Brandi R. Love
"Black Coffee" provided a distinction between the average "Boy meets Girl" love stories. An all- star cast graced the silver screen and held credence to the saying "When one door closes another one opens". Darrin Dewitt Henson (Robert) plays a man who has reached a crossroads when faced with several adversities in his life. Veteran actor Christian Keyes (whom I'm sure ladies wouldn't mind him pouring a cup of coffee), plays Julian, Robert's cousin who pushes the envelope for him to become a successful entrepreneur. Brely Evans was delightful as , Nicole, Julian's regular customer and prospective love interest, Richard Gallion was charming and witty as Duke, the owner of the cozy neighborhood bookstore where Robert frequents. Gabrielle Dennis (Robert's love interest) and Lamman Rucker(Hillman) both have their destinies altered and find that "Black Love Matters". This movie has officially converted me from a "hopeless'' romantic into a "hopeful romantic"...or at least that's what my therapist said!
Anyanwu
This was a bad movie. In the bookstore the camera rarely moved. The same establishing shot showing the door was used each time. That says the filmmaker was lazy. Same thing for every scene that takes place where the cousin was selling coffee. The scenes were long and talkie and they weren't funny or poignant. SO MUCH talking. Basic tenet in film is, "show me, don't tell me." This was a high school film done with a better camera. It's telling when the editor is not listed on the IMDb page. The pacing coupled with the unnecessary long dialogue scenes just made it excruciating to watch. The writing for the characters was atrocious. In the 21st century a Black female confident in her abilities entrepreneur lawyer is going to let some man cock block her life? Not buying it. And our painter has to move in on the lawyer on the pick up mode from jump. Beautiful woman discount indeed. Clichéd and stereotypical. The soundtrack was sappy and not happening. Just a bad film all the way around.
DarylKMiddlebrook
Just caught the movie Black Coffee on BET tonight. I wasn't familiar with the director (Mark Harris) nor the two lead actors, and I have to admit my expectations were not high, as a matter of fact, the only thing I was expecting was to be changing the channel after about fifteen minutes. Well, let me just say, that as the final credits rolled by, I found myself having been pleasantly entertained. First, let me give you a synopsis of the film; Robert (the charming Darrin Dewitt Henson) is having a bad day. First he gets fired from the company his father started, by Nate (Josh Ventura), the man he brought in to resurrect the business. The cloudy day continues when Robert arrives at home only to find his gorgeous but vapid girlfriend of two years Mita (Erica Hubbard of BET's Let's Stay Together) is leaving him for another man. Robert's luck doesn't get any better when he later finds out that the man Mita is leaving him for, is none other than Nate. At his lowest ebb, no job, no woman, betrayed, Robert has a quick encounter with a beautiful woman named Morgan (the enticing Gabrielle Dennis) at his local bookstore. With a little push from his hustler cousin Julian (Christian Keyes), Robert arranges to meet Morgan, and after some initial hesitation, Morgan soon finds herself as attracted to Robert as he is to her.From this point, the film turns into a romantic comedy with Robert and Morgan going through the usual motions of falling in love, with several potholes in the road as expected. Where this movie falls short is in its ability to build up emotional conflict and drama. For example, one of those potholes the couple encounters is Morgan's ex- husband Hill (the versatile Lamman Rucker) who, unable to keep his wife from leaving, refuses to release a million dollar property to her unless she keeps away from other men. This, and Mita's attempt to come back into Robert's life should have provided ample conflict, but unfortunately, become merely a soft sub-plot. Now please understand me, I was not looking for Tyler Perry crack mama, sadistic husband, drag queen crazy aunts, type drama. What this film lacked were the stair steps that make us invest in the characters, and reveal how deep or shallow their love is.That being said, where Black Coffee does work is in its funny, witty dialog, charismatic, lovable characters, and an attractive cast, that makes this movie a pleasure to watch. Henson as Robert shows great chops as a leading man, and if this performance is any indication, he should be showing up in more films. Keyes as hustling, wise- cracking Julian steals the scenes he is in and Hubbard's Mita takes a role which could have been annoying but adds just the amount of sass to make her believable. The star of the movie for me is Dennis, who blends a mixture of sophistication and sexiness to her role that rivals any of the A-List girls such as Halle Berry or Kerry Washington.Director Mark Harris pulls everything together smoothly; reining in his actors so that there is no Perry-ish moments of over-acting, and allowing the movie to glide along at a steady, if not spectacular pace. Adam Lee's cinematography is as smooth and mellow as Harris' direction, allowing the actor's charm and attractiveness to be the film's finest special effect. While you're not going to be taken on the head-spinning roller coaster ride of most of today's romantic-comedies, just like Black Coffee, the film will stimulate and satisfy.
Kim Coi (Watts)
I loved this movie!! I thought this was an extremely good movie for anyone to see and I do mean anyone. It's romantic, funny, empowering and motivating, positive. So much that is touched on in this movie can be related to by practically everyone of us. I love a good romantic love story and this film gives me that and more. The humor in the film is great. The sound track is very very good. Some say other African Americans can't relate to this story or these characters. I say absolutely I CAN relate and many others I know can relate. This movie tells part of my story as well as that of many I know. Our story as African Americans, is not a simple black and white story it is a very colorful story with many different ridges and edges in it. We see few of our African American movies come to the screen with a positive message and image. It's a truth I am not proud of especially after viewing Black Coffee and seeing it be done and nonetheless in an independent film. Mark Harris and the cast did an amazing job! Go check it out especially my people in Chicago.
