’t hide the holes.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
As has become the norm, director and cast lend their time to a feature commentary, along with a behind the scenes look at production. A more interesting featurette is Honoring the Tradition of Jumping the Broom, which delves into black history and imbues the title with the meaning the movie strived for it to have.
"Jumping the Broom" is on sale August 9, 2011 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Directed by Salim Akil. Written by Elizabeth Hunter & Arlene Gibbs. Starring Angela Bassett, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, Paula Patton.
