Adann-Kennn Alexxandar
(Action/Romance: 1 hour, 35 minutes); Starring: Usher Raymond, Chazz Palminteri, and Emmanuelle Chriqui; Director: Ron Underwood; Rated: PG-13 (Sensuality, violence and strong language)
Movie Review: "Bodyguard 2: Guess Who's Coming to a Mobster's Dinner" would be a better title for the this wayward romance which relies too much on stereotypes. The multiracial couple coming home to meet the disgruntled parents is dead. In this outing, Dolly (Chriqui), the Italian-American daughter of mob boss Frank (Palminteri), falls for her new bodyguard, Darrell (Usher Raymond), an African-American disk jockey who saved Frank's life during a failed assassination attempt. Again, stereotypes are the name of the game here. The movie portrays mobsters as the classic person of Italian decent, and African-American as urban, loud-talking, Ebonics speaking, hip-hop lovers. These stereotypes are tiresome and indicate the failed endeavors of inadequate writers who rely on what will get laughs rather than what would be good material. The movie would have been a great drama but becomes a comedy. The film would have been slick as a comedy if it had pressed the envelope to go all-out for humor, yet "In the Mix" settles into being a weak romantic drama.
Grade: C- (In the mess)
