Rocky Road

I loved it. It had characters that I could relate to as well as a plot I found believable and interesting. Geoff Cunningham is the rare writer/director who can write a female character that has a believable arch. Although I saw it in the theatres right after the bombings in NY this film left me with the sense that in the end human beings can work it out even through their differences. Also I found the cast wonderful. I highly recommend.

I saw this movie at the AMC Empire in Times Square right after 9/11. The theater was almost empty. Don't worry...you didn't miss anything great. Same ole same ole white/black thing, although there were some clever moments and a few times I was touched. The lead male, Will Wallace, did a good job (I just saw him in "The Thin Red Line")as did the lead girl's father, Robert Wisdom (I just saw in "Storytelling"). I also thought the bitter sister was rather talented although I've never seen her before. The lead girl was weak and flat as were many of the other characters.

The direction seemed amateurish as well. One shot in particular I will even go so far as to define as shocking: we view a table full of black family members (including the girlfriend) from the white boyfriend's POV. When we cut to the boyfriend, we cut to a 2 shot of the boyfriend AND the girlfriend...YES!...it's true...It actually happened that way! I almost chocked on my popcorn on that one!

Overall, I left with a nice feeling...especially with the recent tragedies. If you are bored and looking for something to see, I guess I'd recommend it. Don't expect "Dr. Zhivago".

I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was a great story about the misunderstandings between people â€" and not just about race. Although race was certainly the main setting and a major part, it also included misunderstandings between lovers, co-workers, friends, family â€" just about anybody who was interacting with anybody else. I liked the way the various viewpoints were presented â€" no one was totally right and no one (except maybe the white father) was totally wrong. The stereotypes from all sides were in equal proportion. The black man was grossly mishandled by the white cop who stopped him just because he was driving a BMW. Then the driver tried to get out of the situation by bribing the police officer.

The presentation was very balanced and many points were very subtle which gave it the benefit of some lessons without being preachy. I think it is a movie you would want to watch a number of times to get the full impact.

didn't cunningham have a family, or friends who loved him enough to tell him not to make this movie a reality? i guess there are a couple of genuinely sweet moments, such as when they're all dancing around and even the doofy white guy gets to groove. the trailer was so promising, but the movie was just so badly edited, directed, acted, scripted, etcetera. forced-sounding lines such as "no booty for a month" just shouldn't be delegated to any aspiring young actress. cute soundtrack, though. the caribbean music was nice enough, and the string cues were somewhat inexpertly played, but surprisingly well written -- enough character to buoy up the godawful plot and script, and even manage to get the audience a little less hostile toward the film. young composer vincent calianno seems versatile and surely deserves better work. oh, and the scene where John gets hit by the car is hilarious.

I decided to try out a movie I knew nothing about...and paid the price with this one. I've never seen such an obviously amateur film make it into movie theaters, the producers and director get credit for making it as far as they did. This is kind of movie you stumble upon on Cinemax-7 at 4:45 on Monday morning, watch 10-16 minutes, cringe, maybe make fun of it if someone's up with you, and forget. Unfortunately, I got stuck with 90 minutes of this garbage.

Reportedly this movie is based on the director/writer's actual life story, and starring his real-life wife. It's about a white guy who marries a girl of some sort of West Indies origin. I sure hope this guy's life is more interesting then this film makes it appear. The poster said his wife won some sort of acting award. I guess. She has the range of a postage stamp. None of the actors are remotely appealing, and they all fall into the most basic of stereotypes. The bumbling fiance, the overbearing father, the brother who doesn't trust the fiance, the wise girlfriend and her uber-wise mother, and the slutty ex-girlfriend all make appearances, with ability matching the average actor in a soft-core porn. Not acceptable.

The plot is terrible, basically "it's hard to marry a black girl". After such excellent films as Jungle Fever, this is an insult to people of both races. This has the kind of plot where everything magically happens at the right time, and the actors react in the most obvious way. There are no layers to the plot, and everything's on screen.

The worst part is the direction...Cunningham has a fine career waiting for him in retail, no doubt, but directing is not for him. The film is so badly lit, shot, and edited that it honestly looks like a high-school film class project. Sets are visible, boom mikes dip down, and any sense of continuity flies out the window during the opening credits. Music sounds like it was composed on a Casiotone, and even the titles look bad.

I'd warn you not to watch, rent, or otherwise subject yourself to this film, but I get the feeling you probably won't have to. I saw this on opening day at one of the busiest theaters in the world, and I was with 5 other people, 3 who walked out. A DVD release is probably not in the cards. If this one pops up on Cinemax late at night...watch, laugh, and RUN.