Black Coffee

Just caught the movie Black Coffee on BET tonight. I wasn't familiar with the director (Mark Harris) nor the two lead actors, and I have to admit my expectations were not high, as a matter of fact, the only thing I was expecting was to be changing the channel after about fifteen minutes. Well, let me just say, that as the final credits rolled by, I found myself having been pleasantly entertained.

First, let me give you a synopsis of the film; Robert (the charming Darrin Dewitt Henson) is having a bad day. First he gets fired from the company his father started, by Nate (Josh Ventura), the man he brought in to resurrect the business. The cloudy day continues when Robert arrives at home only to find his gorgeous but vapid girlfriend of two years Mita (Erica Hubbard of BET's Let's Stay Together) is leaving him for another man. Robert's luck doesn't get any better when he later finds out that the man Mita is leaving him for, is none other than Nate. At his lowest ebb, no job, no woman, betrayed, Robert has a quick encounter with a beautiful woman named Morgan (the enticing Gabrielle Dennis) at his local bookstore. With a little push from his hustler cousin Julian (Christian Keyes), Robert arranges to meet Morgan, and after some initial hesitation, Morgan soon finds herself as attracted to Robert as he is to her.

From this point, the film turns into a romantic comedy with Robert and Morgan going through the usual motions of falling in love, with several potholes in the road as expected. Where this movie falls short is in its ability to build up emotional conflict and drama. For example, one of those potholes the couple encounters is Morgan's ex- husband Hill (the versatile Lamman Rucker) who, unable to keep his wife from leaving, refuses to release a million dollar property to her unless she keeps away from other men. This, and Mita's attempt to come back into Robert's life should have provided ample conflict, but unfortunately, become merely a soft sub-plot. Now please understand me, I was not looking for Tyler Perry crack mama, sadistic husband, drag queen crazy aunts, type drama. What this film lacked were the stair steps that make us invest in the characters, and reveal how deep or shallow their love is.

That being said, where Black Coffee does work is in its funny, witty dialog, charismatic, lovable characters, and an attractive cast, that makes this movie a pleasure to watch. Henson as Robert shows great chops as a leading man, and if this performance is any indication, he should be showing up in more films. Keyes as hustling, wise- cracking Julian steals the scenes he is in and Hubbard's Mita takes a role which could have been annoying but adds just the amount of sass to make her believable. The star of the movie for me is Dennis, who blends a mixture of sophistication and sexiness to her role that rivals any of the A-List girls such as Halle Berry or Kerry Washington.

Director Mark Harris pulls everything together smoothly; reining in his actors so that there is no Perry-ish moments of over-acting, and allowing the movie to glide along at a steady, if not spectacular pace. Adam Lee's cinematography is as smooth and mellow as Harris' direction, allowing the actor's charm and attractiveness to be the film's finest special effect. While you're not going to be taken on the head-spinning roller coaster ride of most of today's romantic-comedies, just like Black Coffee, the film will stimulate and satisfy.

When Mark Harris's Black Coffee ended, I felt like I was still waiting for the film to begin. The film's poster, trailer, and title give it the impression that there will be themes and ideas about black entrepreneurship and private enterprise, that would've made for a wickedly entertaining subject that has never, to my knowledge, been articulated in film. Instead, writer/director Harris gives us something we've seen far, far too often; a relationship drama where all the characters are flat as a board and all there is a cloying artificiality to the characters, their motivations, and their interactions with one another.

The film concerns Robert (Darrin Dewitt Henson), an amiable man who gets fired from his own father's company and simultaneously loses his money-hungry girlfriend Mita (Erica Hubbard) all in the same day. Robert sticks by his cousin Julian (Christian Keyes) for personal guidance after meeting and falling for an attractive woman named Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis) as well as trying to find gigs as a painter. Furthermore, trouble brews like a cup of piping-hot coffee when Morgan's ex-husband Hill (Lamman Rucker) attempts to get her back, as well as Mita revealing she had been in a relationship with Robert's now ex-boss the whole time and is hungering for his company (meaning his money) once more, throwing everything into a dramatic tailspin.

