Love and Other Four-Letter Words DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Tangi Miller and Flex Alexander in Marriage-Minded Sitcom

Stormy LaRue (Tangi Miller) is a popular TV talk show host in Chicago who has it all except a man. And that wasn’t really a problem until she went back home to Montgomery, Alabama to visit her supposedly terminally-ill grandmother (Aloma Wright).
For when Nana on her deathbed says her last request is to see her favorite granddaughter happily married, Stormy lies on the spot, saying she’s already engaged and the wedding is in just six weeks. Then, when granny miraculously recovers and announces that she plans to attend, the bride decides to find a guy to fake playing her groom for a day rather than ‘fess up to the fib.
This is the familiar point of departure of Love and Other Four-Letter Words, a formulaic sitcom based on a story created by its talented star, Tangi Miller. Despite the plot’s predictability, it is well-enough executed with the help of a colorful supporting cast to be rated a worthwhile rental.
Relying on her best friend, Roxanne (Essence Atkins), desperate Stormy begins auditioning potential husbands, only to settle inexplicably on Tiger (Marcus Patrick), a stripper she meets at her assistant Carrie’s (Mary Linda Phillips) birthday party. However, this arrangement soon starts to sour when the hunky boy-toy begins demanding an ever-increasing amount of money to participate in the ruse.
Matters become even more messy after possessive Carrie sleeps with Tiger and develops a bad case of Jungle Fever. And further complications ensue when Stormy’s trashy cousins, Frieda (Sandy Brown) and Lucille (Tasha Smith), show up on the scene.
Hope arrives in a local yokel who’s been there all along, Reverend Arnold Peterson (Flex Alexander), the minister hired to perform the phone ceremony. Arnold, aka Peanut, was a nerdy childhood friend who had long-admired Stormy from afar, but failed to turn her head. But now that he’s matured into a handsome man of the cloth, it’s just a matter of time before Stormy wises up and grabs the beefy bachelor.
Yet another African-American romantic comedy where a damsel-in-distress is rescued by an almost zombie-like perfect gentleman who’s seems a little too good to be true.

Good (2 stars)
R for nudity, sexuality and profanity.
Running time: 87 minutes
Studio: Image Entertainment
DVD Extras: Audio commentary by Tangi Miller and Flex Alexander, “Behind-the-Scenes” footage, film festival tour featurette, a trailer, and more.