Loving Jezebel (1999)

In a normal romantic comedy Theodore would be dashing and suave trying to win the love of his soulmate from her less deserving suitor.Unfortunately he seems to find a lot of ' soulmates' in his travels.Recently there's Frances ( Parker) who has more issues then Time magazine. Not to mention the sophisticated Mona ( Holt ) who is world wise and is pretty sure that Theodore is the one for her. Pity her boyfriend and Theodores best friend doesn't agree.Finally we come to Samantha ( Holloman) off centre but filled with hope that is the perfect match for him. Unfortunately for them both there's her self centered jerk of a husband Gabe ( played with smooth smugness by Moscow) that could end that match stone cold dead.I like Theodore because he isn't going around causing havoc just to add names to a book, he isn't being the typical stud that finds love. There is something lovable about him that wins both these women and the audience over.Its different, its not about being a player but being a man looking for true love.How can you not like that.

I won't say too much just that this is a very good film that is not what you would expect from a romantic comedy. First of all the main character is not your typical African-American lead. I love the fact that the story doesn't chain you to the idea that this is a black man and he should be dating nothing but black women. He's a suburban guy with a mixed parentage who hangs out with and loves people of all different types. This might be the only time I've liked Hill Harper in anything(other than The Nephew). Sandrine Holt, Nicole Parker, and Laurel Holloman are as beautiful as ever and put on worthy performances. This is a fun little film that will definitely surprise some people. Give it a shot.

I lucked up on this movie while flipping through HBO one day. On first glance, I frowned up, because I thought it was going to be another one of those "formulaic black romances", complete with unfair stereotypes and your occasional shot of lovemaking. But...what the heck...I have no life....so I gave it a shot! What I saw completely blew me away. Hill Harper gives an excellent performance as Theodorous, a lovesick soul who falls for all the wrong women. As we follow Theodorous through his various hilarious exploits, the thing that struck me were his monologues. The writing was just solid...more solid than you would expect from this type of film...and whenever Theodorous goes on one of his rapid fire tangents trying to win over some poor, ATTACHED woman...you can't help but shake your head and realize that "Wow...this brother has got some game!" Needless to say, I love the film...it's a guilty pleasure of mine...and I'm currently trying to find this in DVD format so I can put it on my shelf right next to "Hav Plenty" and the few other intelligent African-American romantic comedies that I'm proud to say that I own.One love, DVS

Nicole Parker was amazing! This movie is a MUST SEE just to catch her performance. She is going to be a HUGE STAR! Her chemistry with the other cast members is remarkable. Even if you usually only see big budget, studio films...make an exception for this one. Shooting Gallery has another winner.