Brown Sugar

Movie

Love it

I agree with the editorial review. Its kind of sad that I couldnt find this DVD in stores and had to revert to purchasing it online at Amazon.com. You can find 100 copies of some overrated blockbuster in these stores but you cant find Brown Sugar. I find that kind of strange. At any rate...The story is about Sydney(Sanaa Lathan) and Dre(Taye Diggs). Two best friends that have feelings for each other but never attempted to date each other. Sydney is a journalist and Dre is a record executive at Millinium Records. Dre ends up marrying a woman he just met(played by Nicole Ari Parker) and Sydney is not too happy about it. Sydney ends up dating a ball player(played by Boris Kodjoe) and they end up getting engaged. Dre has to deal with with a record label that only cares about making money and Sydney has to deal with her feelings for Dre.Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs have wonderful chemistry together. They come across as real people on the screen and that is one thing I enjoy about Rick Fumuyiwa's movies. The people in them seem like real people and not these cardboard cutouts that we are used to in Hollywood movies. Also great in this movie is Queen Latifah and Mos Def who plays Chris, a struggling hip hop artist. Brown Sugar is not only charming and has a heart, its also smart and funny too. I'll admit that I laughed quite a bit especially at Rin and Tin scenes. I also love how the movie uses Sydney and Dre as a metaphorical euphemism for hip hop. Its a well written and well acted movie that deserves a lot more credit that it receives. Nowadays movies are being oversold to death and stealing all the hype from movies that deserve hype. Its sad but this is the Follywood machine at work and it has never been any other way. Sanaa Lathan is not only a sight for sore eyes but she can actually act. Taye Diggs brings his usual charm to the film and I must say that they make a beautiful couple on screen.Conclusion: Brown Sugar is one of the best and is most underrated romantic comedies of 2002. The story is great, the acting is cool and the chemistry is there. What more can you ask for from a movie? The people that gave this movie less than 3 stars should stick to reviewing Quentin Tarantino and his awful overrated movies(all of them!)and leave movies like this one alone. Support the black directors that give you great work and Rick Fumuyiwa has given you great work with The Wood and Brown Sugar. Dont take directors like Bill Duke, Rick Fumuyiwa, Matty Rich etc for granted because you will helping in the downward spiral of quality in Black cinema. Give Brown Sugar a chance. It deserves that much which is more than I can say for most of the overhyped junk that comes out now.

This movie is brilliant and entertaining and fresh, but sadly most the the reviewers of this movie TOTALLY MISSED the point.If you thought this was just another romantic comedy, then of course you'd think this was just a run-of-the-mill, predictable movie.If you weren't exposed and/or have no concept of what hip hop was before it's crossover period, circa-1990 with FAKE, gimmicky artists with no skill like Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer who put out anything that would sell records, don't watch this movie -- someone else will only have to break it down to you later.Like the Amazon.com Review (Jeff Shannon) says above (please read carefully), the LEAST entertaining aspect of this movie is Dre & Sidney's relationship.The gist of the movie is how Dre & Sid's relationship is written as a direct parallel and with commentary on the music business of how hip hop lost its soul when it crossed over and became commercial.Every scene in the movie is metaphorical and attests to this commentary.Dre & Sid's friendship as innocent young kids in the 1980s parallels the birth of hip hop and its innocent period.Dre & Sid's outside (dating) relationships parallel hip hop selling out just enough in the mainstream to survive.Dre's ultimate marriage to Reece, a fake, money-grubbing, status quo symbol, parallel's hip hop's crossover to the mainstream and going commercial.Dre & Sid's hookup in the end (pay close attention to the hotel scene dialogue when Sid tells Dre she can't review his CD ... Dre's lines "One moment you say you want me to change and the next you're saying you want me to stay the same...").That whole scene is metaphorical for the true to life debates music fans have today ... everyone wants hip hop to grow & change, yet those unhappy with the changes (such as overcommercialism & the rise of Southern hip hop) are longing for the "pure days" when rappers with real skills put out great music to represent their intelligence, their skills and their personal experience INSTEAD of puttin' out whatever flava-of-the-month style of music will sell the most (thus, selling out hip hop).Finally, Dre & Sid's hookup as an official couple on Angie Martinez's Hot97 is like this film's writer's personal commentary that ultimately, hip hop has to return to its roots to move forward (kind of like a Hip Hop Sankofa concept, looking back/understanding the past in order to move forward).Like I said, if you don't know what hip hop music was pre-1990, you won't understand half of the movie and thus you won't appreciate what the 4 & 5-star reviewers of this movie see in its creativity.This film was written with a purpose and I hope, despite meager sales, we get more like this one instead of the stereotypical, dumbed-down stuff that Hollwyood keeps pushing.

I enjoyed the characters and story of their history. It was also nice to see a story about music and love for hip hop.

Beautiful movie

This is one of my favorite movies.

good film

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. As a lover of music myself i could relate to this movie 100%. For those viewers that may not have a passion for music there IS something that you have a passion for and someone you can share that passion with; if you don't have someone to share that with this movie allows you to have hope that someone is out there for you.This movie even made me look at my relationship with one of my best friends which so happens to also be a man, i had a good ole chuckle with myself when i thought of the idea of us two 'hooking up'. But that's what this movie does, opens the floor that makes you question yourself and your relationships. All is fair in Love & Hip-Hop. ENJOY!

Excellent service. Package arrived on time and in excellent condition. This movie is for all who appreciate the history, growth and impact of Hip-hop on popular culture. Truly a work of art. Many old school greats featured.

I’m a bit bias, as this is one of my favourite films. You know, where a boy realises how much he loves a girl then tells her

Full of laughter. Really enjoyed this and would highly recommend.

As I have mentioned these story line's are a new way to look at the Afro- American culture, very deep and entertaing script. I will enjoy watching over and over again.