TalkiesandJabberwocky Guess Who (2005) starring Ashton Kutcher (That 70's Show, Butterfly Effect), an early-career Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar), and the late Bernie Mac (The Bernie Mac Show, Oceans Eleven). Is a fun rom-com about a loveable Kutcher trying to win over the over-bearing father-in-law, played by Mac. The movie has some shining and endearing moments that make you frustrated to love the characters of this movie.I feel that the homophobia displayed by Mac's character and the interracial prejudice in the NY/NJ setting may not hold up as well in 2018 and can make the viewer suspend disbelief (side note - these observations are coming from a point of privilege for this writer.. and maybe I exist in a fish-bowl, but it's hard to picture many people like this). Dated views aside, the laughs are light enough and ubiquitous throughout to prevent it from hurting the film too much.The plot is nothing revolutionary, but this is a fun movie. It's not receiving a higher score because it follows the rom-com formula too predictably and has some content that doesn't feel to hold up as well over time. However, that doesn't stop it from achieving its goal of making the audience laugh. Check it out, and let us know if you agree or not!Currently available to stream on Netflix (as of 6.11.2018)Guess Who - 6/10

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com The concept of interracial couples isn't the easiest of topics to touch upon. Some individuals are open to idea and think it's a beautiful thing, while others think it shouldn't exist. It really all depends on how one is raised as a child. No one is born prejudice against anyone else, nor should anyone ever be taught to be that way. Unfortunately, the past is a hard thing to let go of. Thankfully though, in movie history, there have been films that break down these walls and expose to viewers this controversial topic. Simon (Ashton Kutcher), a Caucasian male and Theresa (Zoe Saldana), an African American female are an interracial couple. After being together for so long, they felt it was time for Simon to meet Theresa's family. To Simon's dismay, Theresa tells him that she did not tell her family, her father Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) especially, that he was Caucasian. And it's at this point where things get interesting and a tad dangerous. The film is comedic which is good, but this is also its flaw. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), the original film that this film is based on, shows a few similarities but there's hunk of important material that was left out. The seriousness of the issue.Nowadays interracial couples are much more accepted into society than it has ever been before, but the way this topic is treated is slight bit overblown. Out of the three writers, the best one to handle the screenplay should have been Peter Tolan. David Ronn and Jay Scherick have the reputation of writing comedy driven screenplays that weigh heavily on one gag. It's not to say the comedy doesn't work but with a lack of seriousness in its tone, this topic could become a stereotype of itself. When it fact, the whole point of the film is to break down those stereotypes - not to reinforce it. That's the disappointing thing about this movie.Everything else about the movie works well though. Ashton Kutcher and Zoe Saldana make a convincing interracial couple and Bernie Mac is good choice for an overprotective father. Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac show the required chemistry to be likable on screen too. In fact Bernie Mac is the actor who carried around a lot of the weight in the film. The supporting cast also helps drive comedy and contains some of their own unique scenes. I enjoyed the small tracks that composer John Murphy installed into most the scenes. They were light, goofy, and it added to the overall tone. I enjoyed it. It has a good cast and fun laughs. I'm just curious if viewers prefer the realistic or comedic tone.Although the seriousness in tone is dropped, the comedy works well thanks to Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac's chemistry. However, the film does flip flop between realistic and stereotypical.

wes-connors "When Theresa (Zoe Saldana) brings fiancé Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) home for her parents' 25th wedding anniversary, she's neglected to mention one tiny detail… he's white. Determined to break his daughter's engagement, Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) does everything he can to make Simon feel 'apart' of the family, from running his credit report to locking him in the basement at night. But, when Percy gleefully exposes Simon's most embarrassing secret, it leads to an outrageous series of comic complications that only goes to prove that with a dad like Percy Jones, father doesn't always know best," according to the DVD sleeve description.You know, of course, that this situation is a reversal of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967), wherein "black" Sidney Poitier is taken home to meet "white" Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Those six shoes would be hard for any actor to fill, but, because this is more throwaway comedy than social commentary, the replacements do quite well. Wisely, the story is less about race than it is about relationships. Holding the film's threads together, Mr. Mac reacts as many fathers when confronted with his daughter's sexually interested boyfriend. Mac's relationship with Ms. Scott is nicely played; he and Mr. Kutcher have a winning chemistry.****** Guess Who (3/25/05) Kevin Rodney Sullivan ~ Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana, Judith Scott

Boba_Fett1138 Of course this movie is mostly being blasted because it was released so shortly after the success of "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers", which uses the exact some concept. Only difference with this movie is that it's about an interracial couple. But also when you look beyond this and ignore the fact that this movie is basically the interracial version of "Meet the Parents", it just isn't a great movie because for a comedy its surely lacking. Basically Bernie Mac was the only reason that I still found this movie to be an enjoyable one to watch. Perhaps biggest problem is that the movie is too predictable. No not just with its story, I mean basically everyone already knows in advance how this movie is going to end but also comical wise the movie is too predictable. They surely didn't came up with a whole lot of original moments and because everything happens in such a predictable manner, the comedy also just doesn't always work out.The movie could had been a better one, had it handled its subject of an interracial relationship better. That way the movie could perhaps had send out a message but it doesn't really does so now. The movie doesn't take away any stereotypes, instead it only sort of confirms them and it happily does so, in order to provide the movie with racial-typed humor. Somehow I have the feeling that it perhaps could had worked out better had the guy been black and the girl white and so her parents, who they are visiting, as was the case in the original movie this movie got based on; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", staring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, which was also a drama rather than a comedy. Even though I haven't seen that movie yet I still am sure of it that that movie its theme worked out better, perhaps also because it was a '60's movie when interracial relationships obviously were still a bigger issue. Seriously, when I take a black girl or Asian or whatever home one of these my parents surely won't make a big issue out of it at all. So isn't this a movie a bit too outdated already with its theme and only relevant had it been made about 40 years ago? That is if the film-makers intentions were to take away the stereotypes and reluctances and intolerability of people towards interracial relationship but I have the idea that the film-makers simply dropped this idea and intentions and went for a simple full-blood comedy instead. I haven't seen Bernie Mac in an awful lot of movies, also since he started out pretty late white his acting career but so far I have always liked him in his comical roles. He plays it serious and sarcastic rather than over-the-top funny which makes him such a great and hilarious actor in my opinion. It's also mostly his movie in my opinion and Asthon Kutcher gets pushed more to the background by him, even though Ashton Kutcher surely ain't a bad actor either, no matter what other people always say about him.A comedy you can surely do without but when you decide to watch it you'll still be most likely lightly entertained by it.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/