There is enough melodrama in this picture to sustain two consecutive Tyler Perry films and a TV show, and Harris attempts to introduce the film's many characters, get us to like the ones we're supposed to and loathe the ones we don't, show numerous instances of betrayal, drama, intensity, and connections, and give us an ending we believe all in the time frame of eighty minutes. Quite a lofty ambition, but it should come as little surprise that the film is just short of being completely and totally abysmal. Simply put, the motivations had by characters - especially Robert's cloying and unrealistic "forgive and forget" attitude towards his ex-girlfriend's treatment of him when she comes groveling back, even offering her a place on his couch - aren't the least bit believable.

The squeaky-clean dialog is also not a very accurate portrayal either. Not every film needs to have excessive amounts of cursing, but Black Coffee's constant desire to possess an annoyingly sunny, look-on-the-bright-side definition isn't only unrealistic but delusional. These characters dangerously approach the lines of being completely unfazed by anything, deluding and sugarcoating current events in their lives as if cheating, deception, and betrayal are normal, every-day "it happens" sort of deals. It's frightening how the characters never seem to get that aggravated or hurt by their peers' actions, and when they do show it, it's in a contrived and disgustingly phony manner.

Aside from the film's grave amount of flaws, it at least looks unbelievably gorgeous, with an indescribable antiseptic slickness to the cinematography, done by Adam Lee. The film has no problem in the looks department, portraying society as if we're viewing it from a crystal-clear, recently-washed window, again adding to my idea that the film has a constant desire to keep on the sunny side, downplaying disgusting moments of human deception as if they're not really anything to bat an eye at. As an adolescent with a short-fuze, high-anxiety, and an often low self-esteem, I wish I had the restraint and control the characters in Black Coffee have. Unfortunately, I am located in reality.

The real tragedy of Black Coffee, however, isn't its depressing focus in the realm of cinema that tries to be of human interest but ends up being unrealistic and it isn't that its characters take a blow from a pound of rocks with as a tickle from a grain of salt. It's that this picture should actually be about black entrepreneurship. Why did we have to dive into Robert's relationship life? Couldn't we see him maybe open a coffee shop, fight competition, deal with backlash and dissent from family, and maybe have to gain moral and physical help from his cousin Julian? It could've been a beautiful parable and a great film to showcase the often underestimated black businessman and entrepreneur. Instead, we got one of the worst possible substitutes.

Starring: Darrin Dewitt Henson, Erica Hubbard, Christian Keyes, Gabriella Dennis, and Lamman Rucker. Directed by: Mark Harris.

This movie has been all over Facebook and Instagram, so I had to check it out and I must say that it was very nice to go to a movie about love without any wild sexual language and overtones. I read that i could take my children and so I took my daughter and she loved it! A nice way to a love story without the drama all. The characters were nice, positive people and I enjoyed them all, though I loved to hate the ex husbands character. I also happen to be a business owner and I thought it was nice to hear inspiring things about business and things like that. Great movie and other than one or two parts, I have nothing but great things to say about it. I hope my sisters in Texas get to see it too, i heard it was only in 4 cities.

Poor Robert (Darrin Dewitt Henson). First, his boss fires him, even though Robert's father actually started the company! It's a surprise. Then, when this handsome man gets home, his mercurial girlfriend declares that she is moving out, since no ring has appeared. It looks like a double whammy for Rob! His crazy, coffee seller cousin Julian (Christian Keyes) is there to help him adjust. But, sometimes things happen for the better. First, Robert can devote more time to his side business and true love, interior painting. His skill can transform office space into something magic. Then, at a secondhand bookstore, Robert spies a beautiful lady, Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis). Although he doesn't get a chance to introduce himself, SHE calls him soon, for she wants her office redecorated, as she is a lawyer. But, curiously, Gabby doesn't seem to want to respond to Robert's obvious interest. All too soon, Robert learns that her ex-husband may want her back and is messing with her mind. Then, Robert finds out that his ex-girlfriend is having an affair with his former boss. So, that's why he was fired! Will Robert be able to win Morgan's affections? Maybe so, as he hatches a brilliant idea in his mind! This movie, to some, has an obvious agenda. African Americans need to become small business owners in order to truly make the big bucks. Yes, this may be a great idea to ponder. But, even when the flick is most blatantly persuasive, there is still a nice romantic comedy at the core. We fans care most about this! The cast is nice, with Keyes, especially, very funny. Also, the setting, costumes, story and direction are quite capable, resulting in an enjoyable watch. If you love your romcoms, like me, pick this one, brew up some coffee and gobble some cookies, too.

In the opening scene, a loud klaxon sounds on Robert's alarm clock as he wakes up-- there's no ambiguity about the meaning of the titular metaphor of this film. Writer/producer Mark Harris uses positive messages of self-improvement, social responsibility, and hope to prompt his audience to change in this unconventional RomCom.

It's refreshing to finally see a movie that models positive, socially constructive values instead of all the stereotypes and derision found in nearly every big-studio film with black characters. Harris uses a direct approach to deliver his message -- the characters simply say what black folks should do to improve themselves. And Harris lets us know that he is fully aware of all of the racist techniques that mainstream Hollywood producers use to deride and oppress black people: black characters depicted in lower-socioeconomic positions; stereotypical behaviors; substandard grammar and pronunciation; no eye contact; and the promotion of anti-social values. Harris directly addresses these with counter-messaging for each one. And to drive home the point, the film reverses the usual Hollywood-typical roles of black and white people -- a white guy who delivers bad news to the protagonist; a white assistant who is deferential to a black businessman; a white patron at the bookstore being exceptionally rude; and the white guy pleading with the black protagonist for help at one point. In big-studio films all of those white characters would be cast with black actors instead.

One message promoted in the film that I have a disagreement with is the idea of economic segregation. Via this story, the filmmakers argue that black folks should only buy and sell to other black folks to improve their economic condition. Now I agree that buying $500 "swoosh" sneakers made by overseas slave labor or buying expensive gold chains from your local non-black-owned jewelry store is probably not a smart idea. But the tactic promoted by this film of complete segregation, while perhaps effective in the short term is ultimately unsustainable and doesn't get society to where it needs to be. However, the ideas of entrepreneurship, self-improvement, and mutual respect presented in the film are all good.

The writing was solid and the dialog was natural and believable. And the acting was well above average. Story-wise, this film broke somewhat from the RomCom formula in a way that was innovative and actually worked. Also, the characters who play the preexisting partners of the protagonists are treated with more respect, not just as disposable foils or antagonists, but as real people who have issues and are redeemable. Hollywood producers could take a lesson from this film and be a little more willing to step out of the RomCom formula rut.

But there were some serious technical issues with the film. Some of the exterior shots were overexposed and the filmmakers failed to maintain control over ambient noise in ___location shots. And the audio editing was really choppy. If they couldn't pick a venue where they had control over the noise, then they should have just shot the video and then had the talent come in and re-dub the lines and mix in any required ambient sound in post (which would probably require wider framing and more reaction shots because it's a labor-intensive process to try to sync a dub for more than a second or so against a closeup). Or better yet, shoot it in-studio against a green screen (where motorcycles and helicopters can't stomp on the actors' lines) and then add in whatever ___location you need later in post.

Overall though, this was a well-written and well-acted film that was somewhat direct at times, but had a positive, socially responsible message. It was clear that Harris didn't want to compromise his message in this film and the result was well worth it. (However, I noticed a later project by Harris, 'No Regrets', which seemed to slip into more Hollywood-style black stereotypes with substandard grammar and anti-social behavior by the black characters.)

Even with the technical flaws, I'm giving this a rating of 9/10 because the message it delivers is so positive.

Advisory: Promotion of drug use by the protagonists.

Rating: 9/10;