(Reportedly, the rapper will be billed as James Todd Smith, his real-life moniker, for all future film acting gigs he’s listed under both names in the closing credits of this one.)Ītkins, Edmonds and Kym Whitley (as an uninhibited beauty-shop employee) are standouts among a solid group of supporting players. Better still, he and Union bring out the best in each other, especially (and surprisingly) during the more dramatic emotional interludes.
But even during the early scenes, when his character’s less-than-admirable qualities are a potential turn-off, he effortlessly conveys an easygoing magnetism.
Even as Union keeps Eva strong-willed and resourceful, she makes the character more appealingly complex as pic proceeds.Īs Ray, a feckless wanderer who rarely remains in any job or with any woman for long, LL Cool J has a slightly less daunting a character arc to manage. She also grudgingly admits to twinges of weariness and resentment as she considers her seemingly endless responsibilities to sisters who don’t really want to grow up. It’s not just that Eva gets nicer - and yes, sexier - as she falls for Ray. And while she’s hard-pressed to appear anything but monstrous in the overstated expository scenes, she subtly conveys a winning vulnerability as Eva lets down her emotional guard. Union shoulders the heavy burden of making a persuasive transition from bitch on wheels to woman in love. But complications arise and the player gets played when - are you sitting down? - true love blossoms. Ray rises to the challenge (“If I can get that woman, I’ll go down in the player hall of fame!”) and Eva slowly succumbs to his charm. Jacqui (Meagan Good), the third Dandridge sister, is married to Darrell (Dartanyan Edmonds), a postal carrier, but she, too, allows Eva to be the dominant influence in her life.Ĭhronically berated and frustrated by Eva, who easily intimidates them by using words with more than two syllables, the three buddies offer $5,000 to legendary ladies’ man Ray Adams (LL Cool J) to woo Eva, theorizing that while she’s taking care of her own business, she’ll be too busy to interfere in theirs. At Eva’s urging, Kareenah (Essence Atkins) delays having children with Tim (Mel Jackson), her husband of three years and Bethany (Robinne Lee) refuses to establish unmarried co-habitation with Mike (Duane Martin), her policeman boyfriend. While her siblings don’t seem to mind Eva overseeing their lives with a whim of iron, the men in their lives certainly do.
#Deliver us from eva professional#
Director Gary Hardwick ( Brothers) shows verve and imagination from the very first moment, when the opening credit sequence has the couples dancing Temptatations-style to Motown classic "You're All I Need to Get By." A parallel to Barbershop sets a series of scenes in the local beauty salon, where the Dandridge sisters have weekly get-togethers for pedicures, facials, and lots of girl talk.Aptly described by one character as “the sister-in-law from hell,” Eva Dandridge (Union) is a strikingly beautiful but sternly implacable professional - specifically, a by-the-book public-health inspector - who remains a fiercely protective surrogate mother to her three younger sisters, ever since their parents died many years ago. Union has one of the most sparkling smiles and one of the most attractive speaking voices in movies today, and LL Cool J (appearing under his original name as James Todd Smith) gives Ray not just all of his considerable charm but also some real acting to show us how Ray's feelings for Eva change him. But what makes DELIVER US FROM EVA above average is the snap, energy, and appeal of its outstanding young cast and its understated but affectionate glimpse of the community of middle class African-Americans. There are some sharply observed moments and some barbed commentary on the war between the sexes in this engaging comedy.
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