THE GAZETTE
Page B-8
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 g
AT THE MOVIES
Fourteen-year reunion of ‘The Best Man’ cast is pleasant company BY
Robin (Sanaa Lathan) and Harper (Taye Diggs) star in “The Best Man Holiday.”
MICHAEL PHILLIPS CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“The Best Man Holiday” follows in the footsteps of writer-director Malcolm D. Lee’s successful 1999 comedy “The Best Man,” using a template familiar to anyone who may have seen “The Big Chill” or its micro-budget predecessor, “Return of the Secaucus Seven.” They’re all different in their qualities and atmosphere. “The Best Man Holiday,” for example, is a far more Tyler Perry-ish mixture of comedy and tragedy than the easygoing “Best Man” was, back in the pre-Perry movie era. Yet along with everything from “Jumping the Broom” to “Think Like a Man” to Adam Sandler’s slovenly “Grown Ups” hits, these disparate ensemble pictures live or die on the same simple question: Do we enjoy hanging out with these people for a couple of hours? The hangout factor remains gratifyingly high in “The Best Man Holiday,” though the mood has grown bittersweet. In the first “Best Man,” Taye Diggs’ character, the novelist Harper, wrote a thinly disguised book about himself and his college friends in which he revealed his long-ago affair with Mia (Monica Calhoun), who’s about to marry football star Lance (Morris Chestnut). Lance nearly threw Harper off a balcony when he finally learned of the tryst, but with God’s guidance Lance’s forgiving instincts brought everyone peaceably together for a climactic wedding and closing dance number. Fourteen years later, times are tough for Harper. Now married to Robyn (Sanaa Lathan), with a child due, the once-hot novelist has followed up his best-seller with a sophomore slump of a book. Also he’s been laid off by New York University, news he has yet to share with his wife. Harper still holds a small- to mediumsized torch for TV producer Jordan (Nia Long). Reneging on the all’s-well ending in the first “Best Man,” superstar Lance has slipped into a jealous funk once again regarding Harper’s dalliance with
PHOTOS FROM MICHAEL GIBSON
THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY n 3 stars n R; 124 minutes n Cast: Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Morris Chestnut, Eddie Cibrian, Melissa De Sousa, Monica Calhoun, Harold Perrineau, Regina Hall n Directed by Malcom D. Lee
Mia. Nonetheless, Mia invites everyone to stay with them for Christmas. The gang’s all here, including Julian (Harold Perrineau), now happily married to his ex-stripper, now-educator wife (Regina Hall). The shrill handful Shelby (Melissa De Sousa) was last seen hooking up with the unrepentant horn dog Quentin, played by Terrence Howard. Both return, and in particular it’s a treat to see Howard mess around so entertainingly, after so many dramas, in a brashly comic role. Some of the writing is pungently funny, as when Jordan’s new squeeze (Eddie Cibrian) is described by one of the characters as “a tall vanilla swagga
(From left) Quentin (Terrence Howard), Jordan (Nia Long) and Brian (Eddie Cibrian) star in “The Best Man Holiday.” latte.” The first film’s clash of true Christian believers and nonbelievers was part of the fabric of the comedy, though it wasn’t all played for laughs. This time there’s a blunt tone to the inspirational uplift. It’s a bit of a drag that the film is confined for long stretches to the interior of
Lance and Mia’s oddly underfurnished McMansion. But Lee, who made the underrated Chicago-set “Roll Bounce,” knows where this movie’s bread and butter is stored. When the four male leads suave their way through a dance number set to New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain,” it’s a highlight because the hangout factor with this cast is con-
siderable. And the movie, while nothing visually special, earns its queen-sized dose of pathos honestly. As to why studios don’t put out twice, three times, five times as many predominantly African-American ensemble pieces every year, given their typical cost-to-profit ratios ... good question.
IN THE ARTS
Continued from Page B-7 Dec. 30, call for prices, times, Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, 301634-2270, www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org. Gaithersburg Arts Barn, Neil Simon’s “God’s Favorite,” to Nov. 24; Singer Songwriter Concert Series presents Stephen Fearing, Nov. 21; The Comedy and Magic Society, Nov. 29, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg. 301-258-6394, www. gaithersburgmd.gov/artsbarn. Imagination Stage, “Lyle the Crocodile,” Nov. 20 to Jan. 10, call for prices, times, Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, www. imaginationstage.org Olney Theatre Center, “The King and I,” to Dec. 29, call for prices, times, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, 301-924-3400, www.olneytheatre.org. The Puppet Co., “The Nutcracker,” Nov. 29 to Dec. 29; Tiny Tots @ 10, select Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, call for show times, Puppet Co. Playhouse, Glen Echo Park’s North Arcade Building, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., $5, 301634-5380, www.thepuppetco.org. Round House Theatre, Bethesda, “The Lyons,” Nov. 27 to Dec. 22, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda. 240-644-1100, www. roundhousetheatre.org. Round House Theatre, Silver Spring, “Meena’s Dream,” Jan. 8-14, call for show times, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, $15 for general admission, $10 for subscribers, patrons 30 and younger and seniors, 244-644-1100, www.
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roundhousetheatre.org. Silver Spring Stage, “The Pillowman,” to Nov. 23, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Woodmoor Shopping Center, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. www.ssstage.org. The Writer’s Center, Workshop Participant Reading, 2 p.m. Nov. 24, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, 301-654-8664, www.writer.org.
VISUAL ART Adah Rose Gallery, John James Anderson and Mei Mei Chang, to Dec. 28, 3766 Howard Ave., Kensington, 301-922-0162, www. adahrosegallery.com
The Dennis and Phillip Ratner Museum, TBA, hours are 10 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10001 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda. 301-897-1518. Gallery B, “ZigZag,” to Nov. 30, gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E. www. bethesda.org. Glenview Mansion, Washington Watercolor Association, to Dec. 3, Rockville Civic Center Park, 503 Edmonston Drive, Rockville. www. rockvillemd.gov. Marin-Price Galleries, Hennesy & Hennesy, to Nov. 25, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, 7022 Wisconsin Ave., 301-718-0622. VisArts, Dawn Gavin, to Nov. 27, Gibbs Street Gallery; Carol Miller Frost and Rebecca Kamen: “Flow and Shift,” to Nov. 27, Kaplan Gallery; 155 Gibbs St., Rockville, 301-315-8200, www. visartsatrockville.org.