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Directed by: Sanaa Hamri Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker I casually walked up to the box office with my friend and said “Two for ‘Something New’ at six.” The cashier looked at me with a confused stare and replied “Sir, we have several new releases this week, which one would you like to see?” I knew it was going to be a long night. Kenya [Sanaa Lathan] is a single, successful, thirty something black female that is soon to make partner in one of the largest financial firms in the country. Her missing link is a man who can match her youthful vitality and meet her lofty expectations. She is setup on a blind date by a coworker with Brian [Simon Baker], a physically fit “landscape architect.” They meet in a coffee shop, and she is surprised to see that he is white. Flustered, she blows him off. A few days later she accidentally runs into him at a party and solicits his services as a landscaper to redesign the backyard of her new home. She is reserved about the relationship and plans to keep it strictly business, but is eager to apologize for her rude behavior on the blind date. Of course, with a film that is such easy headline fodder, you would expect the powers that be would strive to bring a new dynamic to the complex issue of interracial dating. Instead, stock footage is brought out for this romantic comedy-by-numbers, and halfway through you wonder why the film is not called “Jungle Fever 2: Something Old.” The fact is Spike Lee hit the bull’s-eye 15 years ago, and anything that ‘Something New’ throws at you hits Lee’s dart and bounces off. Director Sanaa Hamri lacks the style and social pointedness of a Lee joint, and aims for the lowest common denominator. It is more interesting to see someone shoot for the stars and crash and burn than shoot for the ground and roll over. At least when Lee fails miserably it is interesting to watch the flames. The motions are gone through painlessly and rather quickly – the awkward moments in an all black gathering (“Hey look, someone brought a night light”), the mild disapproval by the parents and the obligatory speeches (“I will never be black no matter how much you want me to be”). There is not anything that is inherently deficient about the film, but it is just felt so synthetic and forced that I began to close my eyes at the life lessons segment. By the end, the script is running on fumes and is searching frantically to assemble some sort of meaning before it stalls out. The results are less than inspiring - follow your heart, race does not matter and love will prevail in the end. This would work great within the confines of a Lifetime movie or a direct-to-video rental, but on the big screen you are left wondering why anyone even bothered with something so lackluster, so uninspired. It might be unfair to be so critical of a film that is so harmless and pedestrian, but the fact is there is so much new light that could be shed on interracial dating that it is disappointing to see a film play such a safe hand. Sometimes a sledgehammer is needed to kill an ant. “Something New” pulls punches for a neater, textbook style parable that pales in comparison to far braver films done much better. RATING: 2 PROS: Mike Epps CONS: Everything else ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://imdb.com/title/tt0437777/
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Feb 4, 2006 18:20
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