Sullivan, Kevin Rodney

Guess Who

Taken on its own terms as a big-screen sitcom, Guess Who offers plenty of humor with just enough social commentary to make its point without being preachy. Of course, we've come along way since interracial romance was such a hot-button issue in Stanley Kramer's earnest 1967 drama Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and nobody's going to mistake Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac (in this updated semi-remake) with the original film's Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy. And that's fine, because Guess Who--from the director of Barbershop 2--doesn't pretend to be anything more than a slick, entertaining vehicle for domestic farce with the racial roles reversed. Kutcher's romance with an African-American beauty (Zoë Sandaña) causes sparks to fly when he's introduced to her father (Bernie Mac). What ensues is basically an interracial buddy comedy that's as uninspired as it is easy to watch, and there's a dinner-table scene that's refreshingly provocative in this movie's otherwise tamely cautious context. We can all be thankful that humanity has matured a little since the racial tensions of the late '60s, but Hollywood's progress (and Kutcher's career) remains subject to debate. --Jeff Shannon

When Theresa (Zoe Saldana) brings fiance 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.

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel, How Stella Got Her Groove Back stars Angela Bassett as a 40-year-old, Manhattan stock trader and single mom whose static life gets a jolt during a vacation with her pal (Whoopi Goldberg) in Jamaica. Sparks fly when Bassett meets a 20-year-old stud (Taye Diggs) who has an ambivalent career path but a great body and lots of sexual energy to burn. After some prodding by Goldberg's warm-funny secondary character, Bassett gets it on with the fellow--and proceeds to worry about what she's doing with a man half her age. The film is most enjoyable in its sunny, exotic early scenes and becomes more formulaic once the unlikely couple transports their will-we-stay-together-or-won't-we tensions back to the Big Apple. But director Kevin Rodney Sullivan goes out of his way to make a movie unabashedly thick with fantasy and wish-fulfillment for female audiences (it's Diggs who reveals a lot more flesh than the regal Bassett). This is a Saturday-night movie all around. --Tom Keogh

Get ready to groove with this heartwarming comedy full of love and friendship, starring sexy Angela Bassett and comic superstar and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg. Through good times and bad, Stella (Bassett) and Delilah (Goldberg) have always had each other. Now, Stella's so busy building a life that she's forgotten to really live. But Delilah is about to change all that. What starts as a quick trip to Jamaica, ends as an exhilarating voyage of self discovery as Stella learns to open her heart and find love - even if it's with a man 20 years her junior. A captivating comedy that's sure to entertain, How Stella Got Her Groove Back glows with warmth, humor and tenderness.

Soul of the Game

In 1945, the world of baseball was divided between the Majors and the Negro Leagues - but the time has come for change. Will Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson or Jackie Robinson be the first to take the field in the Majors?

An aging Satchel Paige wanted to be the first African American baseball player to integrate the major leagues after World War II. Of course, things didn't work out that way: the visibly dignified and younger Jackie Robinson got the nod, while the Negro Leagues he left behind carried on with such brilliant talents as Josh Gibson segregated from deserving opportunities. This HBO movie concerns the period just before Robinson was pressed into a difficult role breaking the color barrier, and the rich script by David Himmelstein and Gary Hoffman concerns his aspirations as well as those of the frustrated Paige and the deteriorating Gibson. Blair Underwood plays Robinson with an expected nobility, while Delroy Lindo is superb as Paige as is Mykelti Williamson as Gibson. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, the film really does fill a gap in a viewer's imagination about what these three legendary men must have been going through--and much of it is painful to witness. With Edward Herrmann as Branch Rickey. --Tom Keogh

Barbershop 2 - Back in Business (Special Edition)

Ice Cube triumphantly returns as Calvin Palmer, proud proprietor of a neighborhood barbershop in Barbershop 2. The first Barbershop was a surprise smash; even more surprising is how good this sequel is. The plot isn't much--there's a corporate haircutting chain opening across the street, leading to the usual sentiments about the importance of small businesses and neighborhoods--but the well-conceived characters and the loose, genuine banter give this movie a striking richness of feeling. Barbershop 2 cuts back and forth in time, flashing back to when Eddie (garrulous Cedric the Entertainer), the shop's oldest and most outspoken barber, first came to work for Calvin's father. Glimpses of black history give weight to the modern-day struggles; most impressively, this device doesn't feel forced or cynical. Also returning are Eve, Troy Garity, and Sean Patrick Thomas; Queen Latifah (Bringing Down the House) is a new face on the block. --Bret Fetzer

You ll need a second viewing just to catch all the jokes! LA WeeklyGo back to the barbershop with Ice Cube Cedric the Entertainer and an all-star cast in this sharp savvy (Entertainment Weekly) sequel that s a pleasing blend of humor sentiment and commentary (Los Angeles Times)!Special Features:Deleted ScenesHilarious OuttakesCast Video Commentary by Cedric the Entertainer Sean Patrick Thomas Troy Garity and Jaszmin Lewis Audio Commentary by Director Kevin Rodney Sullivan and Producers Robert Teitel and George Tillman Jr. Extended Music Video Mary J. Blige Featuring Eve: Not Today Music Video Sleepy Brown Featuring OutKast: I Can t Wait Behind-the-Scenes Photo Gallery Original Theatrical TrailerSystem Requirements: Running Time 106 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616905147 Manufacturer No: 1006313

The West Wing - The Complete First Two Seasons (2-Pack)

Seasons 1 and 2 of the 4-time Emmy Award-winning Drama available together on DVD.

