Something New

Today I, a 33-year-old black man, walked into a movie theater full of black women who had come to watch Sanaa Lathan fall in love with a white guy in the new movie, Something New.
Considering what a wonder Sanaa Lathan is to behold, it was tough watching her and a white guy get it on. I can say this: Simon Baker is much more handsome than Billy Bob Thorton, with whom the luscious Halle Berry got it on in "Monster's Ball."
But going beyond that superficial stuff, I found Sanaa Hamri's debut a delight to watch, a movie that celebrated love but also took into account the challenges of an interracial romance.
There's a nicely done scene in the middle of the movie in which Lathan's Kenya lashes into Baker's Brian. Brian had a hard day and he doesn't want to hear Kenya complain about the white client who cannot take her seriously because she's black.
Kenya counters that she can't take a break from being black. It's a heart-wrenching and uncomfortable scene but one that feels real.
Also real is the struggle that some single black women have in finding the so-called IBM (Ideal Black Man). One startling statistic that starts off the movie is that 42.4 percent of black women have never been married.
It is a reality that Kenya, as a successful black woman, is acutely aware of, and the introduction of Brian into her life forces her to examine her deeply-held dreams and beliefs (such as her preference for black men).
What happens when what we want in life is changed and challenged by our circumstances. What if what we want limits what we could have, ostensibly love.
The weakness in the movie, however, comes in the late introduction of the Ideal Black Man, as portrayed by Blair Underwood. It's the movie's attempt at a fair balance to show that Kenya does have viable options. But it's clear from the get-go that Blair's character is not the right man for her; Brian is.
Near the end is when the movie devolves into the predictability of romance comedies, where our hero or heroine realizes that he or she has made a horrible mistake. Kenya finally realizes that Brian is her man.
And everyone lives happily ever after.
But the journey to that cliched moment is worth taking. Chemistry, smart dialogue and an often funny and intelligent script.
Yeah, it's something new.