One of my favorite movies released in 2011 is “Jumping the Broom,” directed by Salim Akil and written by Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs. “Jumping the Broom is a film that tosses a farce and melodrama two sided coin in the air which spins on its rim as it drops to the floor and runs loosely while keeping it’s audience entertained. “Jumping the Broom” combines two African-American families from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds with the challenges of modern day romance and family situations. A collision of worlds develop when the two African-American families get together one weekend in Martha’s Vineyard for a wedding. Loretta Devine plays a postal worker from Brooklyn and future mother-in-law to Paula Patton, a lawyer, who carries a large chip of resentment on her ample shoulder.
The story begins with Sabrina Watson (a slightly manic Paula Patton) vowing, on the morning after a one-night stand, to save herself, or as she puts it, her “cookie” for marriage. Her car promptly knocks over a handsome fellow named Jason Taylor (Laz Alonso) and five celibate months later he pops the question outside Lincoln Center. Jason and Sabrina are polished and well-paid professionals. Jason is an investment banker, while Sabrina, a corporate lawyer, has just been offered a big job in China, to which her future husband plans to follow her. Loretta Devine who plays the mother-in-law almost causes everything to cease with this one big secret that she learns about the bride and her high-class family. Jumping the broom is a tried-and-true staple of a busy nuptial weekend to stage a talk show season’s worth of conflicts and revelations, both serious and comical.
I like Jumping the Broom because, while comical, it provides a highlight on some serious matters that effect even the greatest moments of life. At the beginning of the movie where the young lady finds herself caught in the most embarrasing position of sleeping with a one night stand is the funniest. I like the way she then vowed to God that if she could get out and over that embarassment, she would change her life and out of no where, she hits a man who would change her life forever. He wasn’t what she was looking for but he was what she needed. The way they came together and got married in such a short time is like the average individuals who get married now days. We know what we want but not what we need and it works because God has plans beyond what we can see and for some he creates an easy exit if it was a mistake; a lesson to be learned. This movie depicts a story of family secrets and betrayal that almost disrupts a happy event of life but love whens overall.