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Get ready to groove with this heartwarming comedy full of love and friendship starring sexy Angela Bassett and comic superstar and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg. Through good times and bad Stella (Bassett) and Delilah (Goldberg) have always had each other. Now Stella's so busy building a life that she's forgotten to really live. But Delilah is about to change all that. What starts as a quick trip to Jamaica ends as an exhilarating voyage of self discovery as Stella learns to open her heart and find love - even if it's with a man 20 years her junior. A captivating comedy that's sure to entertain How Stella Got Her Groove Back glows with warmth humor and tenderness. System Requirements:Run time: 130 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIP Rating: R UPC: 024543020158 Manufacturer No: 2002015

Barbershop & Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Disc 1: BARBERSHOP 1 Disc 2: BARBERSHOP 2

It's a Love Thang Boxset (Brown Sugar / How Stella Got Her Groove Back / Waiting to Exhale)

Brown Sugar: One of 2002's most underrated films, Brown Sugar offers more than you'd expect from a conventional romantic comedy. The love story between Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) is the least interesting part of the movie; the costars have delightful chemistry, but their hookup is a given. What's refreshing is the way the story draws a parallel between Dre and Sidney's longtime friendship (they meet as kids in a 1984 flashback) and the evolution of hip-hop music from urban roots to dubious mainstream acceptance. Dre's a disillusioned producer at pop-fueled Millennium Records, married to a beauty (Nicole Ari Parker) who cheats while embracing her coveted status quo. Editor of an influential music magazine, Sidney's tentatively engaged to a basketball star (Boris Kodjoe), but these loves are obstacles, and Dre and Sidney are meant for each other. In bringing them together, Brown Sugar allows for human mistakes, intelligent solutions, and the kind of three-dimensional behavior that romantic comedies typically don't provide. --Jeff Shannon

How Stella Got Her Groove Back: Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel, How Stella Got Her Groove Back stars Angela Bassett as a 40-year-old, Manhattan stock trader and single mom whose static life gets a jolt during a vacation with her pal (Whoopi Goldberg) in Jamaica. Sparks fly when Bassett meets a 20-year-old stud (Taye Diggs) who has an ambivalent career path but a great body and lots of sexual energy to burn. After some prodding by Goldberg's warm-funny secondary character, Bassett gets it on with the fellow--and proceeds to worry about what she's doing with a man half her age. The film is most enjoyable in its sunny, exotic early scenes and becomes more formulaic once the unlikely couple transports their will-we-stay-together-or-won't-we tensions back to the Big Apple. But director Kevin Rodney Sullivan goes out of his way to make a movie unabashedly thick with fantasy and wish-fulfillment for female audiences (it's Diggs who reveals a lot more flesh than the regal Bassett). This is a Saturday-night movie all around. --Tom Keogh

Waiting to Exhale: Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, this weepy melodrama about four African American women and the men who wronged them became an instant cultural phenomenon when it was released back in 1995. It's easy to see why Exhale struck a nerve: the movie boasts an attractive cast of African American actresses and personalities, including Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, and Lela Rochon. Unfortunately, though, Exhale sags under the weight of its soapy, crisis of the week plotting and relentlessly cheery "you go, girl!" optimism. And African American men, cast here as insensitive lovers and pigheaded materialists, get the very short end of the feminist stick. Perhaps moviegoers were simply responding to the brilliant soundtrack by R&B superstar Babyface, who provided the movie's only real groove. --Ethan Brown

Includes:Brown SugarThis romantic comedy described as an African-American When Harry Met Sally... centers on a romance between an A&R exec Dre (Diggs) at a hip-hop label and a magazine editor Sidney (Lathan) who have known each other since childhood. (Latifah plays Lathan's best friend. They find themselves drifting towards being more than friends even as Dre is engaged (to Parker) and Sidney starts being wooed by a handsome basketball player (Kodjoe).How Stella Got Her Groove BackStella (Angela Bassett) is a highly successful forty-something San Francisco stock broker who is persuaded by her colorful New York girlfriend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) to take a well deserved first-class vacation to Jamaica. As she soaks in the beauty of the island she encounters a strapping young islander Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). His pursuits for her turn into a hot and steamy romance that forces Stella to take personal inventory of her life and try to find a balance between her desire for love and companionship and the responsibilities of mother and corporate executive.Waiting To ExhaleWhitney Houston and Angela Bassett star in this funny and touching film about four women who find strength through their rare and special relationship. Savannah Bernadine Robin and Gloria are all searching for the Real Thing: true love. Bernadine thought she had it until her husband left her for another woman. Savannah and Robin are successful in business but their love lives are bankrupt. And divorcee Gloria is getting back in the game by flirting with her new very eligible neighbor. Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel and featuring the #1 smash hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" "Waiting to Exhale" is the film you and your friends have been waiting for! Original score by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 024543396659 Manufacturer No: 2239665

Movies With Soul Collection (How Stella Got Her Groove Back / Waiting to Exhale / Soul Food)

Disc 1: Soul Food Disc 2: How Stella Got Her Groove Back Disc 3: Waiting to Exhale

Conviction

The true story of Carl Upchurch, A Philadelphia ghetto native who is in and out of jail numerous times by the time he's a teenager - until a compassionate prison teacher and a book of Shakespear's sonnets insprie him to turn his life around by embracing education. By the early 1990's, Carl has become a crusader for peace who organizes the first-ever national gang summit, persuading rival gang leaders to call unheard of truces.