Themes: Men's Friendship, Single Life, Twentysomething Life
Main Cast: Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, Shemar Moore, Gabrielle Union
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Four successful men find themselves easing into long-term relationships, but they're not all that comfortable about it, in this intelligent comedy-drama. Terry (Shemar Moore), Jackson (Morris Chestnut), Brian (Bill Bellamy), and Derrick (D.L. Hughley) are four close friends who get together once a week to play basketball and compare notes on their problems with women. And as it turns out, they have a lot to say in that area. Terry has just gotten engaged to BeBe (Susan Dalian), who is more than a bit controlling. Jackson has a deep fear of commitment, symbolized by a recurring dream in which he's attacked by women wearing wedding gowns; what's more, he's started seeing Denise (Gabrielle Union), who he learns once had a fling with his dad (Clifton Powell). Brian is a lawyer who has discovered his next court date will see him pleading a case in front of a judge who used to be his girlfriend (Angelle Brooks). And Derrick's marriage to Sheila (Tamala Jones) is falling apart at the seams. The Brothers also features one-time Jeffersons regular Marla Gibbs, and Jennifer Lewis as Jackson's mother, who may be giving his father a second chance after many years apart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The Brothers is an amiable but forgettable entry in a genre that's become increasingly fertile at the turn of the millennium: the African-American relationship dramedy. Charting territory familiar to those who have seen The Wood, The Best Man, and Love Jones -- movies concerning the commitment jitters -- The Brothers benefits from a script punched up by funny cultural references that work seamlessly into the dialogue, but not quite enough to distinguish it. Writer/director Gary Hardwick tries to balance out the misogyny that creeps into the foursome's complaints about their women and women in general, but he doesn't totally accomplish the mission. Many of their women have power that they abuse, be it judicial prerogative, self-defense skills, or a firing-range handgun. While they come across as psychos and stalkers, the men sit back in their sarcastic victimhood and comment on the foibles of the fairer sex. Still, most of the characters ultimately get a fair shake, and Hardwick does a reasonable job fleshing out nearly a dozen of them. He's weaker at keeping track of the ambitious number of subplots. For example, an emotional impasse between the character played by Bill Belamy and his mother is forgotten for over an hour of the film, returning just in time for a hasty resolution. Judged as just popular entertainment, The Brothers does justice to its genre and should hit on enough truths to please its target audience. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Tatyana Ali - Cherie Smith; Jenifer Lewis - Louise Smith; Tamala Jones - Sheila West; Clifton Powell - Fred Smith; Susan Dalian - BeBe Fales; Marla Gibbs - Mary West; Julie Benz - Jesse Caldwell; Angelle Brooks - Judge Carla Williams
Credit
Austin Gorg - Art Director, Reuben Cannon - Casting, Debrae Little - Costume Designer, Donald Sparks - First Assistant Director, Gary Hardwick - Director, Earl Watson - Editor, Doug McHenry - Executive Producer, Marcus Miller - Composer (Music Score), Melodee Sutton - Musical Direction/Supervision, Amy B. Ancona - Production Designer, Alexander Gruszynski - Cinematographer, Darin Scott - Producer, Paddy Cullen - Producer, Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer, Jason George - Sound/Sound Designer, Gary Hardwick - Screenwriter, Melissa Levander - Set Decorator
The film touches on comedy, drama, and romance. The film was released in March 2001 and went on to gross almost $30 million at the box office which was considered a great success considering it almost quintupled the cost of the movie's production ($6,000,000). The movie was nominated for NAACP Image Awards and Black Reel Awards, but did not win any of the nominations.
The film was shot at various locations in California and Florida. The sole filming location in California was Los Angeles. The filming locations in Florida were Orlando and South Beach.
Dubbed "A Male Version of Waiting to Exhale" by director Gary Hardwick, "The Brothers" traces the hilarious journey of four African-American men, as they take on love, sex, friendship and two of life's most terrifying prospects honesty and commitment. Smart, successful and sexy, Jackson Smith (Chestnut), Brian Palmer (Bellamy), Derrick West (Hughley) and Terry White (Moore) are "The Brothers", lifelong friends since childhood, banded together to weather love's innate terrors and occasional triumphs in this brazenly comic yet painfully true exploration of the battle between the sexes. Amidst the career track, basketball and bar hopping, "The Brothers" love women, as many as possible, but shocking revelations test the foursome's friendship and changes their dating and relationship habits forever.
