You have to credit Mr. Perry for presenting to us what we so rarely get to see in American film; upper-class, professional African-American couples working through real-life relationship problems. Unfortunately, it's execution leaves a lot to be desired. Though Jill Scott turns in a spectacular performance, and Malik Joba and Tasha Smith are solid, the performances are uneven at best. It's a classic morality tale with more melodrama to fill an afternoon's worth of soap operas. Some of the characters are far too one-dimensional to be credible, including the absurdly sadistic Mike, and the nearly as absurd (and conveniently single) knight in shining armor, Sheriff Troy. There's something oddly antiseptic about the film. Even the arguments seem neat and clean, with well-defined in and out points. Sometimes it is shot like a film, sometimes (with awkward stage-like blocking), it is shot like a play being filmed in a theater proscenium. The screenplay (and direction) has some gaps of logic, but even more egregious is its exposition, which could be held up as a lesson to any aspiring screenwriter on how NOT to write it (eg, "Did you ever think we'd all turn out like this? Diane's a lawyer, I'm a doctor, you're a real estate mogul"). Unfortunately, this type of sloppy exposition abounds throughout. Realism and subtly take a vacation on this one, however, it's still a pleasant, if overly-simplistic, morality tale that's likable enough.
