“Hi Queen Latifah. I love you”. My Bestie Janice and husband Chris have had to hear this from me more times than I can count. I say it every time a Cover Girl commercial comes on, or whenever the Queen pops up on T.V.
I’m a huge Queen Latifah fan. Huge. I will watch any and everything she’s in. I have a huge crush on her and am not ashamed to say it. She’s beautiful and funny and a breath of fresh air when it comes to these movies. She’s the kind of leading lady that doesn’t really get messed with. She’s beautiful, but in a fight, you might lose.
Most romantic comedies follow a basic formula. They meet, something happens to put a dent in their getting together. When they do get together, something happens to tear them apart, and at the end the guy usually makes the big move to get them back together. In most of these movies the leading lady is someone most of us can’t really relate to. She’s usually really skinny and beautiful, or needs only to comb her hair and apparently take off her glasses to be gorgeous, yet somehow can’t meet “the right guy”.
I like some of the older rom-coms. When Harry Met Sally and The Goodbye Girl to name 2. I like some newer ones, but not all of them. Most of them really make me want to puke. I pick them by who’s starring in them as there are certain actors/actresses (if you can call them that) that I really don’t like or believe in these roles. I won’t name them. That’s just mean. Jello.
Perhaps I’m a little biased when it comes to the rom-coms, anything really, starring Queen. That’s how it works though, isn’t it? We all have actors we enjoy and want to support no matter what they’re in. Their being in the movie simply makes us like it that much more. I may not have liked this one as much had it starred a different, more stereotypical, actress. I wouldn’t have gone to see it in that case actually. Anyhow, on with the synopsis already.
In this one, Queen plays Leslie Wright, a physical therapist who can’t seem to find her Mr. Right because she’s too much of a “homegirl”. She’s a huge basketball fan, is kind of a tomboy and doesn’t “look a certain way”. That way is skinny with overdone makeup while wearing a dress and hells all the time. Her lifetime friend however, Morgan (Paula Patton) is just that. She’s also a lazy gold digging brat, but let’s save that for later. Leslie pretty much accepts her fate and doesn’t try to change. She doesn’t spend the whole movie complaining about her circumstance either. Sure there’s a couple of eye rolls and comments, but she’s not a whiny baby. The one and only time she cries in the movie is completely justified.
After a Nets game, she has her meet-cute with the star player, Scott McKnight (Common) at a gas station. (Let me just say how surprised I was that his character is so charming and such a gentleman. I went in with the assumption that he’s be some hotshot jock with a big attitude. Not the case.) He invites her to his birthday party, she brings Morgan along, and you can guess what happens next. The thing with this story is that Leslie isn’t into Scott that way yet. It’s not a love at first sight thing, so it’s a little less annoying basically.
Morgan and Scott announce their engagement 3 months later. Scott gets seriously hurt in a game, so Morgan gets Leslie to come to work full time on his physical therapy. Once his contract is in danger of not getting renewed however, Morgan cuts and runs, leaving Leslie to work with Scott for 3 months on their own. And the rest is Hollywood history…. He realizes that Leslie is his Mrs. Wright, and they live happily ever after basically.
If that’s a spoiler for you, I’m not sorry. You’re obviously a movie noob, so consider this part of your movie education. In rom-coms, unless there is a best friend usually of the opposite sex in the picture, who isn’t gay, the leading couple always end up together. Otherwise, unless it’s been made clear to us that they’re completely wrong for each other, and that the best friend is actually perfect for them (and almost always secretly in love with them), then THEY end up together. Happy smiles all around. Pass the tissue box, finish your drink and please make sure to throw out your garbage on the way out of the theater.
I do have to mention how great Queen Latifah looked. Not to be shallow or anything because I’ve loved her since “Set It Off” and don’t care about the size of her ass. Remember how she called Jenny a while back? Damn! She’s looking good. She’s still luscious and curvy, but in a more healthy way I guess is what I’m trying to say. She still has all her flavor, but in a smaller package. Yes, I meant for that to sound cheesy. I just wanted to give her kudos for her hard work.