Gemma Hickey
The title of this movie already gives us the impression that Eva's character is one that is unpleasant. It is clear that the director is playing on the phrase "deliver us from evil" and this then gives us an impression of Eva's character before we even watch the movie. I think the title is both clever and imaginative in this way.The introduction of this film is also very creative as the film opens up with the narrator telling us that he was killed. The narrator is Ray Adams, the guy that we will see Eva fall in love with. At the beginning of the film he points the blame at those who killed him, which is a clever way of introducing us to the main characters. It is not until the end of the movie that we understand what the narrator meant by all this and so throughout the movie the question of "why was Ray Adams killed and how did it happen?" remains in our minds. These scenes create a sense of mystery and encourage us to keep watching. Character development is an aspect of the movie that I really admired. It is not until half way through the movie that we get to understand the reasons to why Eva is so uptight and serious all the time. We learn that after the death of her parents she had to take on the responsibility of looking after her three younger sisters. As we find out this information I find it hard not to sympathize with her. As the film goes on we get to see the vulnerable side of her as she attempts to open up to Ray. It is as though her relationship with him has tamed her and we now see a happier and more carefree woman. In this film adaptation it is not only Eva that changes throughout the movie but Ray also ends up being tamed. I really like how this adaptation allows for both characters to undergo changes. Before he met Eva he was a womanizer and showed women little respect but by the end of the movie he was a changed man. They both went through drastic changes by falling in love with each other and both became better people. I also think Gabriel Union and LL J Cool did an outstanding job at capturing their chemistry on screen. The chemistry sparkled between the two main characters and it was clear the director did a great job in the casting of these two.This film adaptation is highly entertaining and full of comedy and drama. The beauty parlor scenes are my favorite as all the girls sit in the salon and gossip about their love lives and life in general. These scenes allow us to get to know the characters better but they are also some of the most comedic scenes. This film sometimes comes across more like a modern sitcom than an actual movie and is very unrealistic but at the same time I can't complain as I still enjoyed it.An aspect of this film that I really did not like was the ending. It was clear that eventually Ray's deception would be uncovered and the truth would be revealed. However the ending was simply odd and too cliché for my liking. For an adaption that was so creative I think the director could have put more time into coming up with a better and less clichéd ending. Another aspect of this film that I didn't like was its overwhelming use of sex-related dialogue. In my opinion this film put far too much emphasis on sexual interactions. I feel as though this was the director's attempt at making the film more comedic however in my opinion it did the complete opposite.Overall though the movie was enjoyable to watch but it is by no means amazing. It is enjoyable to watch simply due to its comedic moments. I think the director and film crew did an excellent job at adapting the script to an African American culture. It is a very creative and imaginative adaptation and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to watch something that will give them a good laugh as it certainly had me laughing throughout.
JoeytheBrit
Punning titles are rarely a promising sign in the world of movies. Too often it seems that the film has been fashioned around the title, and too often the title is the best thing about the film. Deliver Us From Eva isn't a badly-made movie, but it is a predictable and lazily-written one that eventually outstays its welcome despite some spirited performances from an attractive black cast.Gabrielle Union plays the eponymous Eva, an uptight twenty-something health inspector who has raised her three younger sisters single-handedly since the death of their parents when she was 18. Much to the chagrin of their male partners, Eva is still running her sister's lives, even though they are all now adults. To put an end to this situation, they hire master player and meat delivery man – make of that what you will – Ray (a miscast LL Cool J) to woo her into moving to another city where he can then dump her before returning home. Immediately it becomes evident to even the most casual viewer that this is a perfect plan. A plan without a flaw of any description. How can it possibly go wrong? Hmmm, we think, looks like the writers might have written themselves into a corner with this one… As you might have already gathered, Deliver Us From Eva's biggest problem is that it announces its divorce from reality within seconds of the opening