Conversations with Marva

…sweet. Syrupy, molasses, sugar type sweet. So sweet that it left a taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of after I walked out of the theatre. That is not necessarily a good, or bad, thing.

First, let me say that there are simply not enough images of Black people in love on the movie screens. With the influx of Madea movies, and typical story lines that Hollywood continues to feed to the masses, Jumping the Broom was a refreshing change of pace. Seeing how these two families, from different sides of the track, come together was handled well. I was surprised at how good the acting was (Angela Bassett can do no wrong), and the setting in Martha’s Vineyard made me immediately want to schedule a trip to see it in person. But there was something else…something that didn’t quite hit me right.

That syrupy sweetness? Yeah…it got to be too much.

I love Paula Patton. I think she is one of the most beautiful actresses of our time. Her character in Jumping the Broom came across as whiny, spoiled, and shallow…if that was what she was supposed to be, then congratulations…she succeeded. But I don’t think that is the case. I think she was meant to be played as a woman who had reached a moment of growth in her life. A woman who had tired of going through men like water and needed something firm and concrete to stand on. A woman who was one of the “haves”, but not using it to define her. That is what she appeared like to me. I rarely say that I don’t like a character, but I didn’t like her. And my palm itched as if it wanted to slap her beautiful face and yell at her to stop acting like a 12-year-old.

Another thing was the Milf-y, cougar-y beginning of a relationship between the characters portrayed by Tasha Smith and Romeo. Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against the whole older woman/younger man thing (I just may be defined as a cougar myself…they didn’t make younger men this fine when I was in my 20s…tee hee hee). My problem is that it seemed so forced and unnatural and unbelievable. Completely and utterly unbelievable.

At the crux of Jumping the Broom is a story that has tremendous amounts of potential. The ending—which I won’t tell you about, don’t worry—left me feeling like I had just ingested a huge amount of honey. I enjoyed it at first, but eventually I grew weary of the taste, and ended up feeling nauseous. Sometimes sweetness has a limit. 

And this movie, despite all of its good qualities, was over the limit.

Be free,

~ Marva

Tags: Jumping the Broom, movies