Tag Archives: “Michael Ealy”

Think Like a Man

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Think Like a Man is based on the best selling book by Steve Harvey. I actually thought him being the author was part of the script. That should tell you how much I travel the relationship aisle of the book store… In spite of myself, I found this to be somewhat enjoyable. I say that because I have a looong standing aversion to romantic comedies. Why? I’m glad you asked… From my perspective, they suck. More on that later.

The premise is the women are tired of the way their relationships are going, and discover Steve Harvey’s book. The women follow the advice and get the men to fall in line. The men find out the women are using the book, and start to use it against them. The plot focuses on 5 (but should really be 6) men and the women they are interacting with. The Player, Zeke (Romany Malco). Self explanatory… Non Committal Guy, Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara). Jeremy has been dating Kristen (Gabrielle Union) for 9 years their place still looks like a frat house. The Dreamer, Dominic (Michael Ealy). He’s a great guy, changes careers often, with no real plans for the future. The Mama’s Boy, Michael (Terrence Jenkins). Soon to be Divorced Guy, Cedric (Kevin Hart). His character tends to go a bit over the top for me, and is one of the reasons I can’t totally invest. I laughed at your initial antics, move on. We get it. Quit milking the joke. Much like I am over emphasizing this topic. And finally, Happily married Guy, Bennett (Gary Owen). He is a balance of Cedric- witty, dry and straight to the point. And way under utilized.

What was so special about the predictable and formulaic love story that made me not hate it? You are so full of good questions today! I felt that portions were almost believable. If the “90 day rule” had not had such an onscreen presence, I could have overlooked the (less) compressed time frame that is such a reality killer in romantic comedies.  I won’t say the characters were totally developed, or that any performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination. I did laugh and it flowed pretty well. I probably over identified with too many of the situations, (except the mama’s boy). They seem to have left out Dated Too Many Crazy Women Guy. That would have been me!

I appreciated that some of the relationships were already in progress. Not everyone went from “Meet to Love” in 2.9 days. This is probably the biggest complaint I have about romantic comedies, couples falls in love too quickly, I cannot suspend that much reality. Star Trek has done a better job of making me believe that man can travel through space, and most other reaches are humanoid. Maybe its my belief structure. Having lived as long as I have, met as many women as I have, gone on as many dates as I have, it all seems like crap when they meet for 15 min and are instantly in LOVE! Add all sorts of issues that are only somewhat funny in movies, but would be intolerable in real life to the mix, and you might as well add a unicorn. The average romantic comedy should be rebilled as fantasy.

Many of the characters, men and women, had some sort of evolution. Granted, they were all on almost the exact same time line, and it came pretty conveniently, but there appeared to be some progress.

Takers

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There seems to be a pattern to movies I’ve been seeing lately… I’ve been loving them or hating them. Takers falls in the hate category. Which is sad, because I felt it started off really smart. The film opens with the gang robbing a bank, making the dramatic departure in a hijacked news helicopter. Another film goer felt this was a bad way to plan a getaway. I saw it as an escape OPTION they had in place because the silent alarm was triggered. Which ever way you look at it, it was a cool scene.

We were treated to a few teaser scenes that threatened to engage, and keep us hooked. The team gives a portion of the take to charity and has a financial consultant! Two brothers, Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse (Chris Brown) were discussing their father who was in prison. There is no way Jesse could go visit while Dad is incarcerated. They are going to build him a house when he gets out. Gordon’s (Idris Elba) older sister Naomi (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is now in rehab, and he is trying to take care of her. Jack (Matt Dillon) is the sterotyped cop with family issues and can’t let the job go, who vaults to bad parent of the year when he takes his daughter on a quick stake out. The introduction of Ghost (T.I.), a former team member locked up after being shot, then caught, on a fire escape five years ago, is the cue for the sound of a giant ship hitting an iceberg. We learn virtually nothing else about the brother’s relationship, Jake’s story plummets even faster with a completely irrelevant subplot with his partner Eddie (Jay Hernandez), but at least Naomi is a convincing addict.

Before I continue with my less than complimentary review, I will say I did enjoy the music. Now, back to the scathing. One part that really, really bothered me was they actually referenced one of the many movies they were ripping off in the dialogue. The para phrase, “let’s Italian Job this” was actually uttered. (I am using the reference to the 2003 version as I have not seen the original yet). I do not see this as an homage, but as a slap in the cinematic face. During the whole debacle, Ghost is LITERALLY giving a running commentary!

Hey, look! More scathing–>> The intuitive plot leaps, are simply idiotic. The police conclude that Ghost was released on the same day as the opening bank heist, thereby, they must be related. Really? For some unknown reason, the current crew has a massive hatred for Ghost who, while in prison, DID keep his mouth shut and ratted no one out. In the final showdown, John (Paul Walker) deduces Jake is the cop that was following them, never having established seeing him in the car, only a little girl (could have been ANY little girl). I am wondering when this was actually produced/conceived due to the completely out of the blue parkour chase where the cops were able to keep up.

Zoe Saldana made an appearance or two, had virtually no lines and looked a very sexy, underused and highly unappreciated eye candy. Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen also showed up… Sorta.