Think Like a Man
The movie does provide plenty to chew on, and the respective story arcs are executed well enough to make the overall journey worthwhile.
Ensemble romantic comedies are often wholesale and trivial looks at the so - called entirety of the dating scene , rather than an investment in a single , deeper taradiddle about love . Films likeHe ’s Just Not That Into Youor any of the vacation - theme ensemble read-only storage - coms of the last few years -Valentine ’s Day , New Year ’s Eve- are successes in large part because they attract a wide net of looker with their star - studded casts . However , reckon Like a Manhas an rising battle in that regard , since it boast a cast of primarily African - American adept .
The literal question ( as always ) is : will this film invoke to a broad moviegoing consultation ? And more to the point : does it have any appeal at all ?
The story orb around a radical of male protagonist played by Michael Ealy ( Underworld Awakening ) , Terrence Jenkins ( The Game ) , Romany Malco ( 40 Year - Old Virgin ) , Kevin Hart ( last at a Funeral ) and nonmigratory snowy friends Jerry Ferrara ( retinue ) and Gary Owen ( House of Payne ) . The guys each defend a certain " type " - " dreamer , " " shirker , " " player , " " momma ’s boy , " misogynist - but they are all confound a collective curveball when comedian Steve Harvey - or as the movie refers to him , ' that master of ceremonies ofFamily Feud ' - write a book that expose the inner working of mens ' idea to all those women looking for a leg - up in the war of love .
When the miss " types " - easy young lady Meagan Good ( The Unborn ) , undivided mom Regina Hall ( Scary Movie ) , lone career gallon Taraji P. Henson ( Hustle ' N Flow ) , and ' one of the guys ' girlfriend Gabrielle Union ( Bad Boys 2 ) - finally run into their respective mates , they do so with the mindset of not make the same old mistake , and doing thing the Steve Harvey direction . However , when the boys learn that the lady friend are using a book as their romantic pathfinder , they mount a psychological retort - attack to regain their lost ground on the field of honor .
Think Like a Man ’s greatest strength is the timbre of its mental synthesis : it is much smarter in terms of both social organisation and write up than so many other ensemble read-only memory - coms have manage to be . ( It ’s also chic than a hatful viewers might expect from watching the dawdler . ) Sure , the whole matter is an unashamed ( and simultaneously shameful ) indorsement of Steve Harvey ’s bestselling self - aid Koran , but screenwriters David A. Newman and Keith Merryman - the twosome who wrote the topical read-only memory - comFriends with Benefits- and manager Tim Story ( Fantastic Four , Barber Shop ) manage to make a well-timed , lighthearted , and ( most significantly ) dependable looking at what gender political relation have become in the fresh millennium - and all the disarray and struggles that come with . In short : this is probably one the secure and more entertaining adaptation of a self - assistance book you ’re potential to see .
The movie itself is structure as a chronicle of warfare , starting with an animated segment about humanity that is lifted correctly out of the animated seriesThe Boondocks . From there , we are introduce to our various male and female " case " before we move on to the " vs. " round , wherein the case are arranged into the pairing that supply the interlocking story arcs of the film ( for example , " The Momma ’s Boy vs. The Single Mother " ) . The movie then take away us through the familiar fixed storage - com formula of love , break up , and reconciliation - albeit with total ego - awareness of its own cliched path ( as voiced by the not - so - subtle narrative of Kevin Hart ’s fictional character ) .
While the cast bodily structure of the story and blatant reliance on character " types " seem , on paper , like the recipe for a flat and two - dimensional movie , the dramatis personae ofThink Like a Mansucceed ( for the most part ) in elevating their pilot and making them into relatable persona for spectator of both genders to engross with . Some of the actors - Ealy , Henson , Hall and Malco - are certainly better ( in some casesmuchbetter ) than others - Jenkins , Good , Ferrara - but the weaker actors are paired with firm actor so that scenes of the individual relationships are never complete cataclysm , even if the weak inter-group communication falter . likewise , some of the storylines are better than others ( Henson and Ealy ’s is the respectable by far ) , but all of them are sufficiently developed and extend ample ( if not predictable ) payoff . The strongest scene are when the couples carve up into their male and distaff herd for some humorous rumination and trash - talking - with the exception of conniption sport Meagan Good and her best friend spiel by La La Anthony ( Carmelo ’s wife ) , which are like discourses on unspeakable playacting .
To the flick ’s credit , the various " case " and kinship system are all slightly relevant - that is to say , it ’s promiscuous make out our own relationships and/or personality in at leastoneof the scenario or character . Merryman and Newman are also unafraid to smash from the usual shy rom - com insurance of political correctness;Think Like a Manis plausibly the best use of " token " type I have seen .
Gary Owen steals many second as Bennett , the dull , merrily marry white guy rope who is always ready and willing to offer up some whitebread levelheaded wisdom to his chest of drawers - thumping black friends . Owen turns the common caricature ( the token group member ) completely on its head by being unapologetically what he is : tiresome , white , mirthfully matrimonial and good off for it . The presence of OwenandFerrara creates an even better dynamic in the radical : scenes where the guys reason about behaviors and attitude that are autochthonal to black-market and/or white culture are earnest , reliable and refreshing to see .
Michael Ealy and Taraji P. Henson in ‘Think Like a Man’
In terms of tone , the movie is not bear on with offering over - the - top slapstick or grimy body fluid ( those aspects are well quarantine within Kevin Hart ’s eccentric ) -rather , Think Like a Manis concerned with telling a more genuine and pointed story about love and relationships , sprinkle with a few sight gags ( Kevin Hart is shortsighted - get it ? ) , reoccurring jokes ( see : Chris Brown ’s cameo as a Lothario dirtbag ) , a few winking celebrity cameo , and plenty of observational humor . Those hanker for the " drollery " end of ' quixotic drollery ' might palpate a bit shortchanged - then again , the movie does provide raft to chew on , and the respective story electric arc are executed well enough to make the overall journey worthwhile .
suppose Like a Manis now playing in theaters . It is rate PG-13 for sexual mental object , some earthy humour , and brief drug use of goods and services .
Think Like a Man is a amatory comedy point by Tim Story and released in 2012 . The moving-picture show star Michael Ealy , Meagan Good , Jerry Ferrara , and Regina Hall , and was based on the Steve Harvey record book entitle Act Like a Lady , Think Like a Man . The plot follows four separate couples and the trick that ensue when the male counterparts find out their female halves are all say from Steve Harvey ’s Word .
L to R: Meagan Good, Romany Malco, Regina Hall, Gary Owen, Terrence Jenkins, Kevin Hart
