Jumping the Broom: The Easy Way Out?

Any good film has characters that we hope and fear for, characters in situations that make us squirm in our seats. For this to happen, we need conflict, obstacles that make it increasingly difficult for characters to achieve their goals. Jumping the Broom takes the time-honored formula of bringing together two families for a wedding and fully embraces conflict in every scene, with interesting characters constantly bombarded with problems. Unfortunately, everything resolves too easily, and an entertaining first two acts are wasted by a third act that wants to wrap everything up and send us on our way.

The film follows New York couple Sabrina Watson (Paula Patton) and Jason Taylor (Laz Alonso), who embark on a five month, whirlwind romance and decide to get married when Sabrina lands a job in China. The problem is their parents have never met, and Jason's family is from Brooklyn, while Sabrina's hails from Martha's Vinyard. Already we've established the various problems these characters will face: the perils of rushing into marriage, family members involved in everybody's business, and the deep divisions caused by class.

Jumping the Broom delivers on this conflict, and the actors fully embrace their roles. Jason and Sabrina's mothers are wonderfully realized by Loretta Divine and Angela Bassett respectively who do a stellar job keeping their anger and resentment simmering just below the surface. This tension drives the film, and we want to see how it will end. Even before she arrives for the wedding, Mrs. Taylor complains that Sabrina only communicates with her through text messages. When she finally meets Sabrina, we cringe as Sabrina smothers her with an overenthusiastic hug while the very proper Mrs. Watson stares aghast at her daughter's behavior. The conflict builds as everyone tries hard to get along, and the rolling eyes, nervous looks, and whispered exasperations do a great job increasing tension.

This early conflict culminates in the obligatory dinner table scene. Sabrina's father (Brian Stokes Mitchell) offers a heartwarming toast, and Mrs. Taylor follows with one of the worst blessings ever. As the characters and audience squirm in their seats, Mrs. Taylor asks if Jason and Sabrina plan to "jump the broom," a tradition practiced by African American slaves as a way to signify marriage. When Sabrina says no, all hell breaks loose. Mrs. Taylor not only challenges Mrs. Watson's social status but also blatantly reminds her all the money in the world will not change the fact that she is black. Mrs. Watson returns the vitriol by informing her that not only is she well aware of her background, but also her family owned slaves. Ouch!

We have the earlier conflict on display, but now there’s the added racial conflict, taking things to the next level. Might as well throw in marital problems, and sure enough, Mrs. Watson accuses her husband of having an affair, inviting him to sit with his whore at the other end of the table. Pile on the conflict! We love it.

When the situation seemingly can't get any worse, Sabrina's Aunt Geneva (Valarie Pettiford) arrives singing Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing. It's a funny moment meant to break the tension, but it only adds fuel to the fire because Geneva is an attention hog, not to mention she has a deep, dark (really dark) secret of her own, that will eventually veer its shocking head, turning the tables on everything. Conflict, conflict, and more conflict! And even though this is a romantic comedy where the audience expects emotional Bandaids and bandages, Jumping the Broom hints at the very real possibility that not everyone will walk away completely unscathed. (Nice… and refreshing).

Too bad that possibility is never realized: relationships are painlessly patched up, conflicts are easily resolved, apologies and forgiveness flow from each character like an infectious virus, not to mention that the film concludes with the requisite dance scene where everyone conveniently forgets all the ways they've wronged each other. And in a genre where we're supposed to suspend disbelief and live vicariously through a heightened level of relationship fantasy, this cookie cutter wrap up was just too much to believe.

Maybe these characters have an amazing capacity for forgiveness, but it's not completely believable because in the end, it’s just all TOO EASY. Has anyone actually learned anything? Has anyone changed? Why go to the trouble of establishing very real conflict only to resolve it so easily? Yes, Jumping the Broom is a romantic comedy, and I get that the audience expects Sabrina and Jason to end up together in the end, but the film also presents problems that are anything but minor, and I felt a bit let down, shaking my head at an all too familiar third act that took the easy way out.