"Something New"

The motivation for choosing this title is two-fold. First and more importantly, I'm expecting something new! I'm almost 3 months pregnant with my 3rd child. Wow, writing that really puts it into perspective. I still feel like a child myself, and can't believe that I'm about to bring a 3rd life created by God into this world. The miracle of life never ceases to amaze me!



Secondly, I'd like to challenge all of my blog-readers to do something in particular by Valentine's Day weekend this year. There's a movie that I know quite a few of you have seen, but I'm certain that many of you haven't. It's called "Something New" and it stars the drop-dead gorgeous Simon Baker and the flawlessly beautiful Sanaa Lathan (my favorite actress). First I will give you a quick overview of the movie from my perspective and then I will share with you why I think this movie is so important, especially now.

"Something New" is a romantic drama with comedic undertones. It stars an all-black (with the exception of Simon Baker who is all beefcake Aussie), mostly B-List cast. Simon plays "Brian Kelly" and Sanaa plays "Kenya McQueen". Kenya is an account executive in a high-powered firm in the city of Los Angeles who is setup by a co-worker on a blind date with Brian. Brian is a landscape architect (although the co-worker only refers to him as an architect while trying to convince Kenya to meet him). Kenya (who normally "does NOT do blind dates") agrees to this blind date, and is astonished (and not happy) when she discovers that her date is white. Later, at the aforementioned co-worker's wedding reception, she is bedazzled by the remarkable landscaping and must find out who did such an impeccable job. Of course it turns out to be Brian, and despite the feelings of awkwardness, she hires him as her landscaper.



The movie can probably be considered atypical if you only focus on how it begins and how it ends. But what you don't see coming are the series of complexities that Brian and Kenya endure as they gradually become more and more enthralled with one another. Brian is just Brian, and you simply love him for that. He is always forthright and honest about who he is and what he loves. Kenya is the one that we watch transform from a little girl with a book of rules ("I only date Black men", "I don't like outdoor creatures or animals near me", "I hate the color red", etc....) to a woman who has learned who she truly is and what she truly loves. Again, there are some scenes that are tough to watch and will possibly cause you to despise Kenya, especially if you can't relate to this particular character. But as someone who WAS Kenya in my early twenties (sans both the impressive job and my own home in Baldwin Hills) I know that she is only a product of her family background and being a black woman in the U.S.

This brings me to why I think it's a good idea to watch this movie in times such as this. We have a black (biracial) man as president of the United States now. There is a black family sitting in the White House for the first time in history. A lot of conversations are going on now that never would have been sparked before such a major event in history. One of the things that many white people I know have always wondered about blacks (especially black women) is where all the semi-constant "anger" and "outrage" comes from. "What do they have to be so angry about? Especially now that we have a Black president...what else do they want?" I actually feel that this is a legitimate question. So how can a simple movie help answer questions such as this?

I think "Something New" is a good starting point. And not just for whites, either. For ALL of us. This is the first "black" movie I've seen that allows viewpoints from BOTH sides to be heard. Usually, we see Blacks behaving a certain way onscreen, but never get to see concrete examples of what's driving them to this point. The only type we typically see are ones where the kid dressed like a thug is being followed by security through the dept store...heck if your pants are falling below your knees and you have on a bandana looking like a member of the Crips, I'd keep my eye on you too if you're in my store!! But these atypical "black" movie scenes don't help whites understand why blacks are always "fighting for equal treatment" even in the new millenium. "Something New" actually shows a hard-working, intelligent Black professional woman on the job, experiencing things that a white person doesn't regularly experience. She keeps her chin up, keeps smiling, and bringing in profits for the company despite being consistently treated as second-class by the clients. Unfortunately, her significant other has to listen to her rants on a regular basis during the time that should be reserved for their relaxation and enjoying one another. My friends, I have DEFINITELY been there, and know exactly how this Kenya character feels. Just as important, I feel, is the fact that we get to see how this behavior (justified or not) affects the white people that we interact with, befriend, and love. We don't usually get both sides in one movie, and I think "Something New" pulls it off brilliantly.



So go rent "Something New" over the next few weekends. I've heard a lot of people say they enjoyed watching it with their significant other, but I'm not sure if men across the board will be as into this as women are. Although my hubby says it's one of the best movies he's ever seen, even though he knows that I have a hard celebrity crush on Simon Baker! :-) I also forgot to mention that this movie features one of the most romantic (albeit brief) love scenes between a white man and black woman onscreen. Hollywood directors, black AND white, just don't usually go there with WM and BW. There's no nudity in these scenes or anything, but it's just the most passionate love scene that I think I've seen in a movie between two beautiful people. At the very least you have Simon Baker to drool over throughout the entire movie. Not to mention, it will challenge you to really think about things more deeply instead of our usual surface-level judging. And even if it doesn't answer all of your questions about black women (or white men, for that matter) it will hopefully give you a fly-on-the-wall view of what's going on in our hearts and our environments that contributes to the tough outer-shell most of us black women have locked ourselves in. Enjoy the movie and please post your thoughts here or email them to me!

Additional Source: Review by Roger Ebert (Feb 2006)