gregeichelberger Originally published on Jan. 31, 2006:Guess who's coming to dinner? Sanaa Latham and Simon Baker, but the meal is a rather unappetizing one.It's "Stella Gets Her Groove Back" meets "Jungle Fever" in this modern tale of an African- American woman who has it all – looks, body, success, brains, ambition – everything except an IBM (Ideal Black Man). Kenya (Latham, "Alien vs. Predator") is a smart, beautiful account lawyer climbing the corporate ladder in a white man's world. After a recent promotion, she moves into her first home in an upper middle class section of Los Angeles.Having just broke up with her Muslim boyfriend, she is now cocooned in her work and moving chores, despite the attempts of her slutty best friends to set her up with a man as quickly as possible.She is then set up on a blind date (that she does not want to go on) with Brian (Baker, "Ring 2," "Land of the Dead"), a handsome, muscular man, who also happens to be white. Embarrassed and a bit racist, she excuses herself from the situation.Attending a friend's party, she raves about the garden's landscaping, only to discover it was Brian's handiwork. Reluctantly, she takes his card and later calls him to transform her barren backyard. As usual, in films like these, a love affair slowly develops between the two seeming polar opposite individuals (she's subdued, prissy and anal retentive; he's a free spirited nature lover), but complications arise soon enough.All of Kenya's friends tell her she should not get involved with someone not of her race, while her mother (Alfre Woodward) openly disdains the relationship. Negative comments are made about Brian's ethnicity as if being white is somehow an unbelievable evil. Who wrote this script, anyway, Louis Farrakhan?!In addition, Brian does not always understand her constant obsession with being black, and, after making love one night, he makes an innocent remark about Kenya's hair (saying she should take out the extensions and be more natural), and she goes ballistic over it (yeah, I didn't quite get her reaction, either) and throws him out.Meanwhile, her lawyer brother (Donald Faison, "King's Ransom," TV's "Scrubs") introduces her to another attorney, Michael (Blair Underwood, "LA Law"), and those two hit it off, based on their common occupations and race.Still, Kenya misses the electricity and spontaneity she had with Brian, but should she buck her parents, friends and peers by actually getting serious with a Caucasian, or be safe and stay with her own kind?It is interesting that most of the black characters are successful (lawyers, doctors, judges, etc.), while the one white lead is a gardener. It's a welcome diversion from all of the films in which a black is either a rapper, a thug, a drug dealer or a prostitute. We've come a long way, baby.Directed by Sanaa Hamri (it's her feature debut), "Something New" is a compelling diversion, at times, and boasts decent performances from the leads, but seems to have trouble deciding whether it wants to be a deep drama about racial division in this country or a smart-aleck jivefest.I also could not help thinking that if the situation were reversed, with a white woman wanting to date a black guy (like any Julia Stiles film), would the negative comments about HIS race be as tolerated? I think not.

scuban Something New doesn't try as hard to be funny like the other recent Black woman/White guy love story Guess Who. The humor isn't slapstick and both sides are shown respectively. Instead this film devotes to showing realistic challenges of interracial dating experienced on both sides of the color spectrum; however, more so from a professional Black woman in contemporary US society, a rare Hollywood perspective. It includes her frustrations of perceived racism at the work and the "Black tax" Afro-Americans must pay in effort to be as successful as their Caucasians colleagues. I can understand why her love interest wouldn't be able to relate and growing weary of this complaint if she kept bringing it up. I didn't know about the elegant rites-of-passage ceremony (called a cotillion) before this movie and learned more about the history of the Afro-Am version afterwards from a friend.

cinmoon2 I loved how the movie showed all different sides of the race issue, racism, reverse racism, how we all black and white try to make the other races uncomfortable like they shouldn't be with another race besides their own. I also happen to be in an interracial relationship, I am white, and he is black. Sometimes it is really hard to be on both sides of it. The white community and the black community act the same towards us...they either love us or hate us. I don't see what the big deal is, I have dated all kinds of different races, i don't see color, I just see a good man! Finally find one that happens to be black. I hate that I have to hear comments from white guys, and the black girls about who I am with. It doesn't happen all the time, but hate it when it does. Society really has to come into the new millennium about it!! I am so glad that there is finally a movie about it all!! loved it...loved it.... loved it!!!!

romobley This is a great movie! So typical of the dating world of "Good" African American women looking for a "Good" man to love and love her. I loved how this movie gave light to stepping outside the box. Not only with race, but new things; thinking, adventure. So many times, we get caught up trying to be "acceptable," trying to be what and who we think we should be and miss out on the real beauty of life, love and who we really are. I can go on and on about all the things this movie brought to light; the reality, but I must say it is awesome, and a reminder to me of what's really important. I have witnessed women "selling out" to what we think is ideal and acceptable and live in misery because of all the needs we lack; the attention, the true love, just to have that black man who believe is Mr. Right. Even Kenya's girl in the movie ventured out and fell for a chef. He wasn't her typical suit wearing professional, "on her level," at first sight, but they hit it off, he was good at what he did; loved it and loved her. This is an eye opener for African American women, and I hope my sisters realize that Mr. Perfect is really Mr. Perfect with his minor imperfections (note: verbal and physical abuse among some other things are considered major), but thinking more on the lines of "list preferences" 10 out of 10 is not always or usually "the one."