Review of Cover (2007) by Saku N — 25 Aug 2011

"Cover" doesn't refer to cops watching criminals, it refers to married men who are secretly gay. This is a real issue but the movie doesn't take on the issue directly but rather covers it up as a thriller about whether a woman is guilty of murder. Worse, it spews lots of religious nonsense and insinuates that closeted gay men can't find religion. It's a terrible screenplay that's all over the map.

The notable actors try to bring some sense. I liked Vivica A. Fox as Zahara who brings some sassiness to her role. Leon is a charismatic actor but he's wasted here as the "devil." Louis Gosset Jr., Clifton Davis, Roger Guenveur Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, and Razaaq Adoti deliver their melodramatic lines but the movie wears on you since the tone is so inconsistent. The line about "catching dust in your eye" is laughable because no one says that as a pick up line.

The women's group who offers solace to marital victims is potentially funny; where's Medea when you need her to really spice up these scenes? Patti Labelle shows up to play a sympathetic woman with a gay son. The movie is so muddled in it's message that it contains both a homophobic message about AIDS "down low" and that gays should be tolerated.