Hav Plenty

I didn't get a chance to see this movie when it came out but when I saw it I was really impressed. The movie had class and it was refreshing to see normal black folk. As a film maker my self I thought the guy did an excellent job for the money. It just proves you can do a quality film without a bunch of stars. But where is Chebot, I am waiting for his next project.

I thought it was a good movie. It was intimate (as in warm and familiar) and sort of a comedy of errors. I thought it was a cast of some of the most beautiful Black folks I'd ever seen! Lee Plenty was scruffy, but what I liked about this character is that he had a full sense of himself. That was attractive! He was aware of his shortcomings and he also had confidence and and a great sense of humor about himself. I especially liked the way that the character Hav thought she could wrap Lee around her finger, I get the impression that she thought she was a little better than he, but she couldn't deny the attraction she felt. It was interesting to watch her simultaneously be attracted and repelled. The other characters, the friend and the sister who wanted to have her way with Lee made for an interesting and funny (not as in side splittingly hilarious, but as in sweet mixed with smart) weekend. I think it's a smart movie.

I was offended, bored and annoyed while watching this. I don't usually agree with many of Maltin's summaries but his take on this one is right on the money (except I'd only give it 1/2 a star - just for being able to get distributed and those celebrity cameos - terrible waste of connections). As well as being smug, the movie was colorist, classist and disturbingly close-minded.

Besides the fact that this quasi-movie could have gotten funded and distributed, when quality projects are struggling to get produced, the most disturbing thing is that there are people who have watched this and thought it was anything more than horrid.

Sorry, but no thanks!

I saw Hav Plenty when it was first released back in 1997 and i still feel about it today the same as i did when i left out of the theater back in '97. I left the theater feeling uplifted about love. And not only was this a very likable little love story, but it was an incredible character study on how opposites can come to attract and how best friends may sometimes make the best lovers. The performances were flawed at times but what the film lacked in the strongest of performances it more than made up for by the overall chemistry of characters and the general likability of them as well. It's a good love story. It certainly didn't reinvent the wheel but it certainly is worth a viewing.

I really wanted to see this movie in the theaters. I had just seen Lovejones and I thought Hav Plenty was going to be on the same level. Instead, I rented the video and I was so happy I didn't waste my money. Don't get me wrong, I give Mr. Cherot his props as a first time director, actor, editor and writer. I just thought the movie needed more character development and more of a plot. Maybe if this movie had been released before Lovejones, I wouldn't have had high expectations.