I'm Through with White Girls

2007 "It's not you. It's him."
I'm Through with White Girls
5.7| 1h33m| R| en| More Info
Released: 01 February 2007 Released
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Synopsis

Jay Brooks is that black guy who digs indie rock, graphic novels, and dates white chicks. After a slew of bad break-ups, Jay gives up white women, "cold turkey," and he goes on a mission: "Operation Brown Sugar". But because Jay doesn't fit the "brotha" stereotype, he fails miserably with the "sistahs." Then he meets the dynamic Catherine, a misunderstood "Half-rican Canadian", who's as righteously quirky as he is. To win her heart, Jay must confront his fears as he realizes commitment is a bigger issue than race.

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Mr Nuff Terrible, terrible title aside (it doesn't describe the movie well), I'm Through with White Girls is a great indie movie. It somewhat reminded me of Hav Plenty in the way that it is a black movie that's smart and funny without resorting to stereotypical black movie buffoonery.I think what's best about this movie (and misleading about the title) is that it isn't a movie about race, but it is a romantic comedy that talks about race in a smart and realistic way. Also, it has the classic romcom elements, but isn't predictable. I really identified with the characters, especially the main character. The acting and direction is mostly on point. Mostly, unlike many other black films, it doesn't feel like an "urban" remake of some other movie. It is a unique film.The only thing holding this movie back from getting an 10 is the fact that you can tell it's an independent movie: some shots run too long, some of the comedic moments are corny, and the budget obviously isn't very high. Aside from that, it's a great flick.And just to be clear: despite the title, it's not a movie that's against interracial relationships.
bashe I saw I'm Through With White Girls last night, and liked it a whole lot. And I had absurdly high expectations, too; so for me to say that means something, since whenever I head into an encounter with art possessing absurdly high expectations, I usually come away disappointed. Not this time.I'd say this is easily the purest, most self-consciously post-soul film I've ever seen (I would say "ever made" instead of "ever seen," but obviously there could be another one out there). Actually, I'd have to put Afro-Punk right up there with it, except that the latter is a documentary, and this is an absolutely delightful romantic comedy.It's got all the PSA aspects one could want: non-traditional representations of blackness in conflict with---and in connection with---traditional representations of blackness; social class issues; the way cultural blackness plays out among white characters, particularly white men (and the great thing about it is that these black-culture-influenced white characters never descend into caricature, as do, sadly, the working class black characters); the tension between stereotypical black behaviors and individuality (and that tension plays out on both white and black cultural planes, of course); bi-raciality and the question of blackness (not only is the female lead bi-racial, she's not even a native of the United States). Oh, there's all sorts of great, symbolic, contextual stuff in the mix. But the wonderful thing is that the film stands on its own as a plot-driven romantic comedy that skillfully moves along the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-regains-girl, happy-ending format. (I get impatient, quite frankly, with people who get impatient with the romantic comedy format---to me, that just means [1] that person just doesn't like romantic comedies---because the format is what it is, or [2] that person doesn't realize that the romantic comedy form is just another form, and it's what you do with it, how funny it is, how the pacing works, what it tells you, culturally, about the world the characters inhabit, that informs how well or poorly one deals with that form.) In any case, I thought it was a successful film on the PSA level, for sure, but also on the pure filmic level, as well.I liked, as well, the persistent references to Paul Beatty's novel The White Boy Shuffle: [1] there is a moment in the film when the specific words "the white boy shuffle" come out of the male lead's mouth; [2] when the female lead is reading from her novel at a bookstore, you can jusssst barely hear her describe HER male lead as being named "Gunnar," echoing Beatty's hero's first name; and [3] one of the running gags throughout the film is that Jay Brooks can't dance!---yet another Gunnar-esquire gesture. In addition, there's an explicit reference to a memorable scene in Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" that also becomes a running gag. Like I said, the film sure seemed, in more ways than one, a self-conscious post-soul aesthetic document, even if they don't use that term on their website.Very, very enjoyable film. The only shame is that it didn't get the theatrical release it deserved. I wish Will Smith had the courage to star in something like this. I thought Anthony Montgomery was great, but with Smith it would have had the eyeballs on it that the film deserved. Woulda had to change that unfortunate title, though, and that would have been all to the good; it's the only thing I didn't like about the movie.
RandomGuy-2 I really don't understand why so many people voted only one star for this movie, although I imagine that it has to do with preconceptions on their part.Also, I have to say that when I saw the DVD cover at the video store, I thought that there was a decent chance that the movie would suck, but I gave it a chance anyway. Poor marketing there, as the movie might get more rentals in the video stores if the DVD cover were better at portraying the tone of the film.And I guess that's my main issue, because this really is a quite good film, and deserves to be seen by far more people than will actually see it. I'll tell my friends, and word of mouth will get a few more views for the film, but it's not enough. This film deserves to be mainstream. The script is strong, and the characters are human and three dimensional, and the side plot with the two extended families from different classes was hilarious.Please tell your friends about this movie.
ether6 I don't usually write comments for movies, I usually just read them. But this one movie I had to put up something for. The best thing about it was that it was unpretentious, the characters were very real - for once we didn't have to put up with an unrealistically gorgeous female, or worse: an average looking guy with a gorgeous girl, as if to say guys can pass up being average looking, but girls can't when it comes to movies. There was not ONE dull moment in this film, it was fast paced and the humor was GREAT. Worked on ALL levels. I'm so proud of it. More people should see this.And yes - the title is very stupid, misleading almost. But it was the title that got me watching this.... :)