Jumping the Broom

Review by Pamela Zoslov

Having reviewed my share of ethnic wedding comedies – including, memorably, one about the clash between a Latino family and an African-American family that featured a priapic goat trying to mate with guests – I cannot fail to commend JUMPING THE BROOM for its taste and humanity.

Few new wineskins are available for the old wine of this brand of matrimonial farce, in which future in-laws converge for a wedding and clash comedically, but director Salim Akil (TV’s The Game, Girlfriends) handles Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs’ thoughtful screenplay with poise and a fine visual sense. Whereas too many comedies made for African-American audiences resort to over-the-top slapstick, JUMPING THE BROOM manages to weave cultural, historical, linguistic, economic and religious issues into an otherwise commonplace formula. The contrast in this case is between "uptown" — a wealthy black family living in New England — and "downtown," a working-class black family from Brooklyn.