Guess Who (2005)

A sarcastic father (Mac) has plenty to say about his daughter wanting to marry a white boy (Kutcher).

Director:

Kevin Rodney Sullivan

Writers:

William Rose (motion picture "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), David Ronn (story),

Stars:

Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Saldana

16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bernie Mac	...	Percy Jones
Ashton Kutcher	...	Simon Green
Zoe Saldana	...	Theresa Jones (as Zoë Saldaña)
Judith Scott	...	Marilyn Jones
Hal Williams	...	Howard Jones
Kellee Stewart	...	Keisha Jones
Robert Curtis Brown	...	Dante
RonReaco Lee	...	Reggie (as Ronreaco Lee)
Paula Newsome	...	Darlene
Phil Reeves	...	Fred
Sherri Shepherd	...	Sydney
Nicole Sullivan	...	Liz Klein
Jessica Cauffiel	...	Polly
JoNell Kennedy	...	Winnie (as Jonell Kennedy)
Niecy Nash	...	Naomi

Storyline

Percy and Marilyn are renewing their vows for their anniversary, and their daughter Theresa brings her boyfriend Simon for them to meet. Unbeknownst to her parents, the kids plan to announce their engagement during the weekend. The Jones family is Black; Theresa neglects to tell them Simon is White. Race complicates Percy's general mistrust of any boyfriend, so he instigates an investigation of Simon, discovering he's recently lost his job and hasn't told Theresa. Mistrust rears its ugly head, and in the process of Theresa and Simon's argument, Marilyn and Percy fall out. What can the men do to cross the divide between each other and between men and women? Will anyone be exchanging vows?

---

Plot Keywords:

engagement | argument | gocart | samoa | remake | 

---

Taglines:

When he meets his future father-in-law, he may not have a future at all.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related humor

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [France] Fox [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Bernie Mac/Ashton Kutcher Project

Filming Locations:

500 N Almansor St, Alhambra, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$199,179 (Italy) (19 August 2005)

Gross:

$10,732,175 (Europe) (19 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Regency Enterprises, 3 Art Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At an estimated cost of $100,000, digital effects were used to remove Ashton Kutcher's red Kabbalah bracelet in every scene in which he appeared.

---

Goofs

When Theresa is talking to her father near the end of the movie, her hair is alternately in front of/behind her left shoulder.

---

Quotes

Simon Green: [on the phone, leaving a message] Babe, you're acting like I have cheated on you, and I have never cheated on you. Except for that one time, with myself, and you caught me.

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits lists all names with no spaces, but with different fonts for given names and surnames.

---

Connections

References Back to the Future (1985)

---

Soundtracks

"Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)"
(1955)
Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
Performed by Sarah Vaughan
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enteprises

User Reviews

An Enjoyable Light Comedy

Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) is trying to protect his daughter Theresa (Zoe Saldana) from ending up with the wrong guy, and though he does a thorough background check on her new boyfriend Simon (Ashton Kutcher), there's only one thing his research didn't tell him. He's white and he wants to marry his daughter.

The "meeting the parents" premise has been done to death recently with Monster-in Law and Meet the Fockers being the most recent films. However, what the film lacks in originality, it makes it up with laughs. There were a lot of funny moments and the movie hardly ever got boring. However, most of the funny bits were used in the trailer and this makes the jokes a little less effective since they are already expected. Also, the repeat value of the movie is very low. It's worth watching once but that's pretty much it. I don't think that's a bad thing since most light comedies are like that.

I think the film works well because of the two leads. Both Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher give funny performances and they have nice chemistry together. Their scenes were the best and they never felt forced. Zoe Saldana also gives a good performance and she has come a long way from appearing in Crossroads. Most of the supporting actors are also funny including Judith Scott, who plays Bernie Mac's wife. Mike Epps also makes a cameo though it wasn't that good.

Kevin Rodney Sullivan directs and he only does an okay job. The first half of the film is pretty funny and the racial issues are handled lightly. During the second half, the film becomes all serious and it's kind of awkward. The director ditches the laughs for awhile and he approaches the issue in a mature manner. It kind of works but some of the serious scenes felt fake. It seemed like the actors were about to burst out laughing at any second and the film also got kind of dull. The ending was surprisingly strong though. The changes of tone in the film worked out okay but they weren't as effective as they could have been. In the end, Guess Who is worth a rental, nothing more though. Rating 7/10