Executive producer and star of the film, Shemar Moore, raised $630,000 to fund The Bounce Back over two years ago, and it is finally hitting theaters on December 9th! Overall, the film had a decent storyline, though in the beginning you may wonder if it's a Hitch remake. It certainly has a foundation very similar to Hitch, but its storyline goes a bit of a different route.
As expected Shemar Moore is giving eye candy, and Bill Bellamy is giving laughs. The chemistry between the two of them in The Brothers is present in the film, and at the screening I attended Moore even suggested if The Bounce Back does well there may be a sequel to The Brothers on the horizon. He has apparently had a script for the sequel for two years, but it's a matter of convincing Hollywood that people would turn out to see Moore and Bellamy. I was impressed with Nadja Alaya, and though the storyline may have been a bit much for a 13 year-old-character (in fact one of the audience members yelled out, "What does a 13-year-old know about love?"), she played the role well and the chemistry between her and Moore who played her father was very believable.
Unfortunately, there was more chemistry between Bellamy and Robinne Lee in their brief subplot, than between the main characters played by Moore and Nadine Velazquez. On top of the main characters not having much chemistry on the screen, the storyline didn't do much to alleviate the situation. We are to believe that they have fallen in love after a montage of them traveling the country together to be on various talk shows, and it just doesn't work. The romance between them is completely forced, and though I appreciated the laugh and originality of having what would have been their love scene be thwarted by her taking a pill that made her laugh, act silly, and pass out; it was a missed opportunity to convince the audience the couple was falling in love. Other than that, my only other major complaint is a scene that's shot from above looking into a small room with Bellamy and Moore inside. It was an awkward and unnecessary shot, and I was happy the camera angle eventually changed.
The Bounce Back was a good story, with good laughs, and good actors. On December 9th let's show the studios in Hollywood we turn out for films with universal stories starring Black actors.
6.5/10