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"NOT EASILY BROKEN"
(2009) (Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson) (PG-13)

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QUICK TAKE:
Drama: A couple must deal with the various hardships that befall them and their marriage.
PLOT:
Back when Dave Johnson (MORRIS CHESTNUT) and Clarice Clark (TARAJI Darnell. HENSON) were married in 1995, their future together looked bright, especially with the blessing of their pastor, Bishop Wilkes (ALBERT HALL). Now, however, Dave's once promising but injury-derailed baseball career is just a past memory, and he runs a small home repair business. On the other hand, Clarice has been quite successful in real estate, winning salesperson of the year over her friend and coworker Michelle (NIECY NASH).

Her success, however, leaves her with no time or desire for children, meaning Dave has to do the surrogate father thing coaching little league with his friends Tree (KEVIN HART) and Brock (EDDIE CIBRIAN), and ends up disgusted that ex-con Darnell (WOOD HARRIS) doesn't treat his own son, Deshawn (NATHANIEL CARTER), the way he should.

Dave and Clarice's already troubled marriage is further strained when he's late for her awards ceremony and they're hit by another vehicle on the way. As a result, her leg is badly damaged, leaving her depressed and bitter, and her opinionated mother, Mary "Mama" Clark (JENIFER LEWIS), moves in to care for her and blames Dave for being a bad husband.

Things look up when therapist Julie Sawyer (MAEVE QUINLAN) shows up to work with Clarice. A single mom whose son, Bryson (CANNON JAY), is a competitive swimmer, Julie helps Clarice heal physically and mentally. Yet, as Clarice emulates her mother's negative view of men, and Dave's desire to be a father draws him to Bryson and thus Julie, the couple must deal with additional strains and setbacks regarding their marriage.

OUR TAKE: 4 out of 10
Relationships and marriages in particular can end for any number of reasons, with infidelity often being cited as the main catalyst for such splits. Yet, affairs are just the byproducts of the underlying root cause that usually stems from the old "familiarity breeds contempt" syndrome.

When romances are new, quirks and other such behavior are often seen as cute or endearing. Yet, prolonged and repeated exposure to them, along with the grind of daily life and changes in personality and behavior can easily take the sheen and excitement out of relationships.

That unfortunate phenomenon is readily apparent in "Not Easily Broken," a mediocre but occasionally affecting drama about men, women, relationships between them, and where God fits into the equation. Adapted from pastor T.D. Jakes' 2006 novel of the same name, it not only evokes the familiarity and contempt connection, but also the moviemaking notion of familiarity in terms of success resulting in imitation.

By that I'm referring to the church-based works of Tyler Perry where middle-class and predominantly African-American characters deal with strained relationships, infidelity and religion. As his films have become fairly popular with that demographic, it's no surprise others have followed suit, both in the pursuit of box office returns and spreading the gospel.

While the gun-toting, doobie-smoking, lip-flapping Madea is nowhere to be found (thank God), the pic certainly has the look, feel and sound of Perry's works. Although there's certainly nothing wrong with that -- as long as you don't mind the melodrama and not quite completely polished filmmaking and/or acting -- this pic doesn't otherwise distinguish itself from the crowd.

If there's one notable thing -- beyond star Morris Chestnut sporting a chiseled body to die for -- it's that the movie -- directed by Bill Duke from Brian Bird's adaption of Jakes' literary work -- is all over the board in terms of tone and pacing, resulting in a wildly uneven feel. Although the basic gist is that of the failing marriage between Chestnut and co-star Taraji P. Henson's characters, there are various subplots that come and go seemingly willy-nilly, and the tone careens from straight drama to goofy comedy and then through melodrama on the way to tragedy.

Granted, life pretty much does the same thing. Even so, the arrangement of it here simply feels off when not scattershot, with presumably profound sounding voice-over narration from Chestnut's character also awkwardly being shoehorned into the proceedings, sometimes at bizarrely and/or awkwardly chosen times.

Performances are generally okay (with a few exceptions of amateurishness), with Chestnut doing what's seemingly become his normal "thing" (the handsome, sensitive male in a less than perfect relationship), while Henson and Jenifer Lewis as her overbearing mom get less sympathetic roles.

Kevin Hart and Niecy Nash are present for the comic relief, but his character often feels incongruous with the rest of the proceedings, while hers is nothing but a "soul sista" stereotype, complete with "Oh no he didn't" head shaking attitude and dialogue such as "Do not make me go Oprah on you" and "Don't go all 'Waiting to Exhale' on me."

In the end, the dual familiarity -- of relationships being doomed by that as well as to Tyler Perry's similar melodramas -- might not draw contempt from critics, but it's unlikely it will elicit accolades either. Built on a foundation of preaching to its choir of viewers looking for this sort of spiritually enlightening entertainment, "Not Easily Broken" might just describe its strong connection to that target audience. But that doesn't mean it's a good, let alone great film, just one that delivers the required if flawed goods to them. It rates as a 4 out of 10.




Reviewed January 7, 2009 / Posted January 9, 2009


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