Trailer: ‘Just Wright’ Is A Tyler Perry Wannabe

The modestly budgeted 20 million dollar picture raked in a whopping 29 million Easter weekend coming in second place despite being critically detested. The prolific, fat-suit prone Perry has proven to be a huge cash cow for distributer Lionsgate, occasionally churning out multiple films a year with starless, African-American casts, shot on the cheap. Naturally other studios are now throwing their hats in the ring by making more films aimed at the “urban market”. This weekend, once promising filmmaker Neil Labute’s urban remake of the 2007 British comedy “Death at a Funeral” will undoubtedly score at the box office. Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells reports that the film was tracking almost neck and neck with the hugely hyped comic book adaptation “Kick-Ass.” Due to the success of films aimed at black audiences, Fox Searchlight is getting in on the action by putting out “Just Wright,” starring rappers-turned-actors Queen Latifah and Common.

The trailer does the audience the favor of unraveling the entire plot so that they can choose to avoid sitting through the pandering, cliche riddled rom-com. Like Perry’s films, “Wright” seems to have the same mixture of relationship melodrama and bland humor but is luckily fat-suit free. Latifah, a romantically troubled tom-boy somehow lands Common, a rich and handsome basketball player by the film’s end (the trailer leaves no doubt of this) proving to be the ultimate fantasy this side of “Twilight.” Latifah’s tame, Will Smith-esque crossover appeal has allowed her to ride these roles to decent box office success, and we’re sure that will be the case this time around. The trailer also features Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah,” which just so happens to be one of the most vile songs ever recorded.

“Just Wright” was written by Michael Elliot and directed by Sanna Hamri. It co-stars Paula Patton and Pam Grier and opens May 14th. — Robert Barnett