First of all I have to say that I loved the movie. Yes the premise was a joke, but Shamier Anderson kept me hollering and kept my eyes glued to the screen. I’m still trying to remember when last we had such eye candy and charisma on screen from a brother. The line in which one of Maya’s relatives refers to him as a “young Denzel Washington” was incredibly apt. I know that given the chance to shine with rich, textured roles, Shamier could definitely give Denzel a run for his money.
Contrary to some other reviewers, I did feel the chemistry between Anderson and Amber Stevens West, who plays Maya. It was easy to root for them. The casting was expertly done and I love to see the behind-the-camera collaborations between Canadian, American and African filmmakers. Love Jacked is not a landmark film that changes us, but it is a special little treasure to return to for a good laugh and a feel-good Saturday afternoon.
I’d love to see more films like this but with a richer context. One thing that was missing for me was an authentic African character who could inject some indigenous knowledge into the film. If Uncle Rufus had been someone who’d actually spent time in Africa, and who could be regarded as an “expert” on at least one African culture, or if Malcolm had simply spent some time on YouTube learning Yoruba, these details could have taken the story from a lighthearted, low-depth knee-banger to a much more valuable classic. The continual references to Africa as if the continent of 2 billion people is a country were grating–especially knowing that the director Alfons Adesuyi is Yoruba. But I get that in the context of Maya’s family, African Americans who are not familiar with nor have they been to any African countries, it was accurate perception..
If you haven’t seen it yet, and you’re anti-spoilers, then watch the trailer below then go watch it on Netflix. Everything below the trailer is spoiler territory.
Trailer
More critique and major SPOILERS:
The writing could certainly have benefited from more depth. If Maya had called off the wedding to her South African millionaire for reasons other than just the usual infidelity (tired trope), we could’ve learned much more about their characters. I really thought the father, who seemed to be suspicious of everything all along, would out them. This could’ve been done in a loving way since the fake “Mtumbie” was growing on him. Something like “I know you’re not a real African, but I’d still love to have you as my son-in-law.” Then helping him get the girl for real. Maya’s family chemistry really worked for me, which is why I would’ve loved to see them regarded more intelligently than they were. Everybody knows Black folks be extra suspicious and love to call out a fake. Even if they were desperate for their daughter to get married, they could’ve shown a little more discernment.
There was definitely some of the usual lightskinned shenanigans–a Chocolate Sister could never get away with that big ole lie bullshit. Don’t come for me, lightskinneds, y’all know I love you. But truly I did love Stevens West’s acting. The scene in which she changed up and told her dad that Mtumbie was indeed coming was the one scene that I felt was unconvincing, but otherwise she did a stellar job. Their characters’ lack of chemistry–as two people who truly didn’t know each other and who weren’t comfortable with each other–was so obvious that I thought someone in her family, if not everyone, would call it. Naomi almost did, but as the most deplorable character, her challenging the validity of their relationship wouldn’t have likely gone very far.
The ending was messy, but the final scene was my favorite, them taking Maya’s entire family to South Africa (we assume since it wasn’t stated) for their honeymoon. Definitely reinforces some traditional African values and drives home some of the most powerful underlying messages from this film–look out for each other and stay rooted at home 😉