Jumping The Broom

Paula Patton stars as Sabrina - a successful woman who always ends up with the wrong guy and regretting it. After making a promise to God to withhold what men like so much about a woman, she finds the right guy, Jason (Laz Alonso), and the two decide to get married (and he's the right guy because he is willing to wait for that thing guys like so much about a woman).

However, the wedding promises to be eventful for all of the wrong reasons as Jason's and Sabrina's families come from opposite sides of the economic spectrum, love is in the air (along with some lust), cultures will clash, secrets are revealed and we might even be witnessing the beginning of a divorce. It's going to be a wild weekend.

Is this wedding doomed?

Is the movie doomed?

It's very easy to define Jumping The Broom as being a movie in the style of a Tyler Perry film, but you also could say it is in the style of a Judd Apatow movie or your run of the mill romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson as director Salim Akil and the writing team of Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs, present a movie full of drama, comedy and schmaltz all mixed together.

Jumping The Broom is a very funny movie with lots of little subplots that keep the film moving along at a great pace. It's a comedy for anybody as we can all relate to the merging of families, disputes among the in-laws and more with Patton and Alonso performing very charming characters joined by a great supporting cast. However, divisions between the families come out of nowhere, Hunter and Gibbs need to build up the story more and let us see the explanation behind why certain people have certain axes to grind, instead of sudden strife tossed in for its own sake.

Plus, some betrayals are a bit too easily forgiven in an effort to end Jumping The Broom. The characters are dealing with big stuff that would linger in families for years, no matter how badly you want to get to the reception and do the electric slide. Sure, we all want a happy ending, but not at the expense of common sense.

Jumping The Broom has a strong cast, especially Loretta Devine, Mike Epps acting cool instead of foolish, and Angela Bassett, who had me wondering why she was in the movie until her big moment. In what feels like a summer full of wedding movies, this is one of the better ones.

Jumping The Broom is rated PG-13 for some sexual content.