The Brothers (film)

Infobox_Film
name=The Brothers


caption= The movie poster for "The Brothers".
imdb_id=0250274
writer=Gary Hardwick
starring=Morris Chestnut,
D.L. Hughley,
Bill Bellamy,
Shemar Moore
director=Gary Hardwick
music=Eric Benét | distributor=Screen Gems
released=March 23 2001
runtime=106 min.
language=English
movie_series=
awards=Nomiated for Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards
producer=Doug McHenry,
Paddy Cullen,
Darin Scott
budget=$6,000,000|

"The Brothers" (2001) is a romantic comedy starring Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, and Shemar Moore. The film was directed by Gary Hardwick who has also directed other films and television series such as Deliver Us From Eva and Hangin' With Mr. Cooper. In addition to the starring cast, "The Brothers" has an additional cast of Gabrielle Union, Tatyana Ali, Angelle Brooks, Jenifer Lewis, Tamala Jones, and Clifton Powell.

The film touches on comedy, drama, and romance. The film was released in March 2001 and went on to gross almost thirty million dollars at the box office which was considered a great success considering it almost quintupled the cost of the movie's production ($6,000,000). The movie was nominated for NAACP Image Awards and Black Reel Awards but did not win any of the nominations.

The film was shot at various locations in California and Florida. The sole filming location in California was Los Angeles, CA. The filming locations in Florida were Orlando, FL and South Beach, FL.

Plot

Dubbed "Refusing to Exhale" by director Gary Hardwick, "The Brothers" traces the hilarious journey of four African-American men as they take on love, sex, friendship and two of life's most terrifying prospects honesty and commitment. Smart, successful and sexy, Jackson Smith (Chestnut), Brian Palmer (Bellamy), Derrick West (Hughley) and Terry White (Moore) are "The Brothers", lifelong friends banded together to weather love's innate terrors and occasional triumphs in this brazenly comic yet painfully true exploration of the battle between the sexes. Amidst the career track, basketball and bar hopping, "The Brothers" love women, as many as possible, but shocking revelations test the foursome's friendship and changes their dating and relationship habits forever.

Awards/Nominations

Image Awards
*Outstanding Motion Picture, Nominated

Black Reel Awards
*Theatrical- Best Director, Nominated Gary Hardwick
*Theatrical- Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted), Nominated Gary Hardwick
*Theatrical- Best Supporting Actress, Nominated Gabrielle Union

Taglines

*Refusing To Exhale

*After a lifetime of playing the field, four friends have to do something they never thought possible... grow up.

*There is nothing like a good woman to make a brother want to be a man.

Characters

Jackson Smith (Morris Chestnut): Jackson Smith is a pediatrician and the unofficial leader of "The Brothers." He is successful in everything in life except relationships. He has been unable to keep a positive, successful relationship going because he is afraid of commitment and finding his one true love so he goes from woman to woman. It is later revealed that he believes his distrust for women came from his father (Powell) but he eventually meets his match in photographer Denise Johnson (Union).

Derrick West (D.L. Hughley): Derrick West is a realtor and is the married man of "The Brothers." He has a wife (Jones) and a daughter. He is having trouble in his marriage because his wife refuses to give him oral sex. This leads to a confrontation between the two one night in bed and it eventually leads to a legal separation between the two. After they split apart they eventually join together again.

Brian Palmer (Bill Bellamy): Brian Palmer is a lawyer and is the player of "The Brothers" and does not believe in commitment. He complains about women and relationships throughout the movie and resents when his friends are in serious relationships. During the movie, he says he has grown tired of African-American women and tries dating a white woman only to find she is not his type either. He eventually comes around and is accepting of his friends' relationships even though he does not get involved in one.

Terry White (Shemar Moore): Terry White is a businessman and is the "brother" who is ready to settle down and proposes to his girlfriend. This proposal actually makes the other "brothers" examine their relationships. Terry eventually gets cold feet and calls off the engagement which makes his girlfriend crazy and make Jackson realize that he really loves Denise.

Details

Three of the actors in this film will have worked with Tyler Perry in the future. Shemar Moore in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Jenifer Lewis in Madea's Family Reunion, and Gabrielle Union in Daddy's Little Girls

Julie Benz is the only white person featured in the principal cast.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250274/ Brothers, The] at the Internet Movie Database