Brown Sugar is a love letter to hip-Hop and those who love it. Come for the memory lane mixtape, stay for the steamY romcom underneath.
Regan Humphrey
When Sidney Shaw (Sanaa Lathan) moves back to NYC, the new editor of XXL Magazine, she’s excited to be reunited with her home town and her lifelong best friend, Andre “Dre” Ellis (Taye Diggs). Their friendship is close in more ways than they’d like to admit. Like hip-hop, it has gotten them through all of life’s ups and downs. When Sid and Dre find themselves in serious relationships, despite their love for each other, will hip-hop bring them back together?
REF SCORE: 58%
Soundtrack: 100%
Story: 100%
Writing: 90%
Diversity: 100%
Daring: 100%
Racism: ADDRESSED – 40%
Gender Bias: PRESENT – 40%
Homophobia: PRESENT – 30%
SUMMARY
Brown Sugar (2002) is an underrated classic. The chemistry alone between Diggs and Lathan cement this film as a rom-com for the ages. That’s before one factors in the A-List Hip Hop cameos, the excellent soundtrack, and Famuyiwa’s sharp, punchy, poetic writing.
ref score 