Taglines: The rhythm, the love, the beat…and you don’t stop.
Sidney is a writer who’s just left her L.A. Times music review gig to edit New York hip-hop magazine XXL. Dre is an executive with a hip-hop record company based in New York. They’ve known each other since they met as children, when both discovered hip-hop for the first time. Now that they’re back together, they should be perfect for each other, except that Dre’s about to marry lawyer Reese and Sidney claims not to be interested in Dre romantically. Meanwhile, Dre is growing increasingly restless with his company’s focus on profit over artistry, which leads to signing the gimmicky duo Ren and Ten while ignoring the talented Chris.
Brown Sugar is a 2002 American romantic comedy film written by Michael Elliott and Rick Famuyiwa, directed by Famuyiwa, and starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. The film is a story of a lifelong friends, A&R Andre and Editor-in-Chief Sidney. The two can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single, seminal childhood moment – the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn’t the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner.
The movie was released in the US on October 11, 2002 and ran for 16 weeks, grossing $27,363,891 domestically and $952,560 in the foreign sector for a worldwide total of $28,316,451.
About the Story
Brown Sugar is a film that follows the evolving relationship between Sidney (Sanaa Lathan), an attractive young woman who has just been appointed the editor-in-chief of the hip-hop magazine XXL, and Dre (Taye Diggs), an A&R for Millennium Records. They have been bound together since their early childhood. The news that Dre is preparing to be married to Reese (Nicole Ari Parker), a successful entertainment attorney, sends Sidney into a subconscious tizzy.
Suddenly, she doesn’t seem to know how to behave around Dre anymore, and an impulsive kiss on the eve before his wedding sends fissures of doubt cracking in every direction. Dre gets married and begins to settle into his life when a decision to sign an untalented but commercially viable rap group forces Dre to choose between his love for true hip hop and his job.
He decides to quit his job and start his own record company, focusing on bringing back the real hip hop that his generation fell in love with. Reese, however, is not understanding and thus not supportive of this venture. Additionally, as Sidney draws closer to Dre due to their partnership in the label, jealousy develops over Dre and Sidney’s friendship.
Sidney, who also has begun to live her life with a budding relationship with Kelby (Boris Kodjoe) receives a proposal from her boyfriend which she accepts. Turmoil ensues when Dre finds out Reese has been having secret liaisons with a man from the gym (who texts Reese to confirm a rendezvous). Dre brings Sid to bust her in the act. This leads to a night of shared passion between Dre and Sid and opens Sid’s eyes to the fact she is not prepared to get married to Kelby. She calls off the engagement and while searching for Dre sees Reese and Dre in a parting embrace that she misconstrues as more.
While at Hot 97 waiting for Cavi’s first single to play on the Angie Martinez show, Dre hears Sid talking about her new book I Used to Love H.I.M. Though based on her love affair with hip hop, it really is a chronicled time line of her love affair with Dre. He recognizes this and rushes over to the station to confront his feelings, as well. Meanwhile in the production booth, Sid’s cousin Francine finally asks Cavi out on a date, which is something he has been trying for since their first meeting.
Brown Sugar (2002)
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Queen Latifah, Wendell Pierce, Erik Weiner, Melissa Martinez, Venida Evans, Aaliyyah Hill
Screenplay by: Rick Famuyiwa
Production Design by: Kalina Ivanov
Cinematography by: Jeff Barnett, Enrique Chediak
Film Editing by: Dirk Westervelt
Costume Design by: Darryle Johnson
Set Decoration by: Roberta J. Holinko
Art Direction by: David Stein
Music by: Robert Hurst
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and language.
Distributed by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: October 11, 2002
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