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I'm Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks)
Film Review by Kam Williams
Brother cured of jungle
fever decides to
settle down with a
sister
Although he himself is African American,
Jay Brooks (Anthony Montgomery) doesn’t date Black girls, basically
because every one he’s met has been more interested in the athletic,
alpha-male, Talented Tenth type of guy. And this thirty-something, nerdy
underachiever not only wears glasses, but can’t dance, chain smokes
through a cigarette holder and isn’t exactly good in bed. Worse, his pay
as an illustrator of graphic novels isn’t enough for him to own a car,
which makes it almost impossible to wine and dine women in a city like
Los Angeles.
Still, these failings haven’t prevented the roaming Romeo from finding
one white girl after another eager to sleep with him. The only problem
is that none of those serially monogamous liaisons ever lasts because
Jay always sabotages them at the first sign that a partner wants to get
serious.
He’s recently dumped his latest conquest in his usual fashion, namely,
by leaving behind a note as he went out the door, because the Rubenesque
redhead (Jennifer Hogan) said he reminded her of the actor Gary Coleman.
Reflecting upon his series of failed relationships with Caucasians, Jay
decides it’s time to try to see if he can find a suitable match from
among his own people afterall. So, he puts into motion Operation Brown
Sugar, running a personal ad seeking a sister.
He proceeds to audition a string of losers without any luck, until by
chance he is introduced by a mutual friend (Kellee Stewart) to Catherine
Williamson (Lia Johnson), a best-selling author with a new book on the
market prophetically-entitled, “The Inevitable Was Bound to Happen.”
Catherine is a free-spirit sporting colorful hair extensions, which
prompts Jay to remark, “I didn’t know Black girls grew blue hair.”
Not one to be intimidated, the feisty fiction writer snaps back, “I
didn’t know you could smoke through a straw.” There’s an instant
attraction which Jay has a hard time trusting because his thoroughly
enjoying the company of a Black woman feels utterly unfamiliar. But once
these soul mates start dating, the only question is whether fear of
commitment will cause him to ruin the best thing he’s ever had.
So, unfolds I'm Through with White Girls, a battle-of-the-sexes
comedy marking the delightful directorial debut of Jennifer Sharp.
Equally-impressive is the gifted young cast employed to execute Courtney
Lilly’s endlessly inventive script, especially co-stars Lia Johnson and
Anthony Montgomery, as well as Lamman Rucker, Marcus Patrick, Kellee
Stewart, Ryan Alosio and veteran Johnny Brown (who you may remember as
Bookman the Janitor on the classic TV series “Good Times.)
Alternately entertaining and enlightening, this hilariously funny flick
is proof positive that it’s possible to shoot a sophisticated romantic
romp on a shoe-string budget.
Rated R for profanity, an ethnic slur and sexual references.
Running time: 94 minutes
Studio: Turn Soul Films/Image Entertainment
To see a trailer of the film, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMyjLUiu7o
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Lloyd Kam Williams
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 Lloyd
Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who
writes for 100+ publications around the U.S. and Canada. He is a member of
the African-American Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics
Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee, and Rotten Tomatoes. In
addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from
Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam
lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.
IMDiversity.com is committed to presenting diverse points of view.
However, the viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of
the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or
employees at IMD.
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