Our Hollywood correspondent, Danai Maraire, chats it up with the cast of T.D. Jakes’ latest film, Jumping the Broom.
Jumping the Broom, the latest film produced by Bishop T.D. Jakes, hits theaters nationwide this weekend. The story centers around the tension that ensues when two Black families from two very different worlds meet up for a wedding in Martha’s Vineyard. Sabrina, played by Paula Patton, hails from a rich New England family. While her beau, Jason, played by Laz Alonso, comes from a working-class Brooklyn family. The film, which also features a cameo appearance by Jakes as a — wait for it — Christian minister, presents a humorous but realistic message about sexual purity before marriage, as well as the importance of forgiveness. Says the Chicago Tribune‘s Michael Phillips: “[The movie] wears its themes of trust and belief and faith lightly and easily, while taking them seriously.”
Our Hollywood correspondent, Danai Mairare, recently sat down with the film’s cast, which in addition to Patton and Alonso also includes Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Mike Epps (see video below). Danai calls the film “an upscale Black wedding comedy, the likes of which we have not seen since The Best Man.”
Producer Tracey Edmonds had wanted to make a wedding comedy for years before finally finding the perfect script in Jumping the Broom. Alonso calls the film one of the proudest achievements of his career. Patton, who had her first baby just three months prior to filming, says she would not have gone back to work so soon if she hadn’t felt so passionately about the film.
It’s clear that the cast had a blast making Broom, and based on the buzz we’ve been hearing about the movie, the theaters should be full of eager audiences this opening weekend.
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