First things first, this is not a remake of the 1994 film Nobody’s Fool starring Paul Newman, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith. However, after attending an advanced screening I will say that it is reminiscent of the 1992 comedy Boomerang starring Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens and Halle Berry among others.
I say that because the plot is very similar, except in this case the roles are reversed:
Eddie Murphy as Marcus Graham is now Tika Sumpter as Danica
Robin Givens as Jacqueline Broyer is now Mechad Brooks as Charlie
Halle Berry as Angela Lewis is now Omari Hardwick as Frank
David Alan Grier as Gerard Jackson is now Amber Riley as Callie
Martin Lawrence as Tyler Hawkins is now Tiffany Haddish as Tanya
*There’s also a cameo from an actor who had a part in Boomerang but you’ll have to watch the film to find out.
Tyler Perry is an accomplished writer, director, producer, actor and every other title that comes with filmmaking who is known for the Madea franchise, For Colored Girls, Why Did I Get Married, Meet the Browns, House of Payne and a number of other successful projects. Yet this is his first R-rated comedy and he picked the right cast to execute a story that is equally funny as it is hard hitting. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge Whoopi Goldberg in her role as Lola, the loving mother of Tanya and Danica. The Academy Award winning actress provides just the right amount of comic relief in every scene she appears in.
Often times romantic comedies are about the guy who had the perfect girl but somehow finds a way to screw it up and then spends the final act trying to make things right. In this case, you have a successful black female who has everything going for her and constantly struggles with her list of attributes that make up the perfect man versus trusting the guy that doesn’t have any of those qualities but loves her unconditionally.
In my opinion it speaks volumes about what we as a society view as “the perfect match.” We disregard the nice guy or the good girl for the person we follow on social media and drool over. People constantly put up posts about yearning for love and poetry and romantic quotes, yet they’re too vain to see that person right in front of them.
Neither life nor love comes with a soundtrack, or that dreamy moment. Make a list if you so choose, but don’t be surprised if “the one” is nothing like what you pictured….that’s the lesson in Nobody’s Fool.