credits. Even movies like this, which inhabit a self-contained urban never-never land in which the real world never intrudes, need to possess some degree of believability, but this one doesn't seem to care whether it makes sense on any level. Eva starts out as an overbearing monster with a hair-trigger temper, all tightly-buttoned business suits and severe hairstyle, but is swiftly transformed butterfly-like into a hip and sassy 'sister' by the attentions of a nondescript man who stands out from the crowd thanks only to his size. Funny how Hollywood comedy screenwriters so often seem to believe that all a stuffy woman needs to lose her repression is a good seeing to in the bedroom.Eva's sisters, each of them bright and beautiful, seem curiously content to allow their older sibling to dominate their lives, and begin every other sentence with the words 'Eva says…' like mindless dolls with a key and a piece of string in their back. Quite frankly, rather than wanting to get closer to these Stepford candidates you'd think the hapless trio of men would be seeking out ways of putting a little distance between them and their partners. Given that Ray's seduction methods possess the sophistication of an average nineteen year-old's, the ferocious Eva's defences crumble surprisingly quickly, and it isn't long before she's rolling around in his lap like a playful kitten. While this may have just about got by had someone with a little more charisma than LL Cool J taken on the role of Ray, the former rapper's performance is so understated that he manages to conjure no sexual chemistry whatsoever with the delectable Miss Union (and I write that with the fearlessness of someone who knows that a large body of water separates me and the rapper-dude). Mr. J is a curious choice for the role: it calls for a smooth seducer, an effortless ladies man with an air of confidence that LL (what the hell do you call him, anyway?) lacks. He was presumably selected to lure in the young black audience, but he's too big and clumsy for the part of Ray, and never looks comfortable. His character is all wrong for the feisty Eva, anyway, and that's another of the movie's weaknesses. The characters are either paper-thin or hopelessly stereotypical (eg: an outrageously camp homosexual hairdresser – I wonder how long it took them to dream up that one). While the minor characters are picked off-the-shelf from some kind of screenwriter's equivalent of Wal-Mart, the central characters' are never filled out, and their actions are designed solely to drive the action along with no consideration given to consistency or logic. Once the basic premise is established, the movie embarks on a slow journey toward farce, without any stops for development or insight, before taking an ill-advised left turn toward a conclusion as corny as it is contrived. And it arrives in such a rush that you can be forgiven for believing that director Gary Hardwick wants to get the journey over with as much as the viewer does.The only real positive to be taken from the film is Gabrielle Union on whose shoulders, thanks to Cool J's reserved performance, most of its weight falls. She shoulders the burden admirably, proving herself to be an adept and appealing light comedienne, and she deserves to be seen in more – and better – leading roles.To try to defend movies like this by declaring that they aren't supposed to be taken seriously is something of a cop-out. How much leeway do you give a flick simply because it's a light comedy with no artistic aspirations? Does this excuse its makers from striving to create believable scenarios and characters, and from making at least some attempt to add something new? I don't think so, somehow: comedy writers owe the audience as much as any other kind of writer.I can't remember laughing once during this film – and I'm a man: easily entertained, you know?
cxd204
Great flick, I thought the supporting cast was pretty funny. Conditioned to expect a Black film, I instead got a romantic comedy which just happened to involve Black Americans. Kudos to the writers and director for portraying a strong Black woman as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This is not *at all* a preachy film, and it's not about the "Black experience", but that very silence is a powerful example of what life in America SHOULD be like for all of us - no racism or sexism implied or applied. It's refreshing.Not only that, but it's a pretty funny flick. Definitely worth a view.
Andrew Johnson
At first I was cautious about seeing a "black" romantic comedy, that's speaking as a black man.However as the movie progressed I found the movie funny, witty which delivered good entertainment.The story/plot is nothing new and generally the script would equally work with "white" or any other "race/ethnic minority".For once "LL Cool J" acting wasn't (seemingly) wooden and was aptly suited to the part of being a "mack" who was "out-macked" by a foxy and intelligent lady.The ending of the movie in my opinion was disappointing as it was "surgary" but nevertheless I would wholeheartedly recommend the movie to anyone who has an open mind.
