Think Like A Man

         ‘Think Like a Man’ has more talent than story.  Not necessarily quantity of story as the movie follows the love lives of four interconnected couples, rather quality of story.  The film’s premise is a ‘battle of the sexes’ cliche and  a shameless vehicle for promoting Steve Harvey’s book ‘Act Like a Lady, but Think Like a Man’ (I guess the case could be made that the movie was based on the “self-help” book).  However, it is genuinely funny thanks to some great performances even if the lessons are a little cookie-cutter and obvious.

Kevin Hart is the stand out character; Cedric, even though, as a soon to be divorced man, he is the only one not pursuing a relationship.  Everyone in the group of male friends has a stereo-typical label and Cedric’s is ‘Happily Divorced Guy’.  I don’t know how Kevin Hart isn’t more famous than he is as I would put his rants up against Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle any day.  You wait for every scene he is in as you know something outrageous will happen or be said.  The scene with the 5’4” Hart talking smack on the basketball court with a group of NBA players was worth the admission alone.  

Like I said before, a lot of the scenarios were painfully predictable and stereo-typical.  There’s the ‘Mama’s Boy’,  ‘The Player’, ‘The Dreamer’, ‘The Happily Married guy’ and ‘The Noncommittal guy’.  Coincidentally, their types of personalities all are profiled in Steve Harvey’s book.  The women they are seeing all happen to get copies of the book and use Steve’s advice to manipulate their men into doing what they want.  Not a very promising premise (at least from a guy’s point of view [pardon the sexism]).  Somehow, the men discover what the women are doing and try to find a copy of the book which happens to be sold out everywhere (I guess they haven’t heard of e-books).  I’m groaning as I write this.

Still, a cast of strong comedic actors drive this film and make it a fun and funny movie.  Anyone who remembers Romany Malco and Kevin Hart’s scene in ‘The 40 year old Virgin’ will be happy to know that their bickering best friend chemistry holds up for an entire movie.  ‘Think Like a Man’ is your typical battle of the sexes where the women always seem to best the befuddled and forever adolescent men, but it is so funny that the cliche doesn’t matter.

Like all romantic comedies, the loose ends are all tied up in a nice little bow and the resolutions are a little too neat.  It is interesting how relationships that seem romantic in movies don’t always tend to be that way in real life.  Taraji P Henson plays Lauren, the female alpha CEO  who falls for the handsome prep cook Dominic  (played with soap opera good looks by Michael Ealy).  In a country of 300 million, you could probably count on one hand how many times that has happened.  Regina Hall has the rare combination of attractiveness and humor trying to steal her Mama’s boy boyfriend away from his mother.  Again, in reality, that’s a losing battle.   Real life model/actress Gabriel Union tries to change her adolescent boyfriend of 9 years into an adult who doesn’t collect action figures, play video games, and get high all day.  I thought buying a relationship between Gabriel Union and Jerry Ferrara to be a bigger suspension of disbelief than her actually changing him.  Finally, Romany Malco as Zeke ‘The Player’ who is more fascinated than discouraged by Meagan Good’s secret rule of no sex before 90 days.  The film perpetuates the female belief that men are just looking for a woman to say ‘No’.  

I think you get the picture.  This could almost qualify as a sitcom plot.  There is a lot of talent in here by people who should be more famous than they are.  If one can get over their pretensions of enjoying a romantic chick flick, then you are in for a good time and a lot of laughs.  It was a pleasant way to pass a matinee.

I rate this film *** stars.