JUWANNA MANN goes a long way towards proving what I have said for years: That a film can overcome most anything if you care about the characters. In fact JUWANNA MANN is better than THE ENGLISH PATIENT, because in watching that film I was not concerned with what happened, was not engaged emotionally by the events in that story. Ergo, JUWANNA MANN is a better film, at least to me, than THE ENGLISH PATIENT. I'm not sure what to think about that, but it makes sense on some level.
I caught this movie on cable one day, and figured it would be a painful retread of TOOTSIE, but after a while I couldn't turn it off. It is about a pro-basketball player who crosses the line and is booted out of the league, his only recourse being to dress like a woman and play in the WNBA. Not exactly high art. However, the lead character, played by Miguel A. Nunez Jr., is so likable and honest I was amazed with his performance. He puts on a wig and attacks the role with such gusto I couldn't help but take notice; there are also more subtle things that he does that help the film along. Nunez is the the lynch-pin holding the film together. The supporting cast is also quite good: the always reliable Kevin Pollak, the lovely Vivica A. Fox, Tommy Davidson, etc.
The film was also funny...I laughed which does not happen often, not because I am a humorless miser (entirely), but because most films don't strike me as amusing. Don't get me wrong, JUWANNA MANN has it's share of crude humor and a scene involving a traffic stop that goes on too long, but it does not cripple the film, if adds nothing to it. The damn movie is heartwarming, yeah, you heard me...heartwarming! I've never used that term to describe a movie before, but it is. The ending may be formulaic, but for some reason I forgave the film, perhaps because I wanted the characters to be happy. It was certainly a great surprise to find a film at random, that I had never heard of before, and have it turn out to be a small gem. It does not happen enough, but if other film makers would pay attention to a movie like JUWANNA MANN, there just might be a few more. 7/10.
