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Something New reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2.5 out of 4
Director: Sanaa Hamri Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Mike Epps Screenplay: Kriss Turner MPAA Classification: PG-13 (sexual references)
If America were to reflect the African-American characters it portrays in Hollywood's films, the black minority of this country would consist mainly of thugs, pimps, and gangsters. Hollywood has always been racially challenged. And recently, it's been racially timid. Interracial relationships aren't put to celluloid. And if there are more than a few black characters, we must be watching a "black film" (Barbershop, Beauty Shop, The Cookout, Are We There Yet?, Drumline, Roll Bounce). So it's only a breath of fresh air to see a film flip the mantra of Hollywood's racial tension. Sanaa Hamri's directorial debut, Something New, tackles interracial dating in the bluntest and most obtuse of ways, but does so with a light heart and an easy smile. Its romance is hokey and not entirely believable, but its twist on the genre's formula makes up for much of the ground lost.
Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) is a hard-working, focused, and successful woman. But as her girlfriends are quick to point out, she's part of the 42.4%; the percentage of successful black females still single. But Kenya's become too picky over the years, and has formed a list of the traits she looks for in a man. The most important of these traits, she says, is that the man must be black. The whole gaggle of girls nods their head in approval at this one, but bemoans the rest of the traits. "Let go, let flow" they chant, explaining that instead of ticking off traits on a checklist, Kenya should simply date the man that feels right. The next day, Kenya walks into Starbucks for her first blind date. Little did she know that the date would include a white man, Brian (Simon Baker). Kenya doesn't approve and calls the date off. But the next week, Kenya and Brian meet again, this time after she unknowingly praised his work as a landscaper. Put into an awkward position, Kenya grudgingly hires him to work on the backyard of her new home, but only on an employer/employee basis. Of course, push comes to shove and handshakes go to kisses and soon Brian and Kenya are a couple. But there must be strife, as is the key ingredient for the romantic comedy. This time, instead of the ritzy lady falling for the poor chimney sweeper boy, director Sanaa Hamri has wrung Something New a twist. Kenya instead must face the tensions of interracial dating.
What's refreshing about Something New is that we're not presented with the typical Hollywood African-Americans. Screenwriter Kriss Turner allows her characters to be human and capable even of a successful career. Kenya is a financial advisor being considered for partner, her brother is a lawyer, and her father is a successful doctor. Her friends are all equally successful. Gone are the struggling nine-to-five dads working to keep his children safe from the woes of the ghetto. Something New strikes a new chord in cinema, and finally recognizes the richly populated upper-middle class of African-Americans.
The romance, however, isn't interested in striking new chords or turning new pages. It leads us down familiar paths, with the loving father and disapproving mother, the loud-mouthed girlfriends, and the "ideal" man quick to replace a fallen Brian. But Hamri seems less interested in spinning a tale of love, and more interested in tying some knots with interracial dating. The romance works, but often feels trite and forgotten. We know how the story ends; Hamri's more interested in the problems Kenya will face on the way there.
Kriss Turner's screenplay has confidence, though, and builds Kenya into a fully-dimensional character. We come to know her and trust the screenplay to give her justice when the climactic scenes roll near. And Brian's convincing enough, his passion and knowledge for landscaping and botany working as a credible shift to the common male heartthrob.
Interracial dating isn't a new discussion in cinema. But Hamri approaches the topic with an eye on modern romance, dealing with the interaction between humans and their present everyday issues with race. She offers characters whose situations are real, and allows them to play out their stories with heart. And although her message is obtuse and bluntly obvious, it's gravity with present times is pertinent enough to let us shrug off her film's more clunky moments.
-www.samseescinema.com
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