٭~The Storyline~٭

Having been best friends since school, Hip Hop record label A&R executive Dre (Taye Diggs) and magazine Editor Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) have a shared love for Hip Hop and so the film begins. These two individuals are extremely close, however they've never been anything more than just good friends, that is until now of course. The night before Dre's marriage to Reese (Nicole Ari Parker), he goes to see his good friend Sidney at her house and they talk about the good old times and whether or not he's doing the right thing getting married to Reese, however in the heat of the moment they get carried away and share a passionate kiss. Having kissed, Dre makes a quick escape and the following day goes ahead as planned with his marriage to Reese with an onlooking Sidney doing nothing to stop the wedding going ahead. Having gone through the marriage, Dre and Reese begin to settle into married life while Sidney remains single. Not for long however as Sidney soon finds a man of her own in basketball star Kelby (Boris Kodjoe), and after a couple of months together at a party where everyone is present, Kelby proposes to an unsuspecting Sidney which to Dre's obvious horror she accepts. Right from the offset the film is given a 'Will they/Wont they' theme which carries through right to the end. The ending to the film is clichéd and expected, however there are a few twists along the way and a good script means that despite the clichéd and rather obvious ending, Brown Sugar remains to be a decent offering and a film that is well worth watching at least once.

Brown Sugar is a film of two halves, and although the two halves integrate in a fantastic manner come the end of the film (I wont spoil it for you), for the most part remain separate entities in the film. While the film is one part romance, Hip Hop plays an important role within the film also. At the beginning of the film Dre works for a major Hip Hop label, however in the film becomes disillusioned by the record label with it's only interest being in selling as many records as possible. The label are to sign a new Hip Hop outfit consisting of one white man and one black man purely as a gimmick to sell records, seemingly unstirred by the fact these are two of the most talentless 'musicians' ever to grace this planet. While the label insists on signing this act, Dre insists on the talent of a traditional Hip Hop starlet and so sets up his own label with the aid of Sidney in order to get his music out there. For Dre it is all about the music and as far as he's concerned; the music should speak for itself, not rely on gimmicks. Dre takes the artists CD to Sidney's magazine and is relentless in his efforts to get a review out of them, eventually succeeding in getting a deal for the CD to be reviewed by the magazine. In a conflict of interests, Sidney is the one chosen to review the CD however gives the job to someone else, someone without her passion for the music that gives the CD an average review which Dre does not feel it warrants. Dre confronts Sidney about this and she tells him that she couldn't review the CD given that she gave Dre the money to get the label set up in the first place. The CD obviously eventually gains the recognition that Dre feels it deserves as at the end of the film there are jubilant scenes as a foray of African American's are shown listening to one of the tracks and clearly feeling the sound. Clever cinematography shows people both young and old happy to listen to these true Hip Hop flavours and so the Hip Hop element of the film too is joyfully concluded.

٭~My Opinion~٭

While this predictable tale probably wont amount to being your favourite film of all time, it is a well put together feature film that should satisfy both fans of Hip Hop and those with a keen eye for romantic comedies. With an entirely African American cast (other than one half of the atrocious Hip Hop outfit), Brown Sugar is an excellent film with some strong cinematography, good storyline and a script which contains a welcome amount of comic relief. Good performances from Queen Latifah and Mos Def allow for the comedy to come through well, with both playing their parts well as representative of the comedy element within the film. There are strong performances all round really, especially from leading lady Sanaa Lathan whom I found played her role of Sidney implacably well. Lathan definitely provided the stand out performance within the film and if even there were any dull moments within the film as a result of the predictable plot, her performance alone meant that the film was carried and did not die a horrible death.

There seems to be a strong chemistry between Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan meaning that their feelings for one another in the film seem believable and with the script defining them to share a similar passion for Hip Hop, the events which ensue in the film only seem right. The two perform extremely well alongside one another and it is clear why these two were chosen to be the key protagonists within the film. The passion for Hip Hop which they portray is all well and good, however if it was not a believable passion then this film just wouldn't have worked. It is after all their love of the music which gives them their special bond meaning that they share such strong feelings for one another. Although Taye Diggs and Snaa Lathan are clearly the most significant performers within the film, their best friends are played well by Queen Latifah and Mos Def and although not always at the centre of attention, both pull off memorable roles within the film and are certainly key to the success of this film also. If it wasn't for these two, a large amount of the films comedy would be lost and it just wouldn't be the same, so vital roles from the pair that are executed perfectly.

I feel that the plot line entanglement of love story and Hip Hop passion has come off well here making 'Brown Sugar' an ultimately extremely watchable film. Sure, the film may not be the most intellectually inspiring you'll ever see and lacks real depth, however for purposes of say a Saturday night rental film you're probably going to be satisfied with what you find. I say rental as you're unlikely to want to watch this one over, however at the same time it is a pretty decent no brainer film offering from a Director that obviously has a strong passion for Hip Hop and so was able to pull off such a film and pull it off well.

You're unlikely to find many films out there like this one, and even if you do I doubt they'll be able to capture the passion which is present in this one, a film where just as much if not more love is shown for Hip Hop as for the strong relationship within. 'Brown Sugar' is a film which takes on the romantic comedy convention, however adds an interesting new angle to the genre and so you don't get that feeling that you've seen it all too many times before. Despite its contrived plot and misgivings, the extra element within the film is more than enough to keep you entertained throughout, and while some romantic comedies have me reaching for the remote, 'Brown Sugar' had me hooked, having to keep on watching right to the very end.

With a good script and great cast selection; all in all, I'm glad that on this particular night I happened to be up late channel hopping, coming across this late night Channel 4 film as it was beginning. Although not a film that I'd usually go out of my way to see, or in fact had actually heard of before watching, I found 'Brown Sugar' to be an interesting insight into the passion contained within the American Hip Hop scene. As a fan of Drum&Bass, from our own UK scene I recognise this passion and excitement about a progressive genre and the dedication that many have to the music. Passion is a wonderful thing to see in music I feel, so to see this passion presented in a film so well is a treasure to see for me and so 'Brown Sugar' was a film that really appealed. It's easy to become disillusioned sometimes and lose your passion after you see major labels release awful album after awful album and get away with doing so, purely because they have the financial power to get such rubbish sold. It's things like this however that remind you that while this is the case and will probably continue to be true for some time, there will always be people out there with a passion for music putting out CDs that they truly believe in and occasionally these artists do get their big break and it's always a pleasure to see when this happens. If you're a fan of Hip Hop then obviously this film should appeal, and in the same respect if you're a fan of predictable romantic comedies such as the whole Hugh Grant back catalogue then 'Brown Sugar' could well be one to watch.

Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Year of release: 2002
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Runtime: 109 mins
BBFC Rating: 12