What I Learned From Think Like A Man: We Need More Romantic Comedies

When I initially heard that Steve Harvey's book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man would be made in to a movie, I rolled my eyes...hard. Those that know me know that I'm not big on relationship books, especially one written by an author with a history of divorce. When the book came out, I shook my head at all the common sense rules that seemed to be epiphanies to most women and prayed that no one in my book club suggested we read it, but I eventually understood why so many women felt they needed the book: advice seems so much more important and real when it comes across as inside knowledge from the "enemy" (I doubt that a woman touting the same advice would receive the same attention).

So now Steve Harvey is a comedian, game show host, radio host, and relationship guru. Great!



But is a movie necessary? Nawl.

And then I heard that Michael Ealy would be in it, and my answer changed to "YES!" with a fist pump and a pelvic thrust. Any- and everything including Michael Ealy is very necessary!

When I eventually saw the trailer online, I had another change of heart. The movie had a romantic comedy kind of vibe which really piqued my interest. Because I am a sucker for love and happy endings and I love to laugh, I absolutely adore "Rom-Coms".  The Holiday is at the top of my list, with Something Borrowed, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Break Up, No Strings Attached, and He's Just Not that In To You rounding out my list of favs.

One thing noticeable about that list of favorite rom-coms is the lack of color: not a single one of those movies featured a black main character, or even supporting character. What's up with that?

Black folks love comedies. We flock to Tyler Perry movies, and movies with Martin Lawrence and until recently Eddie Murphy in major roles. We also like romantic movies. Love Jones still has a huge following 15 years after it's release, and on twitter, I'm constantly spotting references about movies like Jason's Lyric, Something New, and Love & Basketball.

So what's up with Black romantic comedies? Where are they? And why are they so few and far between?

With The Best Man, The Brothers, Brown Sugar, The Wood, and Hitch in the late '90s to mid- '00s, there seemed to be a burgeoning Black rom-com period, but it eventually tapered off and we were left with the likes of the extremely hard to believe Just Wright (Common's acting gave me an allergic reaction) and The Last Holiday. Anything else was Tyler Perry related, with a story line too outrageous and formulaic for my taste. The pickings have have been slim, mayne.

But never fear. Last year Jumping The Broom earned over 37 million, and now with Think Like A Man raking in 33 million in it's opening weekend  (better than all of TP's movies, except Madea Goes To Jail), maybe Hollywood will notice there is a serious and profitable market for romantic comedies with diverse casts, sans Mr. Perry.

I saw Think Like A Man with a few girlfriends over the weekend, and it was actually good. Many people were skeptical, myself included, but I haven't met or spoken to one person who didn't enjoy the movie. There were a few missteps: Steve Harvey repeatedly popping in with his words of wisdom every eight minutes was completely unnecessary, and I could have done without the inclusion of so many non-acting celebrities in the cast. Other than those annoyances, the movie was hilariously entertaining. I tip my hat to Kevin Hart, who successfully carried the movie on his back with his foolish shenanigans. The various amounts of eye candy didn't hurt either.

I will say that I didn't leave the theater with the urge to "think like a man" or run to the store to get Harvey's book (which glaringly came across as the purpose of the film), but the movie it met my desire to see Black folks laughing and loving in a production not riddled with strife, poverty, violence, and other serious issues.

It left me looking forward to more light and easy, date night, chick flick type movies with characters who look like me and my girls and the men in my life.

I sure hope they give them to us.



Did you see Think Like A Man? Did you like it?
Do you enjoy romantic comedies? What are some of your favs?