There aren’t many movies that capture the true meaning of love, but Gary Hardwick’s new film’s attempt may be the best yet.
“The Brothers” explores what it means to love, as the film examines the relationship between four best friends, “the brothers,” and their relationships with women.
The film begins with Jackson Smith (Morris Chestnut) discussing his unwillingness to commit to a relationship with a psychiatrist, and explains his recurring dreams of a woman in a wedding dress trying to shoot him.
Although Jackson has a lot on his mind, the successful doctor always finds the time to shoot a few hoops and hang with his best friends, Derrick West (D.L. Hughley), Terry White (Shemar Moore) and Brian Palmer (Bill Bellamy).
Derrick, the only of the brothers who’s wed and has a child, is experiencing trouble with his wife, Mary (Marla Gibbs), while Terry has just taken the biggest step of his life and proposed to his girlfriend, BeBe (Susan Dalian), after only two months of dating.
And though it hasn’t been a long time, Terry believes he’s prepared to put his playing days behind him and take the jump over the broom.
Brian provides the audience with some comedic action as he tries to convince the brothers to continue their old ways as players.
But while he’s advocating the lifestyle, he’s being stalked and rejected by the women he’s dating.
However, the title is slightly deceiving.
The brothers’ voices aren’t the only ones heard in this film. Jackson’s mother Louise (Jenifer Lewis), a boisterous divorcée, helps the women in the film learn what it means to be truly in love.
Directed by Detroit native Hardwick, “The Brothers” follows in the new trend of positive films that explore African American lives outside of ’hood movies and gangsta flicks.
While together, the brothers address major relationship issues on the minds of many professional African American men today.
Dating white women, fear of commitment and lack of love are all touched upon while on the basketball court during a friendly game, making this an unpredictable, heartwarming film that will appeal to the masses.
