Something New (2006)

Kenya McQueen, an accountant finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper.

Director:

Sanaa Hamri

Writer:

Kriss Turner

Stars:

Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Golden Brooks

4 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sanaa Lathan	...	Kenya Denise McQueen
Fuzzy Fantabulous	...	Himself (voice) (as DJ Fuzzy Fantabulous)
Katharine Towne	...	Leah Cahan
Stanley DeSantis	...	Jack Pino
K.C. Clyde	...	Waiter
Wendy Raquel Robinson	...	Cheryl
Golden Brooks	...	Suzette
Taraji P. Henson	...	Nedra
Marcus Brown	...	Rashid Mohammed
Russell Hornsby	...	Dr. Brockton
Simon Baker	...	Brian Kelly
Danny Wooten	...	Starbucks Employee
Mike Epps	...	Walter
Lee Garlington	...	Mrs. Cahan
Tonita Castro	...	Maria

Storyline

Kenya McQueen is a successful African-American CPA, working her way to the top of the corporate ladder -- but her life has become all work and no play. Urged on by her friends to try something new and to let go of her dream of the "ideal black man," she accepts a blind date with an architectural landscaper named Brian, only to cut the date short upon first sight, because Brian is white. The two meet again at a party, and Kenya hires Brian to landscape her new home. Over time, they hit it off, but Kenya's reservations about the acceptance their romance will find among her friends and family threatens everything. An intelligent romantic comedy that chooses to deal with issues of race and perception in a straight-forward way, from a point of view not often seen: that of a successful, upper-class black woman.

---

Plot Keywords:

erotic dance | blind date | friend | partner | landscaper | 

---

Taglines:

She had it all under control. Except her heart

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

42.4 Percent

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$4,879,736 (USA) (3 February 2006)

Gross:

$11,425,894 (USA) (3 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gramercy Pictures (I), Homegrown Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sanaa Lathan's character, Kenya, is the daughter of Alfre Woodard's character. They share the same relationship in Love & Basketball (2000) and also in The Family That Preys (2008).

---

Goofs

At the beginning of the film, Kenya wakes up her PC, which is clearly a Dell, but it's running Mac OS X. The screen shows the telltale Finder icons on the right side of the screen and the desktop picture is one of the images that ships with OS X. A few shots later, the closeup of her calendar also shows the three "gel buttons" in the upper-left corner.

---

Quotes

Sommore: [nods to Brian] I see ya brought your night light with you.
[laughter]
Sommore: Girl, you either got your swirl on or you're with your parole officer.
[more laughter]

---

Connections

Referenced in The Oprah Winfrey Show: Episode dated 8 March 2006 (2006)

---

Soundtracks

Dimelo
Written by Jose Luna, Vito Colapietro, Neely Dinkins
Performed by R Luna and The Co-Stars
Courtesy of The Co-Stars

User Reviews

A Romantic Comedy with Substance

First off, this movie is NOT about a shortage of black men. In fact, there are plenty of black men in this movie: husbands, brothers, boyfriends, guys at Starbucks, club-goers. It just so happens that the main character Kenya, a black woman, falls in love with a white man. What's the big freakin deal?!?! To repeat, this movie is not about a shortage of black men; it never claims to be. It's a love story and one that is complicated by race. I thought the issues they had to deal with as a couple were very real, particularly Kenya's issues with her job.

I can totally relate to the Kenya character and I can easily think of 10 other black women who probably can too. This film was refreshing; it was so nice to see a smart, successful black woman as the main character of a movie. GO SEE IT!