AB Goes To The Movies - N-Secure.

No need to lie, when I saw the limited television ads for N-Secure, as well as that hideous movie poster, my expectations were pretty low. Seriously, that is the worst, lamest, cheapest Photoshop job I've ever seen. But the old idiom says never judge a book by it's cover. Interestingly, N-Secure adds a wrinkle to that cliche. Never judge a movie by it's cheap assed poster and D-List cast, because it turns out this is actually a pretty good flick.



Beautifully shot in the city of Memphis, N-Secure follows a very insecure and very rich man named David Alan Washington (Cordell Moore, whom even I've never heard of, but nails the role) who is incredibly controlling, jealous, and bordeline OCD. When his girlfriend (Essence Atkins from all those UPN sitcoms) cheats on him, Washington immediately dumps her and hooks up with another woman (Denise Boutte of Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married) whom he suspects won't hurt him. When Washington's jealous nature gets the better of him, the usual urban thriller hijinx ensue. And thankfully avoiding Negro cinema cliches, there's no contrived come-to-Jesus moment and no sangin'. I could probably tell you a lot more, but I'd likely ruin the movie.

If there's one underlying message in this movie that sorta irked me, it's that every woman David encounters thinks he's a total jackass (and he is, make no mistake), but they all seem to stick with him because he's rich. As a result, it's kinda hard to find any likeable characters in this movie, which is usually a fatal flaw with any flick. Strangely, that doesn't derail N-Secure, but I sure hope nobody gets fooled into thinking this is a "positive" movie just because there are some nice cars being driven and all the women look fabulous. There's a dark undertone to this film that goes beyond the 107 minute running time.

Well paced, although nearly two hours long, N-Secure is a rare quality black drama in post-TP America. With a solid supporting cast of folks (Lamman Rucker, Tempestt Bledsoe, Steve Harvey's weedcarrier Nephew Tommy) you probably know more by face than by name, it's the kind of movie that makes you yell to the screen repeatedly, but in a good way. Save yourself some trouble and don't go see this on in the hood' if you're the type who's easily annoyed by this sort of behavior.

The Verdict: If you like compelling dramas, you'll probably like N-Secure. Don't let the cheesy poster and trailer fool you. This is a pretty good movie.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out Of 5)

Question: Did you see N-Secure?