Queen Latifah stars in the so-so romantic-comedy Just Wright. I really had high expectations for this film, it was a movie I was interested in seeing. I’m a fan of Queen Latifah’s, and have enjoyed her work in films like Chicago, Hairspray, and Bringing Down the House. But despite a great cast that includes Common, Paula Patton, and Phylicia Rashad, the overall story lacks in several key areas that would have enhanced the movie greatly.
First, the film lacks any sense of really tension, stakes, or danger for the characters. Yes, I know this is a light romantic-comedy, but I never really felt like anyone was on the verge of losing everything if things didn’t work out in the end. True [SPOILERS THROUGHOUT], NBA star Scott McKnight (Common) may not be able to recover in time for the playoffs, but there’s always next season.
Same goes for Leslie Wright (Latifah) when she takes on the job as McKnight’s physical therapist. Her work has no problem with her taking a very long leave of absence, and no one seems to have any problem with her up and leaving her life behind to focus on McKnight. So, when she leaves the job with McKnight later in the film she can just go back to her old job without any problems. It’s all a little too easy.
Second, Just Wright has no sense of conflict that goes anywhere. True, characters do argue, but I never sensed any tension between characters that really should have been at each other’s throats. Case in point: Leslie (Latifah) falls for McKnight as she provides physical therapy for him. When his ex-fiancee Morgan (Patton) pops back up after Leslie and McKnight sleep together, he runs right back to her.
Leslie sees what’s happening and does nothing. What’s worse, the woman who’s his ex-fiancee is a Leslie’s best friend! But Leslie just rolls her eyes, quits, and goes back to her old job.
Then, when McKnight confesses his love for Leslie on ESPN, his fiancée lets him go without a fight? I’m not asking for Jerry Springer-style conflict, but I would have liked to have seen Leslie and her friend at least have an intense argument over who deserves McKnight more.
These may seem like nit-picky things, but watch the movie and see if you don’t get frustrated when certain things don’t happen when they logically should. And, since these items are missing, the end result is a mediocre romantic-comedy that failed to make a significant blip at the box office ($21.5 million).
Again, there are some good performances here, but the cast deserved a stronger story than the one they were given.
Special Features on this Blu-ray edition of Just Wright include: The One You Can’t Live Without featurette; Common on the Fast Break featurette; When Amazing Happens featurette; and a Gag Reel. You also get a second disc that contains a Digital Copy of the film for Queen Latifah on-the-go.
Just Wright could have been better, should have been better, and would have been better with a stronger script. Check it out and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!
Just Wright is available NOW on DVD and Blu-ray!