Four couples - Taraji P. Henson and Michael Ealy, Romany
Malco and Meagan Good, Terrence J and Regina Hall, Jerry
Ferrara and Gabrielle Union - learn lessons about maturity
and mutual respect in this sprawling romantic comedy based on
comic Steve Harvey's relationship-advice book "Act Like A
Lady, Think Like A Man." Director Tim Story keeps the
proceedings light with fast-moving quips and frank talk about
how men and women still can't communicate in an era of
seemingly unlimited sexual freedom. Since it implicitly
treats premarital sex and the option of cohabitation as a
given, however, Keith Merryman and David A. Newman's script
offers no genuine critique of this supposed freedom, such as
would necessarily be posed by those adhering to scriptural
values. Unvarnished, earthy, sometimes over the top but never
crude, the film does manage to deliver a reassuring - if
secular-minded - homily about the confusing process of
looking for, and finding, true love.
Watch out for: Implied premarital
relationships, a scene of marijuana use, fleeting profanity,
pervasive crude language and sexual banter, and a single use
of the N-word.
Rated: A-III; MPAA: PG-13
© Arlington Catholic Herald 1970