Something New (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Sanaa Hamri

Writer (WGA):

Kriss Turner (written by)

Release Date:

29 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She had it all under control. Except her heart

Plot:

Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper.

Plot Keywords:

Blind Date | Landscaper | Partner | Friend | Heart

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Sanaa Lathan	...	Kenya Denise McQueen
Fuzzy Fantabulous	...	Himself (voice) (as DJ Fuzzy Fantabulous)
Katharine Towne	...	Leah Cahan
Stanley DeSantis	...	Jack Pino
K.C. Clyde	...	Waiter
Wendy Raquel Robinson	...	Cheryl
Golden Brooks	...	Suzette
Taraji P. Henson	...	Nedra
Marcus Brown	...	Rashid Mohammed
Russell Hornsby	...	Dr. Brockton
Simon Baker	...	Brian Kelly
Danny Wooten	...	Starbucks Employee
Mike Epps	...	Walter
Lee Garlington	...	Mrs. Cahan
Tonita Castro	...	Maria

Also Known As:

42.4 Percent (USA) (working title)
Bloom (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual references.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Gramercy Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Sanaa Lathan's character, Kenya, is the daughter of Alfre Woodard's character. They share the same relationship in Love & Basketball (2000) and also in The Family That Preys (2008).

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the beginning of the film, Kenya wakes up her PC, which is clearly a Dell, but it's running Mac OS X. The screen shows the telltale Finder icons on the right side of the screen and the desktop picture is one of the images that ships with OS X. A few shots later, the closeup of her calendar also shows the three "gel buttons" in the upper-left corner.

Quotes:

Sommore: [nods to Brian] I see y'all brought your night light with you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Oprah Winfrey Show: (2006-03-08)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Family Reunion

A Romantic Comedy with Substance

First off, this movie is NOT about a shortage of black men. In fact, there are plenty of black men in this movie: husbands, brothers, boyfriends, guys at Starbucks, club-goers. It just so happens that the main character Kenya, a black woman, falls in love with a white man. What's the big freakin deal?!?! To repeat, this movie is not about a shortage of black men; it never claims to be. It's a love story and one that is complicated by race. I thought the issues they had to deal with as a couple were very real, particularly Kenya's issues with her job.

I can totally relate to the Kenya character and I can easily think of 10 other black women who probably can too. This film was refreshing; it was so nice to see a smart, successful black woman as the main character of a movie. GO SEE IT!