The Brothers (2001)

The Brothers is an amiable but forgettable entry in a genre that's become increasingly fertile at the turn of the millennium: the African-American relationship dramedy. Charting territory familiar to those who have seen The Wood, The Best Man, and Love Jones -- movies concerning the commitment jitters -- The Brothers benefits from a script punched up by funny cultural references that work seamlessly into the dialogue, but not quite enough to distinguish it. Writer/director Gary Hardwick tries to balance out the misogyny that creeps into the foursome's complaints about their women and women in general, but he doesn't totally accomplish the mission. Many of their women have power that they abuse, be it judicial prerogative, self-defense skills, or a firing-range handgun. While they come across as psychos and stalkers, the men sit back in their sarcastic victimhood and comment on the foibles of the fairer sex. Still, most of the characters ultimately get a fair shake, and Hardwick does a reasonable job fleshing out nearly a dozen of them. He's weaker at keeping track of the ambitious number of subplots. For example, an emotional impasse between the character played by Bill Belamy and his mother is forgotten for over an hour of the film, returning just in time for a hasty resolution. Judged as just popular entertainment, The Brothers does justice to its genre and should hit on enough truths to please its target audience. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide