Review of The Best Man (1999) by Dj S — 01 Apr 2008

"You have to live for today not for what was or what could've been.".

One of my friends was astonished at my opinions of films he really likes. Many films he listed as "great" I thought were tolerable or not that great. So, I asked him to lend me some DVDs of films he enjoys. When I got the stack of films he picked out, The Best Man caught my eye. I thought to myself, why is he giving me this one? I'm all for dramas but a wedding film, that looked like a cheesy chick flick? I went home and popped it in, truly intrigued by THIS as one of his choices.

What I got thoroughly suprised me. What looked to be a cheesy chick flick turned out to be an interesting and honest look at the story of how one man's book impacted his long time friends before a wedding. The way that this movie looks at the group's relationships is great.

Now I intially thought I'm not the target audience for this movie, white 20 year old male, but after viewing it, I think I might not be so wrong in watching it. I thought it was slightly more of a flick for guys than girls, and it addressed some very interesting issues over its course.

The plot is that Harper Stewart (Taye Diggs) writes a novel, a dramatic story alledgedly based on his college years, and it is about to be published. He is going to New York to be the best man at two of his friends' wedding. NFL bigshot Lance Sullivan and Shelby are getting married. Harper arrives a few days early and begins to reunite with some of his old buddies. Joining Harper and Lance is their buddies Julian Murch and Quentin (Terrance Howard).

Jordan, a girl Harper almost slept with, got an advance copy of his book, and also gave it to Lance. Harper doesn't want Lance to read it and discover that his bride-to-be did in fact sleep with Harper as payback because Lance has had many affairs. The story revolves around these characters as they dig up old and new things about their relationships.

I thought the story was interesting enough and plausible. I really felt interested watching these characters as they reassessed their pasts and determined their futures. Now, at times, it dragged, but for the most part it my kept interest.

Taye Diggs does a great job in this film, carrying the lead role well over great and rough moments in his character's trip. I also really liked Terrance Howard's character, Quentin. He did a good job being the professional college student. The rest of the cast also carried their roles well, presenting a believeable portrayal of this particular group.

Probably the best thing about this film is its honesty with its characters. I felt it did a pretty good job showing each character's flaws and struggles. For the most part, they seem like actual people.

Malcolm D. Lee, a relative of Spike Lee, wrote and directed this film as his first, and has a refreshing feel to it. Different from most Hollywood character dramas.

FINAL VERDICT: In the end, I think that this film was better than I expected and well worth the time. It's not the best in the history of film or anything, but I thought it was a good use of 2 hours. 6/10 (B-).

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Best DVD Edition as of review: The Best Man.