Look Mama, I'm In The Paper!!! (Again)

The Washington Post Express newspaper seemed to like last week's post about the new Obama "Forward" campaign slogan.

Go peep that.

AB Goes To The Movies - Think Like A Man.

In post-Tyler Perry America, the romantic comedy is a staple that seems headed the way of the BetaMax VCR. While the 90's and 00's boasted such solid romcoms as Love and Basketball, The Best Man, Brown Sugar and Two Can Play That Game, the genre has fallen on hard times of late. Every film's either got some misplaced Come To Jeeezus!!! undertone, or a crusty, grown-assed black man in a dress and pumps. I'll pass.

For these reasons and many others, I was less than enthused when I started seeing the ads for Think Like A Man pop up during NBA broadcasts. Okay, I'll just keep it two hunned: I'm not the biggest fan of Steve Hightower Harvey. I think it's beyond comical that a man with more ex-spouses than Elizabeth Taylor has somehow convinced black women that he's a love doctor and relationship expert by releasing a ghost-written book full of common freakin' sense. Now that sh*t cray is funny. Still, Harvey-hatin' aside, I guess I have to admire the man's hustle. When he realized his days as the (self-proclaimed) King Of Comedy were coming to an end, he did a complete 180 and rebranded himself. His book "Think Like A Man, Act Like A Woman" is a New York Times bestseller, and the basis for said film. I'm blogging about said film, basically giving it free pub.

Advantage: Hightower Harvey!


That said, the movie itself is actually good. Surprisingly good. Shockingly good. So good that you're left scratching your head during the closing credits, wondering "How in the hell did something associated with Steve Hightower Harvey turn out that good?" Honestly, this might (keyword: might) be the best black romantic comedy since Boomerang.

Yes, I said it. This movie's that good.

I haven't read the book (shocker!) but the film inadvertently (or perhaps, blatantly, depending on how you look at it) serves as an infomercial. 10 Los Angelenos with relationship statuses in varying states of disarray try to resolve their differences in a game of cat and mouse that revolves around the wit and wisdom contained in Harvey's aforementioned book.

Kevin Hart plays a recently divorced man trying to re-adjust to life as a single guy. Michael Ealy is a "Hapless Dreamer"[1] whose lack of ambition clashes with Taraji P. Henson's high powered corporate status. Romany Malco is the stereotypical "player" who falls prey to the charms of a newly chaste Meagan Good. Gabrielle Union cannot seem to get her fratboy, action figure-obsessed boyfriend Jerry Ferrara to grow up and commit. Mama's boy Terrence J juggles the demands of his two most favorite women when he falls for single mother Regina Hall. BET comedian Gary Owen is happily married with kids, but for some odd reason has permission time and energy to hang out with a bunch of single dudes playing basketball and barhopping every night. A boatload (and boy do I ever mean a boatload!)[2] of D-List ancillary characters helps move the storyline along at a brisk pace. Harvey (predictably playing himself) provides relationship advice while a guest on an Oprah-like show at plot-intensive intervals, all the while smiling and oddly filmed with a soft-focus lens.[3]

If this sounds like entirely too much going on for one movie, you'd technically be correct. Emsemble casts are usually a recipe for complete disaster, but somehow it works quite well in this Tim Story (Barbershop, Fantastic Four) helmed flick, which was somewhat confoundingly written by two Jewish guys. There isn't a single incapable actor performer, yet there's no real star either. This cast is kinda like the Memphis Grizzlies. Each couple gets equal airtime, and although Ealy is the nominal headliner, Kevin Hart is actually the show stealer here, providing well-timed comedic relief. I'm not 100% sure if this is the star vehicle that propels Hart into the Eddie/Martin/Richard Hollyweird stratosphere, but he clearly shows that in the right context, his brand of humor translates to the big screen. Good for him.

None of the couples dilemmas is actually too deep/complex, and thankfully, for once, the movie's plot culmination does not involve childhood rape(!) Anyone else who has seen a black film in this century will probably breathe a huge sigh of relief after reading that. The movie is well-written, steers clear of any annoying coonery, and even the dialogue is relatively cliche-free. My wife and I laughed a lot, and well, that's sorta what a romantic comedy should be about.

Final Verdict - This movie was actually very good. Surprisingly good. Shockingly good. I'm sure Steve Harvey and his ultra-white veneers will be laughing all the way to the bank. And hey, for once, I'm actually laughing with him. Eff' a matinee, pay full price! 4 Stars (Out Of 5)

Question: Did you see Think Like A Man? What'd you think? Was it actually as good as I'm saying, or am I grading it on the Tyler Perry Scale Of Dramatically Lowered Expectations?!?

[1] Lightskinned, green-eyed handsome guy who can't hold a steady job in the movies = "Hapless Dreamer". Not-so-handsome, not-so-green-eyed guy who can't hold a steady job in real life = "Jobless Loser".

[2] I'm literally talking every black person not named Denzel or Angela that's ever appeared in a movie or UPN TV show. All of em'. Seriously, the cameos and bit parts just kept coming and kept getting more and more absurd.

[3] That "Barbara Walters" camera trick that makes her look younger than the 82 years she actually is. Yeah, it was kinda weird.

April Job Numbers Are Bad News For Obama Re-Election.

Folks, lets not try and sugarcoat sugar honey iced tea. These numbers are bad. Bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good. No other way to spin it.

The U.S. economy added 115,000 new jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, the lowest level since January 2009. While some may focus on the rate, the more important fact is that job creation was disappointing.

2012 started off with a bang in terms of job creation. In January, the economy added 275,000 jobs; February was revised up to 259,000 from the originally reported 240,000; and March was also revised up to 154,000 from 120,000. With today's data, the average monthly job creation this year has been 200,000. The big question that looms: Were the January-February results an anomaly and are the March-April results indicative of where the economy and the jobs market really stands?

In the weeks leading up to the report, there seemed to be impending doom. Weekly claims were trending higher (claims averaged about 384,000 in April, up from an average of 369,000 in January, February and March); the ADP private sector employment report was weaker than expected; and then there was everyone's favorite scapegoat: The weather. Economists said there would be payback for that mild winter that much of the nation enjoyed.

Analysts said that employers hired more than expected in December, January and February, "borrowing" those jobs from March, April and May. Goldman Sachs analysts guessed "that weather has boosted the level of payrolls by around 100,000 as of February, and may have shaved about 20,000 from the March report. Going forward, we currently expect payback of about 50,000 in April and the remaining 30,000 in May."

I know some folks on #TeamObama are going to try and place the blame for these anemic numbers somewhere other than the White House. And yes, there's plenty of blame to go around. Congress isn't helping. States are still laying off workers. The winter was unseasonably warm. Amare and Linsanity are both hurt.[1]

While there's truth to all of that, reality is, when you're President, the buck stops with you. If you take credit when things are going well, you have to take the heat when things aren't. I praised Obama when the job numbers were on the upswing. They're now ominously rolling back in the opposite direction. That's not good, misleading 8.1% unemployment rate not withstanding.

None of this changes my vote. Romney's practically non-existent financial plan presents no real solutions other than "get rid of Obama and do the same sh*t that got us in a recession in the first place". No ma'am.

But let's not make excuses for bad performance. Call a proverbial spade a spade.

Unless these numbers improve dramatically, November's election is wide open.

Question: What do you think? What (if anything) can be done to reverse this downward trend in job growth?!?

[1] Oops, wrong set of excuses.