Disappearing Acts

DISAPPEARING ACTS is the 2000 HBO TV movie, based on the novel by Terry McMillan (WAITING TO EXHALE)that examines the relationship that develops between an uneducated and unemployed contractor (Wesley Snipes) and a music teacher/aspiring song writer (Sanaa Lathan) becomes extremely complicated when he gets her pregnant but is unable to support her. Sadly, this movie is an excruciatingly real look at relationships between black couples in society today (and before anyone calls me a bigot, I am black)...two people drawn together by sexual heat and think that this enough to keep them together until the realities of a relationship begin to rear their ugly heads, such as the the woman becoming primary bread winner and supporting both her and her man, but not wanting to give up the sex either. Not to mention the fact that these people are from two completely different worlds...Lathan's circle of friends are all intelligent folk with jobs who feel Lathan is being dragged down by a relationship whose only glue is sex. What happens between Snipes' Franklin and Lathan's Zora is not pretty, but it is undeniably real. It should also be mentioned that one unique aspect of McMillan's novel is that it is written in first person from Franklin and Zora's alternating points of view...one chapter is written by Franklin and the next by Zora, throughout the novel and this fresh perspective of looking at what happens to these people from both sides is lost in the film; however, Snipes and Lathan have never been sexier on screen and it is their chemistry that makes this movie watchable, even if you do end up taking sides, and, trust, you will end up taking sides.

I was a bit skeptical when seeing the previews for this movie, but it was well worth the two hours it took to watch it! Instead of the cheesy, one-sided, pro-independent-Black-woman, anti-Black-male film that I thought it was, "Disappearing Acts" was a refreshing, well-made movie that both men and women (and not necessarily just African-American) can feel. This is because the movie 1) was actually believable, 2) related to a lot of true events in this day and age that aren't really exposed much without being sensationalized, and 3) had two strong leads in Sanaa Lathan (Zora) and Wesley Snipes (Franklin)...

I think that the supporting cast could have been a bit more utilized (more so with Zora and Franklin's respective families and parents), but that is overshadowed by a powerful, emotion-stirring performance by Sanaa and Wesley. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a true-to-life, devoid-of-unneeded-drama-elements movie that you can really feel.

If this movie is half as good as the book (which everyone is telling me it is), then I shall be off to Waldenbooks for a sneak peek.

Very well written, cleanly told, the story of relationships in the year 2000 reveals that things really have not changed radically, but instead have only evolved slightly. Centering on a relationship that is nominally black, it could have been refitted as any ethnic group without changing it in any vital way. Snipes proves he is a great actor, Sanaa Lathan shows that she has tuned and toned her skills during the last five years and is ready to join the ranks of the "name" actors, and the supporting cast behaves almost flawlessly.

At last, Wesley snipes starts to fulfil the promise he showed us in The Waterdance. It seems like he stopped acting for a while to become an action star, and here he proudly reclaims his ground as one of the finest actors on screen today. Sanaa Lathan is great as well, in a lovely small story of a relationship. That's all it is, and yet it holds and moves. The supporting actors are all great too- I particularly liked Regina Hall. The music is terrific- did she sing it herself? and the direction and script are all top-notch. Well done!

The book is way better and much more interesting. Of course most movies that are based on books are nearly as good as the book. The problem with Disappearing Acts is that it moved too fast. And there is hardly any chemistry between Sanaa Lathan and Wesley Snipes. Sanaa is great as Zora. But Wesley is hardly believable as Franklin. There were a gazillion other black actors out there that would've portrayed the character more true to life than Wesley Snipes. His acting in this movie was fake and if you go back and read the book and then watch this movie, you will see that he is not Franklin at all. Disappearing Acts is entertaining enough to watch, but the book is way better.