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Director: Bill Duke
Rating:PG-13 for sexual references and thematic elements.
Starring: Morris Chestnut, Taraji Henson, Cannon Jay, Eddie Cibrian, Kwame Boateng, Maeve Quinlan
Reviewguy's Rating (Out of 10):8
Not Easily Broken is a film that discusses the relationship between a man and a woman that is starting to go wrong, and the effect the people around it can have on the relationship. The film quickly introduces us to Dave (Morris Chestnut) and Clarice Johnson (Taraji Henson) who are in their second decade of marriage. The beginning of their marriage was filled with great hope; Dave dreams of major league baseball success, but like real life quickly dashed by an injury in college. Instead of the glamorous and lucrative baseball career, he ends up becoming the head of a small construction firm. His wife however is basking in the glow of real estate stardom, creating a life that revolves around her desire to be the best in her craft. She has become blind to Dave’s needs, the most important being his desire to become a father and start a family with her. They face a total disruption in their lives when a car crash seriously injures Clarice, whose strong willed mother, Mary (played by the perfectly cast Jenifer Clark), blames Dave for her daughter’s leg injuries and derailed career. Help comes in the form of kind-hearted physical therapist and single mom Julie Sawyer, whose son Bryson is coached by Dave and his pals Brock and Tree in Little League baseball. Though Clarice is helped by Julie’s care, she becomes concerned that her constant criticism of Dave has pushed her husband away--possibly into the arms of the empathetic Julie.
The most surprising thing about this movie is the use of language. I just assumed that since it was a movie associated with a pastor (T.D. Jakes) that the language would be on the mild side. I was surprised that the language was a bit salty at times, but it does not detract away from the film very much. Kevin Hart (who plays as Tree) could be guilty of stealing the show in this film though. Every time he is on screen the laughter ensues, and my only regret with his character is that he was not in the film more. The film is as realistic in my eyes as a film about relationships can be, and there were several times that the crowd reaction was as if we were at a basketball game.
