![]() Claudine and her husband (Brian Stokes Mitchell) didn’t jump the broom when they got married they believe their family is too sophisticated for that, so Sabrina and Jason don’t need to do it, either.īut because the Bishop T.D. One of the first things they fight about is the broom - the one Pam wants her son and Sabrina to jump over at their wedding to carry on a proud tradition that dates to a time in America when slaves weren’t allowed to marry. These two formidable actresses deserve better characterization and dialogue than they get here it would be exciting to see how they could tear into each other with smarter, stronger material. You know she’s down to Earth because she’s a Brooklyn postal worker who’s appalled that they’re not serving greens at the rehearsal dinner. Loretta Devine gets some laughs as Jason’s mother, Pam. You know she’s cultured because she likes to drop French phrases throughout her speech and she’s placed wasabi-covered peanuts in the guests’ gift baskets. Running time: 1:53.Angela Bassett has some withering moments as Sabrina’s mother, Claudine. Jakes, Elizabeth Hunter, Curtis Wallace and Tracey E. MPAA rating: PG-13 for some sexual content.Ĭast: Paula Patton, Angela Bassett, Laz Alonzo, Loretta Devine,Mike EppsĬredits: Directed by Salim Akil, written by Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs, produced by T.D. There’s no man in a Madea dress in this one, and you don’t miss her. But as traditional as it is, “Jumping the Broom” throws a few nice twists into its situation and the players deliver. There’s a touch of religion and plenty of melodrama, especially in the contrivances of a cluttered and drawn out third act. The funny moments outnumber the warm ones. Their confrontations are class warfare, with each scoring her hits. Pairing off Devine and Bassett as foils, two good actresses who rarely get to play straight comedy, pays off. Characters are underplayed, even the clowns. Virtually everybody in this film directed by TV veteran Salim Akil has been a member of Tyler Perry’s ensemble company. “It’s like the hokey pokey for black people!” The character is something of a cliche in black sitcoms, but Bowen makes her work, constantly tossing off overly familiar slang (“Girrrrrl…”) and asking inappropriate questions about hair weaves, skin shadings, chicken as a dinner staple and the necessity of “The Electric Slide.” Meagan Goode is the bride’s snobby best friend and Valarie Pettiford is Sabrina’s sexy, free spirit aunt.Ī nice touch in Elizabeth Hunter/Arlene Gibbs script - there’s an earnest white wedding planner (Julie Bowen) who is the surrogate for the non-black viewer. Mike Epps and DeRay Davis play the groom’s fish-out-of-water cousins, wise-crackers overwhelmed by all the wealth. ![]() The fights are over clothes, the menu, the “Electric Slide” (wedding dance) and “Jumping the Broom,” a fading wedding tradition dating from slave times. She vents to her pal Shonda (Tasha Smith) and keeps score of all the slights she collects (“That’s strike one!”) from the bride and the highfalutin mother of the bride (Angela Bassett), who switches to French when she wants to say something nasty about the new in-laws. And Pam (Loretta Devine) is fuming over that. A wedding at the house on the Vineyard is arranged.īut Jason hasn’t brought Sabrina to meet his mom. They date, and when it looks as if she’s about to move to China for a job assignment, he proposes. Paula Patton of “Precious” shaves off a few years playing Sabrina, an excitable young woman of privilege who prays for a “good man” and promptly hits one - Jason (Laz Alonzo). “Broom” never looks like it’s trying too hard. Jakes project (he produced it) lacks the scruffy, hit-or-miss outrageousness of Perry’s down home Atlanta farces, it compensates with heart, smarts and a confident air that Perry’s pictures lack. An ensemble comedy about a wedding that joins a wealthy, Martha’s Vineyard family of African American professionals with the groom’s more down to Earth working-class Brooklynites, it is well-cast, well-played, passably written and filmed in the warm glow only the top drawer cinematographers can achieve.Īnd if this T.D. “Jumping the Broom” is like a Tyler Perry movie with polish.
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