Brown Sugar

What Brown Sugar lacks in originality, it makes up for in charm.

Delightful love story.

A good cast, terrific soundtrack, and genial spirit all help the film go down smoothly.

Ambitious, yes. Does it work? Not really. While it's genuinely cool to hear characters talk about early rap records (Sugar Hill Gang, etc.), the constant referencing of hip-hop arcana can alienate even the savviest audiences.

Sustains the charm of an early 60's New York romance.

The plot is romantic comedy boilerplate from start to finish and, with the story's outcome a foregone conclusion, the least the director could have done is throw in a bit of cultural enlightenment to keep the audience occupied while he connects the dots.

Draws a belabored association between romance and hip-hop, and it's hard not to wish the parallel lines would hurry up and converge.